Pro-bullying attitudes among incarcerated juvenile delinquents: Antisocial behavior,psychopathic tendencies and violent crime

The objective was to evaluate a new scale aimed at assessing antisocial attitudes, the Pro-bullying Attitude Scale (PAS), on a group of 259 voluntarily-recruited male juvenile delinquents from a juvenile correctional institution in Arkhangelsk, North-western Russia. Exploratory factor analysis gave a two-factor solution: Factor 1 denoted Callous/Dominance and Factor 2 denoted Manipulativeness/Impulsiveness. Subjects with complete data on PAS and Childhood Psychopathy Scale (CPS) (n = 171) were divided into extreme groups (first and fourth quartiles) according to their total scores on PAS and the two factor scores, respectively. The extreme groups of total PAS and PAS Factor 1 differed in CPS ratings and in violent behavior as assessed by the Antisocial Behavior Checklist (ABC). They also differed in the personality dimension Harm Avoidance as measured by use of the Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI), and in delinquent and aggressive behavior as assessed by the Youth Self Report (YSR). The extreme groups of PAS Factor 2, in turn, differed in aggressive behavior as assessed by the YSR, and in the TCI scale Self-Directedness. When PAS was used as a continuous variable, total PAS and PAS Factor 1 (Callous/Dominance) were significantly positively related to registered violent crime. The possible usefulness of PAS in identifying high-risk individuals for bullying tendencies among incarcerated delinquents is discussed.     

Reluctant Participants in Restorative Justice? Youthful Offenders and Their Parents

This paper examines offender and parental involvement in the Vermont Juvenile Restorative Panels Program. In this program, juvenile offenders on probation appear before citizen‐run boards to negotiate the terms of their probation, which may include apologies, community service, restitution, and competency development tasks. Victims and parents of the offender also participate. This study reports findings from a qualitative analysis of 22 cases, including observations of panel meetings and interviews with program coordinators, offenders, parents, and victims. We find that offenders vary in level of participation as well as in their willingness to take responsibility. Parents do not understand the program well, worry about their child’s likelihood of compliance, but generally support the goals of the program. The implications of these findings for restorative practices with juveniles are explored in the concluding section.     

Juvenile sex offenders in a Dutch mandatory educational programme: Subtypes and characteristics

Abstract

Significant differences between subgroups of juvenile sex offenders (JSOs) are found in both Dutch and international research. Most of this literature represents the more delinquent and more disturbed sections of the population of JSOs. This paper describes the characteristics of 302 less disturbed and less violent JSOs in a mandatory educational programme. Characteristics of exhibitionists (n=26), child molesters (n=39) and peer offenders (n=237) are compared. Peer offenders are subdivided into solo offenders (n=90) and group offenders (n=142). Variables are: demographics, family background, psychosocial functioning, offence characteristics and victim characteristics. Significant differences are found in a large number of variables, supporting findings from earlier research in clinical samples. Differences between subgroups are largest between group-offending peer offenders, on one hand, and exhibitionists and child molesters on the other hand. The majority of our sample seems to have an ordinary background and shows no apparent sign of psychosocial dysfunction. The clinical and theoretical relevance of the results is discussed.     

A Special Youth Sanction

Under the label ‘youth sanction’ (ungdomssanktion) a new type of sentence for juvenile offenders has been enacted by a 2001 amendment to the Danish Penal Code. The study reported here is an analysis of the 55 sentences imposed over the first year. Widespread disparity and disproportionality in sentencing was found. Statutory requirements regarding the seriousness of the individual case have not in all instances been satisfactorily established. The emergence of the new sanction implies a considerable increase in the intensity of intervention. Being based on a revitalized treatment ideology, the new criminal sanction legitimizes a vast widening of the control measures directed against troubled youth, in particular such offenders who has another ethnic background than Danish. No comprehensive programme or coherent vision regarding treatment methods has been stipulated, and professionals are bewildered and in disagreement regarding such issues. Nothing indicates that the costly efforts will prove to be adequate as rehabilitative and crime preventive tools. The introduction of the youth sanction is part of a contemporary criminal policy agenda dominated by a broad political coalition with an urge to demonstrate ability and readiness to cope with juvenile street crime by employing more ‘consequent’ measures, involving tougher and swifter punishment combined with coerced rehabilitation.     

Social Control and Emancipation ? Ambiguities in Child Welfare

Child welfare may be regarded either as a tool used by the authorities to exercise social control over family life, or as a weapon supporting the cause of children, striving to emancipate them from both parental and societal neglect or oppression. Research into Norwegian child welfare in the period since the Second World War reveals an ambiguous picture: the intervention of the state into family life signals both tightening social control of all family members and emancipation of the less powerful from patriarchal rule. As the rights and needs of children are considered more important, the control of parents, especially the mother, is increased. The central position of children and their interests have been strengthened in child welfare legislation. However, it is not the child, but the child welfare officials who define what is 'in the best interest of the child'. Post-war development has not granted children autonomy. Child welfare legislation is still mainly paternalistic. In child welfare casework, there is a danger that the lived experience of the child never emerges from the shadows cast by the interaction between adults. In relation to older children who came in contact with child welfare primarily because of their own problem behaviour, the ambiguity of emancipation and control has taken a somewhat different shape. The authorities wanted to keep these children out of prison. Humanitarian considerations, however, have been coupled with hopes of more effective crime prevention. In the postwar years, misbehaving children were also embraced by the increasing importance of 'the best interest of the child' as the main objective in child welfare decisions. In order to secure both emancipation and control, 'the best interest of the child' and the state's interest in preventing crime had to be understood as one and the same.     

未成年人案件刑事检察工作的探索与实践——以上海市浦东新区人民检察院为例

当前我国社会正处于改革转型期,政治、经济、文化环境处于不断变化之中,未成年人违法犯罪越来越严重,已成为影响社会稳定和国家长治久安的重要问题。上海市浦东新区人民检察院未成年人案件刑事检察处自1996年成立以来,结合自身办案实际情况,注意把握未成年人犯罪的特征,分析其原因,并通过不断创新实践,探索建立了未成年人捕诉监防一体化运作模式、法律援助、附条件不起诉、轻罪记录封存和观护帮教等一系列具有浦东区位特色的未检工作机制。这些有益的探索和实践是现代检察理念在检察机关未检工作中的贯彻落实,也是社会管理机制创新在检察工作领域的体现。     

我国古代未成年人犯罪刑事立法的启示

中国古代法律制度深受儒家仁义道德主义思想的影响,对未成年人犯罪的处理就是其中之一,古称"恤幼"。"恤幼"思想认为统治者和社会对未成年人的健康成长负有不可推卸的责任,主张对未成年人犯罪实行不同于成年人的特别宽容制度,在刑事实体法和程序法上都主张对未成年人给予更多的关爱,并将其体现在刑事立法和司法实践中。这些刑事政策和法律规定不仅为当时的未成年人犯罪惩罚、预防工作指引了正确方向,为维护未成年人的特殊利益起到了积极作用,也为当代科学完善未成年人犯罪刑事政策的形成和发展提供了宝贵的资源。     

Decomposing disproportionate minority contact in juvenile justice

The objective of this study was to decompose racial disparity in juvenile justice decision-making into a part explained by differing characteristics of racial groups, and an unexplained part often attributed to discrimination. Individual case-level data from Alabama and logistic regression were used to model detention, petition, and disposition decisions in the juvenile justice system. Decomposition of racial disparity between white and black juveniles using the nonlinear Blinder-Oaxaca methodology suggested that about a half to three fourths of the racial gaps in the three juvenile justice decision points were caused either by discrimination or unobserved predictors. Decomposition of racial disparity in juvenile justice can help devise effective public policy by quantifying the extent to which specific policies can reduce disproportionate minority contact.     

Effect of Psychopathy, Abuse, and Ethnicity on Juvenile Probation Officers’ Decision-Making and Supervision Strategies

Probation officers exercise substantial discretion in their daily work with troubled and troubling juvenile offenders. In this experiment, we examine the effect of psychopathic features, child abuse, and ethnicity on 204 officers’ expectancies of, recommendations for, and approach to supervising, juvenile offenders. The results indicate that officers (a) have decision-making and supervision approaches that are affected by a youth’s psychopathic traits and history of child abuse—but not ethnicity; (b) view both abused youth and psychopathic youth as highly challenging cases on a path toward adult criminality; and (c) have greater hope and sympathy for abused youth than psychopathic youth. For abused youth, officers are likely to recommend psychological services and “go the extra mile” by providing greater support, referrals, and networking than is typical for their caseload. For psychopathic youth, officers expect poor treatment outcomes and are” extra strict,” enforcing rules that typically are not enforced for others on their caseload.     

宽严相济政策在未成年人犯罪案件中的适用——以刑事诉讼程序中的检察环节为视角

检察机关要正确领会和切实贯彻宽严相济刑事司法政策,以"宽"与"严"相济为导向来处理未成年人犯罪。在具体执法手段上,要区分未成年人犯罪的不同动机和不同情节,采用多元的"宽"的执法方法;对未成年人犯罪性质恶劣、情节严重的要及时给以打击,该捕要捕、该诉要诉,当严则严;还可以考虑借鉴"恢复性司法"司法措施,以兼顾未成年犯罪人的权利保护和受害人损失的恢复与补偿。"宽"与"严"都要以实现社会公平、正义、和谐为其终极目的。