Research Vindicates Softer Approach to Juvenile Punishment
Juvenile offenders whose cases do not go to criminal court are less likely to have a repeat run-in with the law than those who are convicted, according to a thesis defended at the Academy of Security Sciences.
The paper, by police official Nils Sempelson, showed that recidivism was seen in 16 percent of those whose case is dismissed as opposed to 34 percent of those convicted.
The researcher suggested that "case dismissed" be the norm and that they should be referred to a juvenile committee where the punishment would be limited to a warning, counseling, reconciliation, community service or being required to live with one's parents or, where applicable, foster care.
The author also suggested that the time after the crime was crucial to impressing on the young person the consequences of the behavior.
The results showed that a 2004 amendment that made it easier to use measures other than criminal convictions to influence behavior have coincided with a decrease in juvenile crime in Estonia as a whole.
Academy rector Lauri Tabur supported the thesis's message, saying the main emphasis should be on bringing the offender back into society's fold.
"Based on the study results, more effective influence requires involving specialists and parents to a greater extent and dismissing cases and utilizing reconciliation more often," he said.
Kristopher Rikken