Problems of Forensic Sciences 2009 Vol. 78 (LXXVIII) 208-225
APPROACHES TO JUVENILE OFFENDERS AND YOUNG PEOPLE AT RISK OF DEMORALIZATION IN POLAND AND IN THE NETHERLANDS – PSYCHOLOGICAL AND LEGAL ISSUES
Agnieszka HAŚ, Tomasz RAJTAR
Institute of Forensic Research, Krakow, Poland
Streszczenie
This article is a summary of an exchange financed by the National Agency of the Leonardo da Vinci Programme. Under this programme, psychologists from the Institute of Forensic Research were hosted at the Netherlands Institute for the Study of Crime and Law Enforcement (NCSR) in Leiden, the Netherlands. The starting point for a comparison of the current situation of juveniles in the Dutch and Polish legal systems in this article is an analysis of the evolution of the approach to the issue of actions directed towards elimination or limitation of negative consequences of behaviours manifested by young people, which are inconsistent with the law and social order of the respective countries. Two main trends which dominated in Europe in the 20th century are discussed: on the one hand, treating a juvenile as a responsible perpetrator, against whom society should be protected, and on the other hand, treating a perpetrator as a person who needs help and protection from negative influences from the environment. The main part of this article is a comparison of articles in legal codes and acts currently in force which regulate the approach to the issue of criminality and symptoms of demoralization in juveniles in Poland and in the Netherlands. Furthermore, a description of the phenomenon of criminality of juveniles in the Netherlands is presented. In the final part, several programmes that have been successfully used in the Netherlands oriented towards correction of attitudes and behaviours of juveniles demonstrating social maladjustment are discussed (e.g. STOP and HALT programmes).
Słowa kluczowe
Juvenile perpetrators; Demoralization; Risk factors of aggression and violence among juveniles.