Do you have Juvie, Juvenile Detention Centre. It’s like a jail for kids, teenagers. Do you have like different types, not too strict, and very strict juvies? Do you have places that aren’t really a jail for kids, but kids get put there because of family problems or depression and stuff like that, can they go home for weekends and holidays and then they have to come back to that place and sleep there? And what do you call those places in your language?
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The age you become responsible for criminal offences is 14. Before that there is no reaction by the criminal justice authorities, the case gets filed away, the kid is handed to their parents and that’s about it. Child protection authorities might get involved though and they will inquire if the parents are capable of taking care of the child. They might offer support, do regular checks etc. If there’s a major problem in the family the child might be put into a group home, but that’s not a direct response to the criminal offence. Things like approved homes no longer exist.
From age 14 you can go to jail and there’s one specialised juvenile detention center (for boys, for girls there’s only a section in the only women’s jail). But it is rare that anyone younger then 18 will actually go to jail, if it is not something major, they would get probation a couple of times, occasionally spending a week or two in pretrial custody to scare them off a bit. They will get a parole officer and sometimes have to do anti-aggression therapy, do social work etc. The problem with this approach is, that they accumulate quite a bit of pending sentences once they turn 21 (there is a transitional period from 18-21, where offenders are considered adults to be treated with more leniency). So the first real reaction they get from the state can be quite massive, as they get a sentence reflecting their prior crimes and having some probational sentences revoked
AFAIK, there are prison-style educational facilities.
I heard about a teenager being taken to orphanage.
Teenagers unders 16 can be prosecuted only for a very serious shit.
16-18 they can be prosecuted, but in practise either nothing happens, or a suspended sentense.
After 18 a person is considered adult. After being unpunished for 18 years, the person continues to do wild shit and gets caught. If it is a first offense – it is usually/often a suspended sentence.
Even this is not enough for many people. Second crime – welcome to jail.
Cyprus (RoC) was notorious for putting guys as young as 16 in adult prison (they are tried as adult from 16 and up any way, and if 13 or under they are not criminally liable). After a horrific streak of rapes and suicides in prison a decade ago, this became a bit untenable and sentences tend to be handed down as suspended/probatory (mostly the prison authorities and the Prosecutor General recognised it themselves, the society at large didn’t care so much. I remember that was the first protest I ever joined, and we didn’t have enough people to even unroll the banner we prepared. There was maybe 10 of us)
Right now they are trying to set up tenders for private-run juvenile detention centres (referred to in Greek as φυλακές ανηλίκων – underage prison).
No-one appears to be talking about making positive contributions and intervening to steer teenagers away from criminal behaviour. It’s only about punitively taking away freedom of movement and doing it at as low a cost as possible.
Surprisingly, there’s somewhat more focus on better treatment of adult prisoners and there are various rehabilitative programmes running in prison – I speculate that’s because many adults are imprisoned for debts (e.g. not paying VAT for their small business), and they are otherwise from social backgrounds that are well-respected and have advocates in high places.
Kids start being held responsible for criminal acts aged 12 here. From 12-15 they always fall under youth law. At 16 and 17 they usually fall under youth law but may be tried as an adult. At 18-23 they are usually tried as an adult may be tried under youth law.
Kids can get as punishment:
– youth detention
– a learn and/or work service (community service)
– a fine
– behavioral treatment
– detention in a center for behavioral treatment
Youth detention seems to be a mix between a group home and prison. Kids follow school and/or vocational training and they get training in social skills, anger management, etc. There’s low security and high security groups as well as separate groups for girls, kids with an intellectual disability, kids with psychiatric disorders, etc. There’s also night detention where kids go to school or work during the day but locked up at night.
There’s also Bureau Halt for kids 12-18 which is for mild crimes like skipping school, vandalism, aggression, etc. It’s mostly behavioral training potentially combined with a fine and/or community service. If you follow a Bureau Halt treatment you won’t get a criminal record.
Family problems obviously don’t fall under the justice system. That gets taken care of through Child Protective Services. Kids may go to group activities, group homes for part or all of the week or get foster care for part or all of the week.
Kids under 15 are not legally liable for anything. Yes, that is correct. A 14 year old could kill someone and that would be a CPS issue, not judicial one. Iirc there are prisons for young people but it’s generally pretty rare to do that serious crimes underage that would not land a probational sentence.
Then there are foster home type of institutions for problem youth. You can end up there if your family sucks, or if you suck. There are different levels in how strict and diciplined they are.
Children under the age of 14 are not responsible for criminal acts, regardless of what they have done, and they are not tried in court. The Social Work Center (CSD), which police officers inform about a crime, has a key role to play. At the CSD, they conduct an interview with the parents and the child and propose appropriate social security measures.
Juveniles over the age of 14 are not punished by the court but they get an ‘eduactional measure’. Types of educational measures are defined in the Criminal Code and are as follows:
reprimand (instructions and prohibitions),
supervision by the social welfare authority (when periodic supervision is necessary, the measure is imposed for at least one year and no more than three years),
an educational institution (when constant supervision and professional help are required, lasts at least half a year and a maximum of three years),
a re-education home (for more serious or repeated crimes and where the previous re-education has not achieved its purpose, lasts a minimum of one year and a maximum of three years),
a training institution, which is ordered if the minor is impaired in mental or physical development, and remains in the institution as long as necessary, but no more than three years.
I think for those under 14 CSD may decide their parents are curently unfit to take care of them and put them into ‘youth homes’ which I think are ‘educational institutions’ in text ebove. [One example](https://www.malci-beliceve.si/en/) of such a home.
I think there’s 1 re-educational home in Radeče. And [this](https://centerdobrna.si/en/) is an example of a training institution.
There’s also one juvenile prison for those 18-26.
I’m not too versed on this so someone may correct me.
The age of criminal responsibility in England and Wales is 10. Generally, a child under 15, if sentenced to imprisonment, will be held in a Secure Children’s Home. Children ages 15-18 are held in a Secure Training Centre, but may be held in a Young Offender Institution, depending on the individual and the crime. Once 18, offenders may be sent to an adult prison, but some under 21 may be sent to a YOI. In all cases, the emphasis is on rehabilitation and education.
>Do you have Juvie, Juvenile Detention Centre. It’s like a jail for kids, teenagers.
In England and Wales they’re called [“Secure Centres for Children”](https://www.gov.uk/children-in-custody). IIRC they used to be called Juvenile Detention Centres.
>Do you have places that aren’t really a jail for kids, but kids get put there because of family problems or depression and stuff like that, can they go home for weekends and holidays and then they have to come back to that place and sleep there? And what do you call those places in your language?
Children’s Homes. Usually run by a local authority, sadly a target for paedophiles and child abusers in the past.
TW: accounts of abuse
[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/resources/idt-sh/sisters_who_survived_the_evil_at_lagarie](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/resources/idt-sh/sisters_who_survived_the_evil_at_lagarie)
[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-nottinghamshire-45705619](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-nottinghamshire-45705619)
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Wales_child_abuse_scandal](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Wales_child_abuse_scandal)
By Italian law minors between 14 and 18 are imputable for any crime they might commit but with their sentences reduced.
With that said, minors sentenced for penal crimes get often sentenced to a juvenile jail (It: carcere minorile), where the treatment is less harsh than a normal jail and there are rehabilitation programs for youths. If they turn 18 while in juvenile jail, they won’t be transported to a common jail until they turn 25.
After jail it is applicable by the judge the transport of the youth to a judicial community (comunità giudiziaria), where the rehabilitation program is much more specific and unlike the jail it is “open” allowing the juveniles to come in and out freely, or for him/her to be placed on probation.
Minors under 14 can still be imputable of a crime if deemed socially dangerous. And in general the sentence is either being placed in a judicial community or on probation.