euro|topics - What to do with young criminals

05/12/2008

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Tema destacado del Martes, 15. Enero 2008

What to do with young criminals

Germany is embroiled in debate about how to respond to youth criminality. The topic occupies many European countries: are tougher sentences the answer, or do youth need more support?

Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung - Alemania

FAZ publisher Frank Schirrmacher weighs in on Germany's polemical debate, urging that "the mix of youth criminality and Muslim fundamentalism" be correctly named, as "the closest thing to the deadly ideology of the 20th century." Schirrmacher argues: "Recently, Germans have been called 'pig-eaters' during baseless attacks, which already moves the conflict into the sphere of a cultural war. You can't take such comments lightly because they are developing as an evolutionary stage in the parallel worlds of our society. The second and third generation of disenfranchised immigrants has turned parts of Berlin into ungovernable zones, according to their mayors. ... The lack of integration of immigrants, which is our own fault, is now making itself felt among those born here: the majority is falling apart, through the selective slaughter of a few." (15/01/2008)

Der Standard - Austria

Petra Stuiber is concerned that Austria will follow Germany in its debate about youthful offenders, after the publication of the country's latest criminal statistics. "There are also problems in schools in Vienna's finer districts, with juvenile theft of mobile phones and possession of knives. But the call for Law and Order in such cases is far softer than in those instances involving immigrant youth – or any so-called 'foreign' children. There is a knee-jerk demand for 'expulsion' even before legal proceedings – in Austria as in Germany. People are only too happy to ignore the fact that marauding gangs of neo-Nazis are no less dangerous. Given the current brouhaha, perhaps it's worth taking a look at Spain. There, too, youth violence is on the rise. ... But instead of calling for tougher laws, the country is discussing ways to improve social rehabilitation." (15/01/2008)

Népszabadság - Hungría

Hungarian journalist Károly Lencsés thinks it's not enough to talk about prison for criminal youth. There must also be pressure on parents and schools: "If a youth grows up in an environment where he has not learned an ounce of respect for basic norms, then he will hardly obey the Ten Commandments. Is it right to put him behind bars for that? Of course, criminals must be imprisoned, even young ones. If the law is changed, even 12 year olds will go to jail. But that does not relieve us from responsibility. Everyone must have a chance to become a proper adult. And we should give this chance to Hungary's 4,000 juvenile delinquents." (15/01/2008)

Pravda - Eslovaquia

Slovakia is among the countries gripped in debate about how to deal with youth violence. This was recently triggered by the corporal punishment of a 15-year-old inmate at a youth correction facility by one of the staff. Márius Kopcsay comments: "The method used against this 15-year-old youth will surely have legal repercussions. But on the other hand, aggressivity is on the rise among youth, and in society as a whole. Increasingly, victims are attacked merely because the perpetrator wants to demonstrate physical dominance. And it usually does not stop with a slap in the face but rather with a trip to the hospital or to the cemetery. … If violence becomes the social norm, politicians must put a name to it and look for answers." (14/01/2008)

» de toda la revista de prensa del Martes, 15. Enero 2008

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