Grievances Against the State and the Danger of Criminalizing Juveniles (From Bestandaufnahme und Perspektiven der Verbrechensbekaempfung, P 97-108, 1982 - See NCJ-89221)

• NCJ Number: 89227
• Author(s): M Haller
• Date Published: 1982
• Length: 11 pages
• Corporate Author: Bundeskriminalamt
• Publication Format: Document
• Language: German
• Country: West Germany (Former)
• Note: Series: BKA Vortragsreihe N 27. Lecture given at Workshop of the Bundeskriminalamt in Wiesbaden on Nov. 9-12, 1982

Annotation

The attitudes of policymaking and law enforcement officials are widening the gulf between the establishment and the young who engage in social protest demonstrations in the German-speaking countries of Western Europe.

Abstract

Policymakers ignore the legitimate grievances on which demonstrations are based, and law enforcement presumes the inevitability of violent confrontation. The majority of peaceful protestors become stigmatized and confused with the small minority whose intentions are destructive. The interaction patterns between protestors and peacekeepers are tinged with mutual distrust, fear, and frustration. Uncertainty leads to police decisionmaking errors and excessive use of force, which are intensely resented by the youth contingent of the entire country. A case in point is the 9-month detention of an Italian anarchist (Bellini) in West German custody, despite the fact that sufficient grounds for extradition could not be produced by the Italian authorities. Nationwide protests calling for Bellini's release mocked Germany's human rights guarantees. Police officers must strive to overcome this spirit of self-righteous justification for force and brutality in the name of the law against a segment of the population they serve. Such an attitude change is imperative to earn the trust of the young. A total of 16 footnotes are provided.