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Judicial Sanctions Capacity Forecast

NCJ Number
194210
Date Published
2002
Length
86 pages
Annotation
This report presents forecasts of the capacity needed for various judicial sanctions over the period 2000 to 2005.
Abstract
The sanctions involve partly compulsory services to the community or to victims (extramural), and partly imprisonment or compulsory psychiatric treatment (intramural). Extramural sanctions for juveniles in case of minor crimes can be handled by the police (Halt-settlements); in more serious cases the courts are involved and they can impose community service, a compulsory task to be fulfilled by the convicted juvenile. This last type of sanction is also possible for adults. Intramural sanctions for juveniles involve placement into judicial homes for juveniles. These placements can occur according to penal law (convictions for crimes) or by civil law (absence of sufficient parental care). Intramural sanctions for adults are executed in prisons or in homes for compulsory psychiatric treatment. A special group in prisons consists of illegal foreigners who are kept in custody awaiting their expulsion. Results show that growth is expected in all areas of sanctions. The sanctions for juveniles are expected to grow faster than those for adults. The expected growth of the number of juveniles in the relevant age group (12- to 17-years-old) is a main cause here. The numbers of juvenile suspects per capita as well as the intensity of sanctions per juvenile suspect will continue to grow. The intensity of sanctions regarding adult suspects is also growing, but the number of property crimes is no longer increasing. The rise of severity of sanctions, which took place in the early nineties, may have come to a halt. The anticipated growth is higher for task sanctions for juveniles and less for Halt settlements, prisons, and institutions for compulsory psychiatric treatment compared to the forecasts of growth of capacity needed made in 1999.