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Summary: The Ten-Point Plan focuses on ways that law and policy makers and criminal justice practitioners can respond effectively and positively to children in conflict with the law by focussing on prevention, diverting children from the adult justice system, rehabilitation and promoting alternative sanctions to imprisonment.
Introduction The majority of children - defined as those under 18 - in conflict with the law come from deprived and marginalised communities and their exposure to crime often reflects the failure of the state to protect or provide for them. In many countries there is a blurring of the boundaries between children who commit offences, and children who are in need of protection such as those living on the street, those with mental illnesses and child sex workers. The result is that children in need of support from child protection and welfare agencies find that their conduct is instead criminalised. Furthermore, there is often a public fear of crime committed by the young which is disproportionate to the reality. In many countries the under-18 population exceeds 50% and yet offending by children is usually relatively low and it is adults who are responsible for the greatest proportion of crime. Accusations of being ‘soft’ on crime can encourage states to disregard the increasing body of evidence that harsh treatment of children in conflict with the law is counterproductive. The stigma of association with the criminal justice system can damage a child’s long term prospects. Depriving children of their liberty can lead to long term and costly psychological and physical damage, whilst overcrowding and poor detention conditions threaten their development, health and well-being. The removal of children from their family and community networks as well as from educational or vocational opportunities at critical and formative periods in their lives, can compound social and economic disadvantage and marginalisation. Exposure to criminal influences and violent behaviour whilst in detention is likely to encourage repeat offending. Yet in many countries, children are arrested for relatively minor offences, detained for long periods before trial, receive long custodial sentences and are treated as adults within criminal justice systems. UNICEF estimates that there are over one million under-18s deprived of their liberty worldwide, many of whom are detained alongside adults. Penal Reform International (PRI) believes that a fair and effective criminal justice system for children should promote the well-being of the child and react proportionately to the nature of the offence taking into account the individual characteristics of the child. It should aim to prevent crime, take decisions which are in a child’s best interests, treat children fairly and in a manner which is appropriate to their development, address the root causes of offending and rehabilitate and reintegrate children so they can play a constructive role in society in future. As far as possible it should deal with children outside of the formal criminal justice system. The following Ten-Point Plan focuses on ways that law and policy makers and criminal justice practitioners can respond effectively and positively to children in conflict with the law by focussing on prevention, diverting children from the adult justice system, rehabilitation and promoting alternative sanctions to imprisonment. It is based on relevant international instruments including the United Nations (UN) Convention on the Rights of the Child, the UN Standard Minimum Rules for the Administration of Juvenile Justice, the UN Rules for the Protection of Juveniles Deprived of their Liberty, the UN Guidelines for the Prevention of Juvenile Delinquency, the UN Standard Minimum Rules for Non-custodial Measures, the Guidelines for Action on Children in the Criminal Justice System, the UN Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners and the UN Rules for the Treatment of Women Prisoners and non-custodial Measures for Women Offenders which include specific standards for girls. Read the Ten-Point Plan here.