未成年人刑罚执行监督的困境及建议

未成年犯的特殊性要求人民检察院在刑罚执行监督时根据未成年犯的特性,确定监督重点。有效地实现对未成年犯刑罚执行的监督关键需要刑罚执行机关和执行监督机关加快专业化进程。检察机关探索由未检部门负责未成年犯刑罚执行监督工作,构建"捕诉监防"一体化模式,具有必要性和可行性。     

未成年人案件刑事和解的探索与实践

刑事和解制度是当今司法文明发展的趋势,在未成年人刑事案件中引入刑事和解制度是贯彻宽严相济刑事司法政策的需要。目前该制度尚处于探索阶段,其含义、原则、程序、法律后果和检察机关所处地位等问题均有待深入探讨。在现有法律框架下,通过本土化的实践最大限度地体现刑事和解的精神内涵,推进未成年人案件刑事和解制度的理性发展显得尤为重要。     

在虚拟与现实之间——对我省青少年网络道德和现实道德状况的研究报告

对我省青少年网络道德和现实道德状况的调查显示:大多数青少年能理性地面对网络,但也有少数青少年沉溺于网络;青少年的网络本质观基本是正确的,但对网络的使用存在偏差;青少年道德观念和道德行为的主流是正确的、积极的,但在网络虚拟世界和现实真实世界有着不同的表现。问题的原因:道德教育主体比较单一,未能在全社会范围内形成一种德育合力;网民教育还未真正纳入教育体系之中;道德教育缺乏应有的实效;现实道德环境的缺失。我们认为在青少年道德教育中,道德教育主体应三者并重,形成家庭、学校、社会三位一体的教育网络;道德教育内容应具体化,突出基本道德规范教育;道德教育途径应多样化,教育主体必须充分利用网络中介开展德育活动;道德教育方式要增强针对性,提高实效性;道德教育体系应有系统性,它的运行和发展需要社会其它领域的支持、需要其它社会意识形式的支持、需要德育管理的支持。     

Image conditions for machine-based face recognition of juvenile faces

Machine-based facial recognition could help law enforcement and other organisations to match juvenile faces more efficiently. It is especially important when dealing with indecent images of children to minimise the workload, and deal with moral and stamina challenges related to human recognition. With growth related changes, juvenile face recognition is challenging. The challenge not only relates to the growth of the child’s face, but also to face recognition in the wild with unconstrained images. The aim of the study was to evaluate how different conditions (i.e. black and white, cropped, blur and resolution reduction) can affect machine-based facial recognition of juvenile age progression. The study used three off-the-shelf facial recognition algorithms (Microsoft Face API, Amazon Rekognition, and Face++) and compared the original images and the age progression images under the four image conditions against an older image of the child. The results showed a decrease in facial similarity with an increased age gap, in comparison to Microsoft; Amazon and Face++ showed higher confidence scores and are more resilient to a change in image condition. The image condition ‘black and white’ and ‘cropped’ had a negative effect across all three APIs. The relationship between age progression images and the younger original image was explored. The results suggest manual age progression images are no more useful than the original image for facial identification of missing children, and Amazon and Face++ performed better with the original image.     

Restorative justice and reconviction

Proponents of restorative justice have suggested that its practices have the potential to reduce reoffending by those responsible for a harm. This article examines these claims using the results of two separate studies of the reconviction of offenders dealt with by processes that had restorative characteristics. The first study examines reconviction rates over'a'period'of'six years for a sample of young people who took part in family group conferences. The second study examines outcomes for samples of 100 offenders involved in each of two different community panel pre-trial diversion schemes for adults. One scheme involved offenders and victims meeting together with community panel members to determine outcomes that would repair harm to the victim and contribute to preventing reoffending. The second scheme involved Maori offenders meeting with representatives of their tribe in a setting with spiritual meaning for Maori. Those participating in both the community panel schemes were less likely to reoffend than matched samples of others who had committed similar offenses. There were also economic savings to the criminal justice system when offenders were dealt with by the panels compared to those dealt with by traditional methods. Taken together, these projects indicate that restorative processes and practices can have a positive impact on helping people to avoid reoffending.     

Young Offenders Speak About Meeting Their Victims: Implications for Future Programs

Victim–offender mediation (VOM) programs have gained considerable popularity in juvenile courts, yet little is known about how these programs actually influence offenders. This paper explores young offenders’ subjective experiences of voluntary participation in a county‐run VOM program in Minnesota. The authors conducted in‐depth, qualitative interviews with seven young offenders (aged 15–24), and four sets of their parents, who had recently participated in a VOM session with their crime victim(s). Data analysis revealed varying motivations for the offenders’ participation in the sessions, a range of emotional consequences, and some potential for enduring behavior change. Based on these findings, the authors propose guidelines for future practice and research with young people involved in mediation, conferencing, and restorative justice programs.     

Outsiders and justice consciousness

The foundations of my justice consciousness lie in two books that share the name “outsiders.” I was introduced to S.E. Hinton's novel before I was a teenager and it was my first real contact with the “Greasers,” the “Socs,” and a world of juvenile delinquency divided by social class. Written by a 16‐year‐old girl around the time I was born, I think it was this book that initially sparked my fascination with juvenile delinquency and the study of crime. I pursued this interest in college and became concerned with inequality and the ways in which our social surroundings shape our choices and our life chances. Reading Howard S. Becker's classic statement of labeling theory in his version of Outsiders changed my perspective again and I have never looked at the world in quite the same way since.     

The role of the therapist in offender treatment

Although best practice dictates that offender programs should be based within a cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) orientation, little is known about the impact of the therapist in delivering the program content, and therapist behaviors that can enhance the therapeutic process. In this paper we review the existing literature on process issues with general offenders and sexual offenders and attempt to highlight the importance of therapist behaviors in therapeutic treatment strategies. We conclude that therapists can use the therapeutic relationship to build trust and rapport, and that training should specially aim to enhance these skills.     

The Effects of Mixing Offenders with Non-Offenders: Findings from a Danish Quasi-Experiment

This study examines the effects of mixing offenders with non-offenders at Skejby half-way house in Denmark. Skejby half-way house constitutes an outstanding social experiment, as offenders are deliberately mixed with non-offenders in order to reduce their risk of recidivism. The treatment group consists of offenders who have stayed at Skejby half-way house while the controls are selected from residents of four other half-way houses. A Cox regression analysis reveals that the probability of reoffending is 21% lower for the treatment group than it is for the control group.