Juvenile crime on the rise
The murder of an 80-year-old woman by a 12 year old boy has shocked the nation and reopened the debate on whether the age of legal responsibility should be lowered. Experts are now debating this and other measures which would help to curb this disturbing trend.
Last week's murder committed by a 12-year-old, who was on the run from a young offenders' centre, has highlighted the problem that the Czech Republic has with juvenile crime. Over the past three years, young offenders have not only committed more crimes than ever before - they have become more ruthless and brutal in the process. The government is now debating the best possible course of action. The proposals include lowering the age of legal responsibility by one year, increasing supervision at young offenders' centres and employing more psychologists and social workers for these institutions.
Child psychologist Jarmila Knight says lowering the age of legal responsibility will not resolve the problem:
"It is not recommended by the Geneva Convention on Child Rights and I myself do not believe that it would significantly change the situation. The problem lies in not properly addressing the problems of children and the problems of society. I feel that a better solution would be to have more people to look after such children, people who are properly trained for the task. You need to deal with problem children before they begin committing serious crimes."
Although there is general consensus on the need to address the roots of the problem many people are firm believers in punishment. They argue that at 14 a person is old enough to know what they are doing -and should be held accountable. Jan Svacek, the head judge of a Prague municipal court, has this to say:
"We must ask ourselves whether preventive and educational measures - especially in the case of 14 year old juveniles who commit serious and brutal crimes - are proving effective, and whether it is not time to consider repression as well as preventive measures. Most European countries have set the age of legal responsibility much lower. I wouldn't go to extremes but I think that it would be a good idea to lower it to age 14 which is an age at which problem children usually start committing crimes. I would definitely advise giving this matter serious consideration."
The justice ministry is now doing just that - debating the issue with experts from various fields -the police, psychologists and social workers -in order to produce an optimal draft amendment to the criminal code.
