In the Spring of 2001, the Danish Parliament passed a bill introducing a new correctional measure, a special youth sanction which is to be used as an alternative to unconditional prison sentences but, at the same time, is intended to imply a considerable stiffening of previous practices as extensive periods of incarceration and coerced rehabilitation are to be implemented. The use of the youth sanction implies that the young person is subject to a structured, controlled, socio-pedagogical treatment of 2 years duration. The sanction is to involve an element of restraint as expressed in the history of the new provisions. The target group is the hard core of socially deprived and maladjusted juvenile delinquents. If the court considers that a youth sanction is suited to prevent recidivism in the individual case, then such a sentence may be handed down to a juvenile offender who has committed a rather serious or violent crime. In general, a youth sanction may only be implemented to youth who are under the age of 18. The target group is defined as representing juveniles with serious problems with social adaptation. Out of the 55 convicted juveniles in the sample material, 32 were of an ethnic background other than Danish and 6 were females. This study found that the introduction of youth sanction leads to harsher punishments under the guise of beneficence. The youth sanction is an obstacle for constructive effort and represents a gross injustice. The sanction has been given associations to the borstal sanction. Social defense has been given priority to child welfare, just like with the borstal sanction. The emergence of the youth sanction is due to a mixture of a well-founded concern regarding a neglected and consequently, menacing segment of juveniles and a moral crusade based on public mores and political sentiments. References.