NCJ Number
84879
Date Published
1976
Length
96 pages
Annotation
An investigation of case processing time in the Swedish juvenile justice system, particularly the time it takes to receive the required opinion of the Youth Authority Board on whether to prosecute or how to divert, indicates that critics are correct in charging that the Board slows processing down considerably.
Abstract
Swedish law requires that prosecution for nonserious juvenile crimes be tabled until the Youth Authority Board hands down an opinion on the most fitting method for handling the juvenile offender so that rehabilitation is effected. Prosecution should be avoided if diversion would produce equal or better results. However, critics charge that the Youth Authority Board adds too much time to the case processing cycle. A mail survey of authorities in all prosecutorial districts on 976 cases disposed of in 1973 and 1974 support the critics' contentions. A case takes an average of 14 weeks to wind its way through the criminal processing system. For 8 of these weeks, the case resides with the Youth Authority Board. Many of the cases involve youths that are already known to the Youth Authority, and about 40 percent involve youths already under its care. These cases are handled more quickly by the Board than cases involving unknowns. The Board hands down a recommendation to prosecute in about 28 percent of the cases; not to prosecute in 63 percent. The county prosecutor almost always concurs with the Board's opinion. The type of case and the prosecutorial district are not important factors in the time it takes for the Board to makes it recommendation. However, the size of the commune is. Boards operating in more densely populated communes are slower at delivering opinions. Large caseloads and lack of sufficient staff are blamed for the delays. Study data and the survey instrument are included.