In this project the various International Instruments, namely the United Nations Convention of the Rights of the Child; 1989, the Beijing Rules and the African Charter, relating to the guidelines of the establishment of a minimum age for criminal capacity are furnished. The developments regarding the issue of criminal capacity since 1998 in Australia, the United Kingdom and Hong Kong are highlighted. The historical position and the current position in South African law with regard to the issue of criminal capacity are discussed as well as the implementation thereof by our courts. The statistics on children under 14 years in prison over the past five years are furnished. The introduction of the Child Justice Bill, 2002 by Parliament and the deliberations following the introduction, focusing on the issue of criminal capacity is highlighted. The proposed provisions of the Child Justice Bill, 49 of 2002 codifying the present common law presumptions and the raising of the minimum age for criminal capacity are furnished. The evaluation of criminal capacity and the important factors to be assessed are discussed as provided for in the Child Justice Bill, 49 of 2002. A practical illustration of a case where the criminal capacity of a child offender was considered by the court is, discussed and other important developmental factors that should also be taken into consideration by the court are identified and discussed. Important issues relating to criminal capacity, namely, time and number of assessments, testimonial competency of the child offender, evolving capacities and age determination are discussed and possible problems identified and some solutions offered. The research included an 11-question questionnaire to various professionals working in field of child justice regarding the issue of criminal capacity and the evaluation thereof. / Criminal and Procedural law / D.Litt. et Phil. (Criminology)

In this project the various International Instruments, namely the United Nations Convention of the Rights of the Child; 1989, the Beijing Rules and the African Charter, relating to the guidelines of the establishment of a minimum age for criminal capacity are furnished. The developments regarding the issue of criminal capacity since 1998 in Australia, the United Kingdom and Hong Kong are highlighted. The historical position and the current position in South African law with regard to the issue of criminal capacity are discussed as well as the implementation thereof by our courts. The statistics on children under 14 years in prison over the past five years are furnished. The introduction of the Child Justice Bill, 2002 by Parliament and the deliberations following the introduction, focusing on the issue of criminal capacity is highlighted. The proposed provisions of the Child Justice Bill, 49 of 2002 codifying the present common law presumptions and the raising of the minimum age for criminal capacity are furnished. The evaluation of criminal capacity and the important factors to be assessed are discussed as provided for in the Child Justice Bill, 49 of 2002. A practical illustration of a case where the criminal capacity of a child offender was considered by the court is, discussed and other important developmental factors that should also be taken into consideration by the court are identified and discussed. Important issues relating to criminal capacity, namely, time and number of assessments, testimonial competency of the child offender, evolving capacities and age determination are discussed and possible problems identified and some solutions offered. The research included an 11-question questionnaire to various professionals working in field of child justice regarding the issue of criminal capacity and the evaluation thereof. / Criminal and Procedural law / D.Litt. et Phil. (Criminology)

The purpose of this qualitative study is to highlight how children who commit crimes are constructed in a social legal context. Critical children´s rights theory and socialconstructionism were used to process and analyze the material. 33 judgements in compulsory custody cases concerning children from Stockholm´s administrative court from the year 2021 were analyzed. Only children taken into care due to criminal activities were included in the study. The subject of this study is how narratives about children who commit crimes, the child´s needs and situation are constructed in administrative courts´judgments. The study is divided into two parts, a description of the legal framework, and an analysis of the judgments. The conclusions are that the Convention on the Rights of the Child seems to have a limited role in the courts practical applications and the basis on which these decisions rest, and the construction of the children in the legal system is greatly influenced by the legal framwork and context. How the professionals talk and write about the child in the process can affect the child´s view of itself, its identity creation and, by extension, its opportunity to reintegrate into society, which is the goal.

Contexte : La pertinence du soutien social provenant de l’intérieur a été démontrée pour tous types de populations contraintes à une forme d’hébergement sécurisé. La théorie du soutien social de Francis Cullen, qui prône le soutien social comme outil majeur de réinsertion des personnes contrevenantes, n’aborde pourtant pas l’utilité du soutien social dans ce type de milieu spécifiquement, alors que les caractéristiques distinctives de ces milieux laissent croire que les enjeux relationnels pourraient s’y exprimer différemment qu’en contexte extérieur. Objectif : L’objectif de cette thèse est de démontrer comment les dynamiques émergeant des relations de confiance entre adolescents judiciarisés et placés sous garde en Centre de réadaptation permettent de mettre en perspective la théorie du soutien social proposée par Francis Cullen. D’après les éléments recueillis dans la littérature, trois hypothèses sont dégagées : 1. Les liens de confiance que les jeunes entretiennent au Centre de réadaptation sont plus fragiles qu’en contexte ouvert; 2. Les forces sociales qui structurent habituellement les dynamiques relationnelles de confiance sont différentes de celles observées en contexte ouvert; 3. La fragilité des liens de confiance pour les jeunes investis dans les réseaux de confiance remet en question l’un des mécanismes proposés par la théorie du soutien social de Francis Cullen, selon lequel le soutien entre pairs criminalisés risque de renforcer leurs attitudes criminelles. Méthodologie : L’échantillon est composé de 36 adolescents placés dans deux unités du Centre Cité-des-Prairies et interrogés à six reprises. La méthodologie se fonde sur l’analyse de réseaux avec des méthodes centrées sur les individus (tests QAP) et des méthodes centrées sur la structuration de l’ensemble des liens (modèles ERGM et SAOM). Résultats : Les premières analyses démontrent la variabilité des liens de confiance dans le temps, le faible taux de réciprocité des liens entretenus et la prépondérance des erreurs de perception relationnelles. Les secondes analyses attestent de la participation des biais relationnels et d’une tendance à la réciprocité dans le façonnement structurel du réseau, même lorsque les modélisations contrôlent de potentiels effets de sélection, bien que ces liens soient contraints par une force de densité négative, densité négative qui permet également de comprendre la transformation des réseaux sur trente jours. Le dernier chapitre d’analyses argumente que la popularité des adolescents n’affecte pas leur expérience quotidienne mais peut s’avérer bénéfique pour leurs perceptions individuelles. Une plus forte activité dans les réseaux de confiance s’accorde en parallèle avec une meilleure perception du climat social et plus d’optimisme des adolescents quant à l’atteinte d’objectifs favorisant leur réinsertion sociale. Ces relations significatives sont davantage observées de façon simultanée que différée. Conclusions : Sur le plan théorique, la nature de la confiance est remise en perspective par la nature du milieu. Le mécanisme décrit par Cullen est donc revu dans le cadre du milieu restrictif de liberté. Sur le plan empirique, l’observation d’un échantillon si riche dans un milieu par ailleurs difficile d’accès amène à soulever des implications innovantes pour l’atteinte des objectifs du milieu, laissant croire que la confiance entretenue entre les jeunes n’a finalement pas forcément lieu d’être découragée. / Context: The relevance of social support from within has been demonstrated for all types of populations who are confined in some form of secure housing. Francis Cullen's theory of social support, which advocates social support as a major tool for the reintegration of offenders, does not address the utility of social support in this type of setting specifically, even though the distinctive characteristics of these settings suggest that relational issues may be expressed differently than in an external context. Objective: This thesis aims at demonstrating how the dynamics emerging from trust relationships between adolescents placed in custody in a juvenile rehabilitation center allow us to put into perspective the theory of social support proposed by Francis Cullen. Based on the evidence gathered in the literature, three hypotheses are identified: 1. Trust relationships that youths maintain in the rehabilitation center are more fragile than in open settings; 2. The social forces that usually structure the relational dynamics of trust are different from those observed in open settings; 3. The fragility of trust relationships for adolescents invested in those networks questions one of the mechanisms proposed by Francis Cullen's social support theory, according to which support among criminalized peers risks reinforcing their criminal attitudes. Methodology: The sample consisted of 36 adolescents placed in two units of the Cité-des-Prairies Centre in Montreal (Quebec) and interviewed on six occasions. The methodology is based on network analysis with methods focused on individuals (QAP tests) and methods focused on the structuring of networks (ERGM and SAOM models). Results: The first analyses demonstrate the variability of trust links over time, the low rate of reciprocity of the links maintained and the preponderance of relational misperceptions. The second analyses attest to the participation of relational biases and a tendency towards reciprocity in the structural shaping of the network, even when controlling for potential selection effects, although these ties stay constrained by a negative density force, that also allows us to understand the transformation of the networks over thirty days. The final chapter of analyses argues that adolescents' popularity does not affect their daily experience but could be beneficial to meliorate some of their individual perceptions. Higher activity in trust networks parallels better perceptions of the social climate and more optimism among adolescents about achieving goals that promote their reintegration into society. These significant relationships are more likely to be observed simultaneously than over time. Conclusions: Theoretically, the nature of trust is put into perspective by the nature of the environment. The mechanism described by Cullen is thus reviewed in the context of this restrictive context. Empirically, the observation of such a rich sample in a difficult-to-access setting raises innovative implications for the achievement of Cité-des-Prairies Centre’s goals, ultimately suggesting that trust fostered among youngsters doesn’t necessarily need to be discouraged.

No description available.

Many young people in South Africa are involved in crime, especially violent crime. This statement is supported by statistics obtained from the Annual Report (2013:37) of the Judicial Inspectorate for Correctional Services which indicates that 26 282 young people were serving sentences in South African Correctional Centres at the end of the 2012/13 financial year. This annual report of the Department of Correctional Services (2013:13) indicates that at the time of the report, 11 000 offenders were sentenced to life imprisonment and a third of them were youth offenders. The majority of these young people have to be transferred from juvenile facilities to adult centres to continue their incarceration when they turn twenty one. This transition holds a number of challenges, both for these young people and the Department of Correctional Services. Young people are confronted with the reality of possibly falling victim to HIV/AIDS, gangs, sodomy and rape in overcrowded, adult correctional facilities. The Department of Correctional Services encounters problems in assisting these young people to adjust to this transition and the protection of these young people from assault and abuse by older inmates remains an institutional concern. The main aims of this research are to examine: the age at which juveniles are transferred to adult correctional centre to continue with their sentences; the factors taken into account before transfer; the challenges faced by youth offenders in adult correctional centre; and the needs of youth offenders in adult correctional facility. The study addresses the following questions: • At what age are youth offenders transferred to adult correctional centre? • What other factors besides age are considered before youth are transferred to adult correctional centre? • Are there any preparatory measures in place to assist youth with the transfer? • Are there any induction programmes available to assist youth adjusting in adult correctional facility? • What are the challenges faced by youth in adult facility? • What are the needs of youth offenders in adult facility? / Criminology and Security Science / M.A. (Criminology)

No description available.

No description available.

Many young people in South Africa are involved in crime, especially violent crime. This statement is supported by statistics obtained from the Annual Report (2013:37) of the Judicial Inspectorate for Correctional Services which indicates that 26 282 young people were serving sentences in South African Correctional Centres at the end of the 2012/13 financial year. This annual report of the Department of Correctional Services (2013:13) indicates that at the time of the report, 11 000 offenders were sentenced to life imprisonment and a third of them were youth offenders. The majority of these young people have to be transferred from juvenile facilities to adult centres to continue their incarceration when they turn twenty one. This transition holds a number of challenges, both for these young people and the Department of Correctional Services. Young people are confronted with the reality of possibly falling victim to HIV/AIDS, gangs, sodomy and rape in overcrowded, adult correctional facilities. The Department of Correctional Services encounters problems in assisting these young people to adjust to this transition and the protection of these young people from assault and abuse by older inmates remains an institutional concern. The main aims of this research are to examine: the age at which juveniles are transferred to adult correctional centre to continue with their sentences; the factors taken into account before transfer; the challenges faced by youth offenders in adult correctional centre; and the needs of youth offenders in adult correctional facility. The study addresses the following questions: • At what age are youth offenders transferred to adult correctional centre? • What other factors besides age are considered before youth are transferred to adult correctional centre? • Are there any preparatory measures in place to assist youth with the transfer? • Are there any induction programmes available to assist youth adjusting in adult correctional facility? • What are the challenges faced by youth in adult facility? • What are the needs of youth offenders in adult facility? / Criminology and Security Science / M.A. (Criminology)

No description available.