Major Competencies to Manage Minor Offenders

Abstract

The basic idea is to promote a shift in approaching the criminal justice systems when dealing with juvenile offenders: instead of applying punishment-oriented sanctions, a system reflecting the juvenile justice concept would regard juvenile suspects as participating members of society having rights, obligations, and responsibilities. Such a system would provide special protection for juvenile offenders, as well as opportunities to undo or rectify the consequences of their misdeeds.The basic requirements for such transformation are a more developed social system for assisting vulnerable juveniles and their families, stronger infrastructure for the prevention of juvenile crimes, more options among the alternative and non-custodial measures to be imposed on juveniles in conflict with law, and the possibility for juvenile offenders to exercise their rights throughout administrative and criminal proceedings, as required by the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.