NCJ Number
167029
Date Published
1997
Length
0 pages
Annotation
Patterns and trends in juvenile delinquency and violence in nine European countries are discussed, with emphasis on comparisons with rates of violence among adults and the status of research on possible causes of changes in the levels of juvenile violence.
Abstract
Statistics are presented from England, Sweden and other Scandinavian countries, Netherlands, Italy, Denmark, France, and Germany. The discussion notes that countries vary in their definitions and recording of juvenile delinquency. In addition, the definition of a juvenile varies; the age variously begins at 8 or 10 or 14 years. Thus, comparisons among countries must be restricted. Most of the research uses police and conviction statistics, because few countries conduct repeated victimization surveys. In all countries, rates of violent crimes for juveniles have increased substantially in recent years, while rates for adults have been relatively stable. Data from Germany suggests a connection between poverty and crime in that Europe is becoming a winner/loser culture in terms of economic status, poverty is often combined with family breakdown, and a large proportion of low-income people are immigrants. The research data do not permit definitive conclusions about other factors. Research over the next 2 years will focus on why violence among youth has increased so dramatically. Preliminary findings indicate that a common factor among violent young males is the beating of children or spouses. Additional studies will follow 500-700 first-time inmates and will combine victim survey findings with data from police, prosecutors, and judges in four German cities. The speaker is the Director of the Criminological Research Institute of Lower Saxony, Germany. Introduction by National Institute of Justice Director Jeremy Travis, questions from audience members, and answers by the speaker