L’évaluation du risque de récidive et des besoins criminogènes, à l’aide d’instruments actuariels, joue désormais un rôle intégral dans le système de justice canadien. Les résultats à ces évaluations orientent plusieurs décisions concernant la prise en charge correctionnelle, notamment les besoins en matière de traitement et les possibilités de libération. Considérant les implications importantes de ces évaluations, il est primordial de s’assurer de l’impartialité des instruments utilisés, sans quoi il peut être possible de perpétuer la discrimination systémique vécue par certains groupes ethnoculturels. Au Canada, plusieurs études suggèrent que les instruments actuariels sont moins efficaces pour prédire la récidive auprès de contrevenants issus des peuples autochtones. Certains auteurs soutiennent que ces différences dans la capacité prédictive des instruments pourraient être dues à la présence de biais dans l’évaluation. Peu d’études se sont intéressées à l’effet des biais cognitifs des évaluateurs sur le processus d’évaluation. Ainsi, cette étude a pour objectifs d’étudier, d’une part, l’effet de l’identité autochtone et, d’autre part, l’effet des biais cognitifs des évaluateurs sur le processus d’évaluation et les décisions en matière de traitement. Pour ce faire, un devis expérimental assignant aléatoirement 83 participants en criminologie à un Agent Virtuel Autonome (AVA) pouvant prendre la forme d’un adolescent caucasien ou d’un adolescent autochtone a été préconisé. Les personnages sont identiques en tous points sauf en ce qui a trait à leur origine ethnoculturelle. Les participants se sont entretenus avec l’AVA et ont par la suite dû procéder à l’évaluation du risque de récidive et des besoins criminogènes du personnage à l’aide du YLS/CMI et la rédaction d’un rapport d’évaluation détaillant le plan d’intervention qui serait envisagé pour le personnage. Les données ont ensuite été comparées selon l’identité ethnoculturelle du personnage, et des modèles de modération ont été utilisés afin d’évaluer l’effet des biais cognitifs sur le processus d’évaluation selon l’identité ethnoculturelle du personnage. Les résultats mettent de l’avant qu’il existe plusieurs différences dans le processus d’évaluation dépendamment de l’identité autochtone, qui engendrent une évaluation plus sévère de ce dernier, en plus de suggérer que les biais cognitifs des participants les amènent à favoriser le personnage blanc. Les implications pratiques et théoriques de ces résultats sont discutées. / Actuarial assessments of reoffending risk now play an integral role in the Canadian justice system. The results of these assessments guide many correctional management decisions, including treatment needs and opportunities for release. Given the far-reaching implications of these assessments, it is vital to ensure the impartiality of the instruments used, otherwise it may be possible to perpetuate the systemic discrimination experienced by certain ethno-cultural groups. In Canada, several studies suggest that actuarial tools are less effective in predicting recidivism among Aboriginal offenders. Some authors argue that these differences in the predictive capacity of the instruments could be due to the presence of biases in the assessment process. Few studies have investigated the effect of assessors' cognitive biases on the assessment process. Thus, the aims of this study are to investigate, on the one hand, the effect of aboriginal identity and, on the other, the effect of appraisers' cognitive biases on the assessment process and treatment decisions. To this end, an experimental design randomly assigning 83 criminology students to an Autonomous Virtual Agent (AVA) that could take the form of a Caucasian or Aboriginal adolescent was preferred. The characters are identical in all respects except for their ethnocultural origin. Participants interviewed the AVA, assessed the character's risk of recidivism using the YLS/CMI, and wrote an assessment report detailing the intervention plan that would be considered for the character. Data were then compared according to the character's ethno-cultural identity, and moderation models were used to assess the effect of cognitive biases on the assessment process according to the character's ethno-cultural identity. Results suggest that there are several differences in the evaluation process depending on aboriginal identity, leading to a more severe evaluation of the latter, as well as suggesting that participants' cognitive biases led them to favor the white character. The practical and theoretical implications of these results are discussed.

The diploma thesis is focused on the custodial assurance of the accused person. The institute of the custody is seen as a freedom restriction and the person's personal freedom and also it is seen as one of the kinds of ensuring measures. The core is to keep the conditions set by the law and basic principles of the criminal proceedings to not to allow over-use or abuse of the custody. The aim of the diploma thesis is the analysis of the custodial assurance legal frame, custody basic characteristics, its reasons, measures to substitute custody and to map the or of the social worker in this field. It is overall summary of legal adjustments concerning the custody. The thesis is divided into twelve chapters. The first chapter is dedicated to the person assurance itself before the custody procedure and the second chapter includes custody basic characteristics and its legal anchor. The third chapter deals with custodial conditions, reasons and its duration. The fourth one concerns the custody length and other legal terms. The fifth chapter is focused on the decision about custody in proceedings before the court and in the legal proceedings and that in the frame of the authorities by particular organs. The sixth chapter concerns the custody itself, including the place and personal section. There are defined the measures which can be used to substitute the custody in the seventh chapter. There is analysis of the link in the case of youth offenders and there are also stated the main differences from adult accused ones in the eighth chapter. The ninth and tenth chapter mention psycho-social impact of the custody, social work with people in the custody proceedings and the role of the social worker in this field. The last chapter is in short focused on the comparison of the custody and the punishment. The diploma thesis comes out primarily from the judicature, legal regulations - in particular from the Law nr. 141/1961, about the criminal proceedings of justice (legal code), literature with comments, professional articles and internet sources.

MA (Youth in Development) / Institute for Gender and Youth Studies / This research was conducted in the Thohoyandou Correctional Centre within the Female/Juvenile place found in the Thulamela Municipality in the Vhembe District. It is approximately 200km to the north of Limpopo Provincial capital of Polokwane. It focuses on finding out factors that influence offenders to re-offend again, investigate recidivism among youth offenders and identify some of the problems relating to recidivism. The research consisted of juvenile offenders incarcerated in the Thohoyandou Correctional Centre within the juvenile area. Both groups of sentenced male and female juveniles participated in the study. The research used non-probability sampling. Purposive sampling was used to gather information within the Thohoyandou Correctional Centre. The research used interviews and focus group interviews as methods of collecting data. The interviews were conducted using English and Tshivenda then the responses were translated from Tshivenda to English. The researcher interviewed young offenders who have offended and re-offended. The researcher used grounded theory as a method to analyse data. This method helped the researcher to generate theory from the data collected