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Young offenders: social measures, education and
rehabilitation

Resolution 1796 (2011)1

1.        Crime
by young people can blight communities and make everyone feel
unsafe. However, socially excluded young people and young
offenders remain children first, offenders and/or antisocial
individuals second, and thus cannot be treated in the same way
as offending adults.

2.        Young
offenders often come from amongst the most disadvantaged
groups in society. Many have histories of unemployment,
educational disadvantage and/or disaffection, substance abuse,
mental health problems, and disrupted and/or abusive family
backgrounds. Systematic processes of social exclusion in terms
of lack of formal education and training and ensuing low
earning capacity often create barriers, preventing young
people from entering the legal economy, making crime more
attractive for them – including in financial terms.

3.        The
Parliamentary Assembly believes that it is important to find
the right balance between protecting the community – and other
young people – from crime, while making the best possible use
of the fact that a child/young person, as a developing,
learning human being, is still open to positive socialising
influences. Whilst it is imperative that young persons are
taught to take responsibility for their actions, young
offenders are children first and foremost and must be
protected by all the accepted human rights standards for
children. Retribution and punishment should thus take second
place to social measures for, and education and rehabilitation
of young offenders. Deprivation of liberty should be a last
resort, as posited in the Committee of Ministers European
Rules for juvenile offenders subject to sanctions or measures
(Recommendation CM/Rec(2008)11).

4.        The
Assembly shares the concern of the Council of Europe
Commissioner for Human Rights about a disturbing trend in
Europe today to lock up more children at an earlier age.
Furthermore, in the last two decades, several Council of
Europe member states have developed policies and plans based
on retribution and behaviour-focused programmes, rather than
on prevention of youth offending and addressing the welfare
needs of young offenders.

5.        The
Assembly believes that this is in contrast to the proof of
cost-effective welfare and community- based measures. Evidence
strongly suggests that welfare based responses lead to greater
social inclusion, greater participation and greater commitment
to education and socially acceptable behaviour. They are able
to tackle different levels of social exclusion, offending and
disaffection and incorporate mechanisms to ensure children’s
best interests and to protect their rights. Furthermore,
inter-agency and multi-professional work is key both to the
prevention of crime and to the rehabilitation of educationally
disaffected young people and young offenders.

6.        The
Assembly therefore invites member states to:

6.1. prevent juvenile delinquency in the
first place by:

6.1.1.
providing family
support services based on disadvantaged areas with high
crime, low educational attainment and high unemployment
rates;

6.1.2.
encouraging young
people at risk to continue beyond minimum leaving age in
education/training, possibly with enhanced benefits;

6.1.3.
designing specific
programmes that provide help for young people and teachers
in schools by the provision of social work, psychological
and mental health support, with specialist teachers
trained not just in academic development, but also in
citizenship and relationship skills, and in dealing with
difficult behaviour;

6.1.4.
promoting mentoring,
involving volunteers, appropriate peers and part-time
workers who have credibility with young people in a
specific area/ethnic/faith group, and who can provide
emotional support and act as role models, to help increase
personality development, social inclusion and feelings of
connection within their own and the wider community, while
avoiding pushing young people into conformity with
traditional (gendered or culturally determined)
stereotypes;

6.1.5.
promoting community
development and youth work with ethnic minority/faith
groups in identified geographical areas;

6.1.6.
providing alcohol and
drug abuse counselling services;

6.2.
educate young offenders to avoid reoffending by:

6.2.1.
fully implementing
the European Rules for juvenile offenders subject to
sanctions or measures, which put the emphasis on community
sanctions and measures while safeguarding children’s and
young people’s rights in all settings (from court
proceedings to the deprivation of liberty);

6.2.2.
ensuring that the age
of criminal responsibility is not set too low, and that
sanctions and measures involving the deprivation of
liberty are only applied to children and young offenders
as a last resort;

6.2.3.
developing restorative justice and mediation programmes
which make victims feel included;

6.2.4.
working with police,
prosecutors and youth judges to promote diversion and
welfare- based approaches.

1 Text adopted by the Standing
Committee, acting on behalf of the Assembly, on 11 March
2011 (see Doc. 12523,
report of the Social, Health and Family Affairs Committee,
rapporteur: Ms Karamanli).

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