Young Offenders Research Articles

The Predictive Validity of Three Youth Violence Assessment Instruments: The SAVRY, VRS-YV, and SAPROF-YV.

This study examined the predictive validity of three assessment instruments for violent youth, the SAVRY, the VRS-YV, and the SAPROF-YV. Files relating to a sample of 233 young male offenders aged between 12 and 18 years were retrospectively reviewed to score each instrument, with reoffending data extracted from prison, community and juvenile justice records. The analysis showed that all three assessments predicted general (any) reoffending better than violent and non-violent reoffending, with higher rates of predictive validity for the SAVRY and VRS-YV Total Scores. There were, however, only small to moderate effect sizes at 1- and 3-year follow up periods for all three instruments in predicting all types of reoffending. The SAPROF-YV had a small effect size for the prediction of violent reoffending and did not add incrementally to the predictive validity (for violent reoffending) of the SAVRY or VRS-YV.

Offending Girls and Restorative Justice: A Critical Analysis

The contemporary popularity of restorative justice, within youth justice, has expanded significantly in recent decades. Despite this, there is a considerable lack of research which explores girls’ experiences of restorative justice interventions. Drawing on the experiences of young female offenders, who have participated in restorative justice conferencing, this article presents research findings generated from interviews undertaken with 15 girls and 13 youth justice practitioners, in order to critically analyse their views and experiences through a gendered lens. The analysis and discussion presented provides a critical insight into the ways in which girls’ experience, internalise and engage in restorative justice conferencing and how these experiences fundamentally conflict with practitioners’ views on conferencing with girls in the youth justice system.

“Understanding my story”: young person involvement in formulation

PurposeThe SECURE STAIRS framework has promoted young person involvement as a key feature of innovative service provision. In the North East of England, Secure Children’s Homes (SCHs) have pioneered young person involvement in team formulation. Young people have also led on the development of formulation materials through a young person involvement project. Young people’s attendance at team formulation meetings has become embedded. These service developments have also begun to expand across broader SCHs, Secure Training Centres (STCs) and Young Offender Institutions (YOIs) and reflect the national impact of such pioneering developments. There is a notable lack of research examining the impact of young person involvement in formulation. The purpose of this study is to elucidate this area.Design/methodology/approachBetween April and August 2019, there were 86 staff attendances at formulation meetings where young people were present across two SCHs in the North East of England.FindingsPaired samplest-tests indicated staff-reported significant post-formulation improvements across all domains measured including knowledge [t(85) = 11.38,p< 0.001]; confidence working with the young person [t(85) = 5.87,p< 0.001]; motivation [t(85) = 3.58,p< 0.001]; understanding [t(85) = 9.03,p< 0.001]; and satisfaction with the treatment plan [t(85) = 8.63,p< 0.001].Research limitations/implicationsImplications of findings are discussed and further developments outlined.Practical implicationsYoung people attending team formulation is a new and evolving area, and to the best of the authors’ knowledge, there is no existing research evaluating this area. The current findings suggest that staff knowledge, motivation, confidence and satisfaction with the treatment plan is improved following attendance at team formulation where the young person is present and actively participating. Young people’s participation and involvement is central to planning, developing and progressing meaningful provision within children and young people secure provision.Social implicationsInvolving children and young people in decision-making, service development and evaluation are also key components of ensuring the voice of young people is central in our minds. It also supports empowering the young people we work with. Young people and their journey should always be at the heart of what we do.Originality/valueYoung people attending team formulation is a new and evolving area, and to the best of the authors’ knowledge, there is no existing research evaluating this area. This is the first study of its type evaluating formulation directions within the SECURE STAIRS framework.

ANALYSIS OF ABSOLUTE COMPETENCE OF DISTRICT COURTS AND SYARI’AH COURTS IN ADJUDICATING JARIMAH OF CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE IN ACEH

The District Court and Syari’ah Court (Mahkamah Syar’iyah) jurisdictions to deal with child sexual abuse cases have still overlapped. This issue generates legal uncertainty in the enforcement of Jinayat Law in Aceh. This study aims to analyze the resolution patterns over child sexual abuse cases in Aceh, the resolution patterns over child sexual abuse cases at District Courts, and the efforts to solve dualism issues of the courts in trying child sexual abuse cases in Aceh. This study employed a juridical-empirical method that attempts to analyze behaviors of law enforcement officials in handling sexual abuse cases in Aceh using case and statute approaches based on the rules and principles of law studies. The legal materials utilized in this study were Law, Qanun, Government Regulation, and Syari’ah Court and District Court Decisions. Data were analyzed qualitatively. The findings reveal that both District Courts and Syari’ah Courts still settle sexual abuse cases. The results also point out that the resolution patterns in adjudicating sexual abuse cases at District Courts are categorized into adult offenders and young offenders. The provisions stipulated in the Criminal Procedure Code (KUHAP) are applied for adult offenders, while the Juvenile Criminal Justice System Law is regulated for young offenders. The efforts to overcome dualism are generating new policies by the Supreme Court to delegate the authority to solve sexual abuse cases and other jinayat cases from District Courts to Syari’ah Courts, and the issuance of Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Aceh Syari’ah Courts, Aceh Regional Police, Aceh High Prosecutor’s Office, and Aceh High Court governing the authorization limits over the settlement of jinayat cases.

Interventions for mood, anxiety disorders or self-harm in young offenders

Interventions for mood, anxiety disorders or self-harm in young offenders

Music Therapy for Delinquency Involved Juveniles Through Tripartite Collaboration: A Mixed Method Study.

This study introduces a music therapy project for young offenders through community collaboration and its efficacy through a mixed method. The project called Young & Great Music is carried out via collaboration among three parties, which are the educational institution, the district prosecutor’s office, and corporate sponsor, forming a tripartite networking system. In this paper, we present an efficacy evaluation of the project’s implementation with 178 adolescents involved with the juvenile justice system: 115 youth was on suspension of indictment and 63 youth was under supervised probation. Quantitative and qualitative measures were collected and analyzed to examine the efficacy of the project. The music therapy program was developed for 15 sessions based on the use of music to prompt positive resources through music making and song writing. The efficacy was examined using three scales; self-concept, resilience, and stress coping skills. The paired t-test showed that there were significant improvement in all three scales respectively (p < 0.000). In order to examine the group difference between suspended indictment and supervised probation groups, Welch–Aspin t-test was conducted due to unequal variance of the group. Results showed there was a significant group difference in self-concept (p = 0.006) and resilience (p = 0.022). The study further examined participant’s experience of music and perceived benefits. Twenty participants had in-depth interviews about their music therapy experience which were recorded, transcribed and analyzed. Of the 109 statements derived from a qualitative content analysis of the interview transcripts, music making and song writing was repeatedly reported as helpful in gaining “new perspectives,” “courage to challenge and pursuit,” “perseverance,” and “self-acknowledgment.” The positive result of the study showed that the collaborative networking of regional and social resource to support for adolescents at-risk was successful. The results of this project are promising and suggest that other arts-based rehabilitation services and programs should be developed and implemented in juvenile justice system. For this, strategies for program sustainability for long-term facilitation are needed.

Psychosocial risk factors in young offenders.

Introduction:Juvenile delinquency is a multi-causal social phenomenon, in which socio-cultural and economic, family and individual factors are interrelated. In young people with a greater number of associated risk factors, the measures seem to be insufficient, both in open and closed environments, since the rate of recidivism is higher.Objective:Identify the psychosocial risk factors that exist at intra and interpersonal level in juvenile offenders, as well as determine if these factors are interrelated.Material and method:A literature review of articles found in different databases was carried out. The articles containing the key words selected at the beginning of the study were reviewed, and of all of them, those that met the established inclusion requirements, which are date of publication and language, were included.Results:The results of all the studies analyzed confirm the idea that a greater number of psychosocial risk factors occur in young offenders than in normalized young people. There are factors related to a family that has inadequate socialization styles, even negligent ones, accentuated by very substandard economic situations that are usually present. Along with this, the consumption of substances is a variable that is repeated continuously in these young people; united to a group of deviant pairs, that favor the appearance of criminal behaviours.Conclusion:It is possible to identify the main psychosocial risk factors that occur in young offenders, and define an interrelation between these factors, but it is not linear nor can it be homogenized. More resources and prevention programs, as well as intervention, are needed at the individual, family and community levels.

Police officers’ awareness of the speech, language and communication needs of young offenders

Around 60% of young people in conflict with the law experience speech, language and communication needs (SLCN). This study investigates Police Scotland officers’ awareness of the SLCN of young offenders, strategies officers use to support SLCN and their interest in further training on SLCN. A majority had worked with young offenders with SLCN and were fairly confident in recognising these needs. The most common support strategy was to involve outside agencies, specifically Appropriate Adults. Increased speech and language therapy services are needed to train Police Officers to recognise and support SLCN without reliance on other agencies.

Developmental Offending Patterns: Female Offending Beyond the Reference Category

Compared with young men, justice-involved young women are often characterized by a greater array of risk factors, yet show a more limited pattern of offending. This paradox may be related to risk factors functioning differently not only for male versus female adolescents but also among female adolescents involved in offending. Data were used on 284 girls from the Incarcerated Serious and Violent Young Offender Study to address whether risk factors varied across different offending trajectories modeled between ages 12 and 23. Risk factors measured from self-report interviews were compared across the three trajectories identified. Individual, family, and school risk factors varied across trajectory groups, but not always in ways anticipated. Female offending does not appear to fit neatly within existing developmental criminology theory. Theoretical models should be adapted, or new models developed, to account for the complexities of female offending patterns.

Swedish Adolescent Female Offenders with Limited Delinquency: Exploring Family-Related Narratives from a Developmental Perspective

Family factors are central both for adolescent development in general and for the development of delinquency. For female delinquency they appear to be particularly important. The aim of this study was to explore family-related statements in adolescent females’ delinquency narratives from a developmental perspective. Interviews with nine female adolescent offenders were analysed using consensual qualitative research (CQR). The main findings consisted of five themes concerning the family in relation to the participants’ delinquency. In the delinquency narratives, families were described as being involved in the entire process of delinquency. Urges both for proximity and distance in family relations were expressed in the narratives. Delinquency was also found to be related to transactions between participants and their families. Our findings indicate that the developmental perspective on family factors for females with limited delinquency is a meaningful way to further investigate this group of offenders. Furthermore, this perspective could in the long-term also potentially contribute to the design of adequate community-based measures for this yet under-researched group of young offenders.

Exploring Traumatic Brain Injuries and Aggressive Antisocial Behaviors in Young Male Violent Offenders.

Background: Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a major cause of disabilities and mortality worldwide, with higher prevalence in offender populations than in the general population. Previous research has strongly advocated increased awareness of TBI in offender populations. The aim of this study was to explore the prevalence and characteristics of TBI, and to investigate associations and interactions between TBI, aggressive antisocial behaviors, general intellectual functioning, and substance use disorders (SUD) in a well-characterized group of young violent offenders.Methods: The study investigated a cohort (n = 269) of 18 to 25-year-old male violent offenders in Sweden. Data on TBI (files + self-report), aggressive antisocial behaviors (Life History of Aggression), SUD (clinical interviews), and general intellectual functioning (General Ability Index, Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scales Third Edition) were collected between 2010 and 2012. Parametric (Student's t-test) and non-parametric (Mann-Whitney U-test, Spearman's rho, χ2, Kruskal Wallis test) inferential statistics were applied and effect sizes reported.Results: TBI, both with and without loss of consciousness, was common, with 77.5% of the offenders reporting having suffered at least one TBI during their lifetime. TBI was associated with an increased occurrence of aggressive antisocial behaviors and SUD, and offenders with both TBI and SUD evidenced the largest amount of aggressive antisocial behaviors. No clinically meaningful associations were found between TBI and general intelligence. Effect sizes were in the small to medium range.Conclusions: Our study confirms an increased prevalence of TBI among young violent offenders compared to the general population, as well as associations between TBI, aggressive antisocial behaviors, and SUD. However, it provides no information on the severity of the TBI, nor on the causality of the demonstrated associations. Nevertheless, TBI, and possible related deficits, need to be considered in the assessment and treatment of young violent offenders.

Youth crime as a ‘way of life’? Prevalence and criminal career correlates among a sample of juvenile detainees in Australia

For more than 60 years, scholars have often likened chronic and persistent offending to ‘living a criminal way of life’, yet these evocative motifs have not received much empirical scrutiny. In particular, the so-called criminal life-style is often conceptualized as something the chronic young offender opts into as an alternative to other pro-social pathways. Whereas for older offenders, it is something into which they find themselves trapped and unable to escape. The idea that crime is a chosen ‘way of life’ among chronic young offenders has not yet received sufficient empirical scrutiny. In this study, we use archival data of nationally representative cohort ( n = 373) of young offenders in Australian custodial centers who were each asked whether crime was their ‘way of life’. From this, we estimate its prevalence and criminal-career correlates, finding that one in three strongly identify with crime as their way of life. Self-identification is also found to be strongly correlated with Indigenous status even after controlling for different features of the juvenile criminal career. In all, our data paint a vivid portrait of a criminal identity that, for the young offender, likely signals a perceived inevitability that evolves in the context of structurally and culturally conditioned opportunities. Understanding this phenomenon among youthful offenders is important if we are to be successful in our attempts to curtail criminal continuity through desistance informed interventions.

Mortality among former youth offenders.

The objective of this article is to analyze the detention of youth offenders involved in the juvenile justice system in the State of Rio Grande do Sul (FASE-RS), the reason for detention, and mortality among former young offenders. We conducted an observational study with youth offenders discharged from facilities run by FASE-RS in Porto Alegre between 2002 and 2012 (n = 8,290). We collected the following information: date of discharge, offence committed, skin color, gender, and duration of detention. The data was crosschecked with data from the state's Mortality Information System to identify deaths among former young offenders up to December 2014. The predominant offences were crimes against property and drug-related crimes. The large majority of youth detained for drug-related offences were admitted for offences related to drug trafficking. There was a seven-fold increase in drug-related offences over the period. Death was associated (p<0.001) with being male and number of reentries (>3). The sample's mortality rate was high and the main cause of death was homicide. The findings suggest that young offenders face high levels of psychosocial vulnerability. There was an association between minor crimes and high rates of mortality among former young offenders.

The longitudinal associations between motivation, self-regulatory capacities, and future-oriented cognition and behavior among serious young offenders.

The present study examined how changes in a set of motivational/self-regulatory factors were associated with subsequent change in future-oriented cognition and behavior. We hypothesized that within-individual changes in aspirations, expectations, emotion regulation, resistance to peer influence, and impulse control would be positively associated with later change in future-oriented cognition and behavior. We also predicted that between-individual effects would be larger in magnitude than within-individual effects. Serious young offenders (N = 1,318; M age = 16.04; 86% male) were followed over a 7-year period from adolescence to young adulthood during the Pathways to Desistance study. The analytical strategy incorporated both fixed and hybrid effects regression models to assess the time-ordered correlates of future-oriented cognition and behavior. Net of controls, within-individual changes in aspirations and expectations about the future, emotion regulation, and impulse control had statistically significant, positive associations with subsequent change in future-oriented cognition and behavior; however, between-person effects were much larger in magnitude than within-individual effects. Motivation and aspects of self-regulation are potentially important targets for correctional treatment and prevention efforts. Future orientation is an intermediate treatment mechanism worthy of further study. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

Reassessing the relationship between procedural justice and police legitimacy.

A large body of cross-sectional research has identified a positive relationship between perceptions of police procedural justice and legitimacy. Following Tyler's theoretical framework, studies have often interpreted the observed relationship as evidence of an unequivocal causal connection from procedural justice to legitimacy. Here we reexamined the validity of this conclusion by considering the temporal order of that association and the potential biasing effect of time-invariant third common causes. (a) Past perceptions of police procedural justice would predict future perceptions of legitimacy; (b) Past perceptions of police legitimacy would predict future perceptions of procedural justice; and (c) Perceptions of police procedural justice and legitimacy would be associated as a result of 3rd common causes. We fitted random intercepts cross-lagged panel models to 7 waves of a longitudinal sample of 1,354 young offenders (M = 16 years) from the "Pathways to Desistance" study. This allowed us to explore the directional paths between perceptions of police procedural justice and legitimacy, while controlling for time-invariant participant heterogeneity. We did not find evidence of the assumed temporal association; lagged within-participant perceptions of procedural justice rarely predicted within-participant perceptions of legitimacy. We did not find evidence of a reciprocal relationship either. Instead, we detected substantial time-invariant participant heterogeneity, and evidence of legitimacy perceptions being self-reproduced. Our findings challenge the internal validity of the commonly reported positive associations between procedural justice and legitimacy reported in studies using cross-sectional data. Most of such association is explained away after considering time-invariant participant heterogeneity and previous perceptions of legitimacy. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

Risk Assessment in Juvenile and Young Adult Offenders: Predictive Validity of the SAVRY and SAPROF-YV.

Most juvenile risk assessment tools heavily rely on a risk-focused approach. Less attention has been devoted to protective factors. This study examines the predictive validity of protective factors in addition to risk factors, and developmental differences in psychometric properties of juvenile risk assessment. For a national Dutch sample of 354 juvenile and young adult offenders (16-26 years) risk and protective factors were retrospectively assessed at discharge from seven juvenile justice institutions, using the Structured Assessment of Violence Risk in Youth (SAVRY) and Structured Assessment of Protective Factors for violence risk – Youth Version (SAPROF-YV). Results show moderate validity for both tools predicting general, violent, and nonviolent offending at different follow-up times. The SAPROF-YV provided incremental predictive validity over the SAVRY, and predictive validity was stronger for younger offenders. Evidently both the SAVRY and SAPROF-YV seem valid tools for the assessment of recidivism risk in juvenile and young adult offenders. Results highlight the importance of protective factors, especially in juvenile offenders, emphasizing the need for a balanced risk assessment.

REFLEXÃO SOBRE A PARTICIPAÇÃO SOCIAL NA RESSOCIALIZAÇÃO DO ADOLESCENTE EM CONFLITO COM A LEI

A realidade brasileira quanto a inserção do adolescente em conflito com a lei não é recente e, o presente estudo volta-se não apenas em procurar dissertar acerca do envolvimento do jovem infrator, mas e principalmente na possibilidade e necessidade da participação social nesse processo de (res)socialização deste ao convívio familiar e da sociedade a qual encontra-se inserido. Iniciou-se o estudo discorrendo quanto a noções acerca do Estatuto da Criança e do Adolescente – ECA, a previsão constitucional quanto criança e adolescente como sujeitos de direitos e as garantias jurídicas dispostas na legislação brasileira. Em seguida, buscou-se destacar a Doutrina de Proteção Integral, ou seja, assegurar sua aplicação de forma indistinta e sem qualquer espécie de discriminação ou diferença, garantindo o pleno desenvolvimento daqueles, bem como no que tange ao ato infracional e a aplicação das medidas socioeducativas no processo de reinserção a uma vida normal e digna, observada a dignidade da pessoa humana. Por fim e não menos importante, discorreu-se sobre a participação social na ressocialização do adolescente em conflito com a lei, participação essa imprescindível e fundamental nesse contexto e observância ao verdadeiro exercício de cidadania, seja reduzindo desigualdades ou estabelecendo, mesmo que minimamente um equilíbrio justo e consciente, socialmente falando para as presentes e, principalmente, para as futuras gerações, através de uma gestão pública compartilhada e participativa de políticas públicas a reinserção social do jovem em conflito com a lei.

A Bad Start: The Combined Effects of Early Onset Substance Use and ADHD and CD on Criminality Patterns, Substance Abuse and Psychiatric Comorbidity among Young Violent Offenders

Substance abuse, conduct disorder (CD) and attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are all known risk factors for developing aggressive behaviors, criminality, other psychiatric comorbidity and substance use disorders (SUD). Since early age of onset is important for aggravating the impact of several of these risk factors, the aim of the present study was to investigate whether young adult violent offenders with different patterns of early onset externalizing problems (here: substance use < age 15, ADHD, CD) had resulted in different criminality profiles, substance use problem profiles and psychiatric comorbidity in young adult age. A mixed-method approach was used, combining a variable-oriented approach (with Kruskal Wallis tests) and a person-oriented approach (with Configural frequency analysis). Overall, this combined approach indicated that persons with combined ADHD+CD and persons with CD + early onset of substance use had a more varied history of violent crimes, a more comprehensive history of aggressive behaviors in general, and more psychiatric comorbidity, as well as more varied SUD and destructive substance abuse in adult age, than persons without ADHD, CD or early SU. Results are in line with previous variable-oriented research, but also indicate that individuals in this group with heavy problem aggregation early in life have a wider spectrum of problems in young adult age. Importantly, among these young violent offenders, problem aggregation was the overwhelming norm, and not the exception, as in studies of the general population. This emphasizes the need for early coordinated interventions, but also that treatment within correctional facilities in adult age needs to be comprehensive and take individual patterns of comorbidity into account.

Gender-Based Psychosocial Differences in a Sample of Young Offenders.

This study analyzes the differential psychosocial characteristics of male and female young offenders with a judicial measure from a juvenile court in Spain. Data on origin, recidivism, criminal and psychosocial characteristics of a sample of 838 juvenile offenders were collected using the Youth Level of Service/Case Management Inventory (YLS/CMI). Most of the minors were males (n = 650; 77.6%). Regarding the type of offences committed most males committed some type of crime, while females mainly committed misdemeanours. The rates of infractions committed by large groups and belonging to a gang were higher in males than in females. Concerning psychosocial variables, females presented with higher scores than males in three areas (parenting/educational guidelines, leisure and recreation, attitudes and orientation), in the total score and in several specific variables of the YLS/CMI. Moreover, having a poor relationship with one's mother and limited participation in organized activities were related to being a female minor offender, whereas having a short attention span was related to being a male offender. These three variables correctly classified 77.6% of cases. Female minor offenders present with a more severe psychosocial profile than males. Therefore, gender-based variables should be considered and addressed in prevention and intervention programmes for minors.

Entre dos Sistemas: los Jóvenes Tutelados en Acogimiento Residencial con Medidas Judiciales

Youths in residential care (RC) are over-represented in the population of juvenile offenders. Some authors consider that entering the protection system is a risk factor for developing criminal behavior, whereas others consider that the two groups (non-offenders and offenders in RC) only share risk factors. The objective of this study is to compare profiles of youth in RC according to whether or not they have received judicial measures. The sample consists of 281 young people in RC, of whom 35 (12.4p) were juvenile offenders. Files were analyzed and the results indicate that young offenders in RC were older when they entered the protection system, had exerted violence against their parents, who could not control them, and had consumption and school adaptation problems. These results are discussed in the light of existing literature.