How to deal with violent 13-year-olds?
Hundreds of thousands of Romanians have signed a citizens' petition to lower the age of criminal responsibility from 14 after a case in which a 15-year-old boy was killed with a knife and axe and then burned and buried by three other minors, including a 13-year-old, in the western Romanian municipality of Cenei. Romanian Justice Minister Radu Marinescu has announced plans to review the criminal laws applying to minors.
Prison produces professional criminals
In România Curată, MP Victoria Stoiciu (PSD) expresses scepticism about lowering the age of criminal responsibility:
“The experiences of countries where the age of criminal responsibility is set low (such as England, where it's from the age of ten) show that this does not reduce either the crime rate or the recidivism rate. On the contrary, young offenders become 'professionalised' in the prison system. These children become familiar with a criminal subculture and learn new techniques. ... A mistake made at a very early age turns into a full-blown criminal career. If there is a successful model, it is the Nordic one (and especially the Swedish one). There, the state sends the social services and not the police to deal with under-15s. There is a thorough clinical and social rehabilitation process.”
An empty message
This is another knee-jerk reaction to high-profile violent crimes, sociologist Ioan Durnescu argues in Contributors:
“Every time a particularly serious crime catches the public eye, the state's reaction is reflexive, almost Pavlovian: it increases penalties, lowers the age of criminal responsibility, etc. This isn't a rational reaction but an emotional one. More than anything else it's an instinct, a symbolic defensive act with which the state reaffirms its authority not so much vis-à-vis the offender as vis-à-vis an outraged public. Criminal justice policy thus becomes a kind of moral spectacle, and legislation a backdrop designed to convey the message that 'things are being done'.”
Invest in therapy and prevention
Psychotherapist Cătălina Dumitrescu explains in Hotnews why measures beyond tougher criminal laws are needed:
“The real solution would be to set up secure therapy centres for underage violent offenders that are not prisons or schools, and to form interdisciplinary teams made up of social workers and education and mental health experts – but both things are lacking in Romania. ... The protection of a society is achieved through continuous investments in mental health, education and institutional responsibility. A mature society does not take revenge on its children but invests in prevention, specialists and re-education.”