NCJ Number: 73445
Title: Social Control of Juvenile Delinquency in Italy - The Judicial and Administrative System
Journal: Revue penitentiare et de droit penal Volume:104 Issue:1 Dated:(January-March 1980) Pages:71-75
Author(s): T Bandini
Date Published: 1980
Page Count: 5
Format: Article
Language: French
Country: France
Annotation: Juvenile codes and the juvenile court system in Italy are based on more permissive penological philosophies than adult laws, and a primary objective is to avoid detention by the widest possible use of diversion programs.
Abstract: Italy has a juvenile code and a juvenile court system which dates back to 1934 and is inspired by a progressive criminological and penological philosophy. Juvenile court judges are given wide judicial discretion and a broad range of diversions and alternatives to detention in dealing with juvenile offenders, whose criminal records are often expunged and sealed unless they become recidivists. Defined by a strictly chronological criterion, the criminal responsibility of minors is legally nonexistent before age 14. For juveniles aged 14 - 18, judges are required by law to establish criminal intent in each case and to justify each adjudication. Theoretically, juvenile court judges have several diversionary options available, including observation facilities, medico-psychological laboratories, remedial education facilities, psychopedagogical institutes, halfway houses, juvenile prison-hotels, and reform schools. Only juveniles diagnosed as dangerous to society on the basis of recidivism and violent committing offenses are incarcerated. The incarceration of juvenile offenders is considered a last resort, because it is recognized as counterproductive in terms of the rehabilitation and socialization objectives of juvenile justice. In reality, all juvenile crime control and prevention programs in Italy are a failure. The single most important reason for this nationwide failure is the ridiculously low number of juvenile court magistrates and institutions for delinquent, deviant, and socially handicapped minors. Decentralization of institutions, increased community involvement, and changes in public attitudes toward juvenile offenders are the only possible remedies for this situation.
Index Term(s): Community-based corrections (juvenile); Competency to stand trial; Correctional institutions (juvenile); Court personnel; Criminal responsibility; Dangerousness; European Juvenile Justice Codes; Expungement or sealing of records; Failure factors; Foreign juvenile justice systems; Italy; Juvenile adjudication; Juvenile correctional facilities; Juvenile court diversion; Juvenile courts; Juvenile designated felonies; Juvenile detention; Juvenile status offenders; Psychological evaluation; Services effectiveness; Socialization; Socially challenged; Ungovernable juveniles
To cite this abstract, use the following link: http://www.ncjrs.gov/App/publications/abstract.aspx?ID=73445
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