GROUP 2

REDUCING JUVENILE CRIME AND RECIDIVISM:DISCUSSIONS AND SUGGESTIONS

Chairperson
Co-Chairperson
Rapporteur
Co-Rapporteurs
Members

Adviser

Zacharia Kuria MWANGI (Mr.)
Suzie Uware VUVUT (Ms.)
Kattiya RATANADILOK (Ms.)
Luiz Ricardo DUARTE (Mr.)
Zaw Min Oo (Mr.)
Koffi Jean Claude ABOYA (Mr.)
Terepai OBEDA (Mr.)
Surendra Prasad MAINALI (Mr.)
Junko ETO (Ms.)
Masaya YAMAMOTO (Mr.)
Professor Hiroyuki WATANABE (Mr.)(Kenya)(Papua New Guinea)(Thailand)(Brazil)(Myanmar)(Cote DʼIvoire)(Cook Islands)(Nepal)(Japan)(Japan)(Japan)I. INTRODUCTION“Juvenile justice system” (JJS) refers to the structure of the criminal system responsible for dealing withcrimes and offences committed by juveniles, usually between the ages of 10 and 18 years. The juvenile justicesystem operates according to the premise that youth are fundamentally different from adults, both in termsof level of responsibility and potential for rehabilitation. It must be considered, as stated in the Riyadh
Guidelines1, “that youthful behaviour or conduct that does not conform to overall social norms and values isoften part of the maturation and growth process and tends to disappear spontaneously in most individuals
with the transition to adulthood.” The existence of the system is justified based on the need to prevent
delinquency and to adopt protective measures which can guarantee opportunities to the juvenile to retake
control of their lives and reintegrate into society. Its main goals involve protection, prevention of offences,
treatment and rehabilitation. For almost all countries, one of the main problems faced by the JJS is related toadoption of measures to reduce recidivism, and how to do that by using multi-agency and inter-organizational
cooperation approaches.
A. Factors Contributing to Juvenile Recidivism
Factors that have been known to contribute to recidivism include ineffective intervention programmes,
inadequate follow up after release, insufficient coordination and cooperation among related agencies,
inadequate resources and infrastructure for youth rehabilitation services. Even though these factors arewidely accepted to be the causes, to be able to address juvenile recidivism in each country effectively, one
would need to understand the specific context and development of the problems.
1. Brazil ‒ Since enactment of Child and Adolescent Act in 1990 (Law 8069/1990), Brazil is seeking toprovide measures for adequate treatment to prevent recidivism. Existing structures are unable to provide
necessary conditions to achieve the objectives proposed by law that support and refer the countryʼs position
towards international treaties and rules regarding the guarantees of children and adolescents of which thecountry is a signatory. Increased violence is becoming a national concern that mainly affects juveniles2, inmany cases related to drugs and substance abuse, as well as the tendency to co-opt children and adolescents
to serve as forced labour for drug trafficking. There are several reasons that lead to increased violenceagainst the youth in Brazil such as lack of programmes and structures in the follow-up services, parental
supervision, skills training, community-based rehabilitation, school-based peace-building and commitment toschool. In addition, the public preference of applying harsher punishment to criminal offences committed by
45/112. United Nations Guidelines for the Prevention of Juvenile Delinquency (The Riyadh Guidelines).
According to Atlas da Violência, homicides in Brazil are responsible for 17.3% of 10-14 year-old youth deaths, 53.0% of 15-19
year-old youth deaths, 49. 0% of 20-24-year-old men deaths and 40. 7% of 25-29 year-old male deaths. IPEA ‒ Instituto de
Pesquisa Econômica Aplicada. Atlas da Violência, 2016. Available: <http://www.ipea.gov.br/portal/index.php?option=com_
content&view=article&id=27406&Itemid=6> accessed 30 Oct 2016.
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youth could lead to a vicious cycle of violence in the society. However, there are still alternatives toimprisonment that can and should be brought on board before starting to ineffectively simplify criminal
treatment. As the juvenile criminal justice system in the country has gaps, some measures taken in othercountries may prove interesting and could help to readjust the criminal justice system and improve policies ofprotection, prevention, correction and rehabilitation.
2. Cook Islands ‒ In Cook Islands, a combination of factors leads to recidivism. Family issues such aslarge families, domestic violence, divorce, death of parents/guardians and poverty. Juveniles lack psychosocial and other support which triggers children to leave home and to live with friends, and as a result they
go hungry which influences them to steal; breaking the law becomes the norm. Most of these juveniles comefrom a poor home environment where both parents are alcoholics, which results in children being neglected
and left without parental guidance. Children are then left to fend for themselves, and the only way to do thatis to steal. Those released after detention sometimes commit another offence just to get back into the system
due to the poor family situation; they want to remain in prison where there can have free accommodation,
meals three times a day and so forth. Training facilities are inadequate to provide vocational skills that help
them to build better career paths. Lastly, children are being co-opted to commit crimes by adults. Once they
are released from the prison, they ended up being used to commit another offence.
3. Côte dʼIvoire ‒ In Côte DʼIvoire, the phenomenon known as street children or street families observedin the early 1990s as a result of the economic crisis, has intensified in recent years because of the militarypolitical crisis. This situation, aggravated by high levels of poverty and cases of irresponsibility of the parents
has caused children to move into the streets and resort to committing crime for survival. It has developed
gangs composed of children called “microbes” who, armed with machetes, attack passers-by before robbing
them; often they commit murder during aggression. This armed and economic crisis resulted in diverting
attention of government towards other priorities such as the post-conflict reconstruction. There are limited
alternatives to imprisonment for children who commit crimes. When children are held in custody, it is usuallyfor a long period of time and, without appropriate care, results in the regular violation of the physical andmoral integrity of the children. Children born in prison or living with their mothers in custody are not at all
taken care of: the prison administration has nothing for them. This pushes them to criminality.
4. Japan ‒ In Japan, there are several main factors that contribute to juvenile recidivism. The first issocial stigma. Once juveniles become stigmatized, it is difficult to obtain jobs or reintegrate into theircommunity. The second is the lack of places to live upon release, such as, safety houses, schools andworkplaces. The third is lack in perseverance or impatience, namely, habits that are not helpful to the workrequirements. Some juveniles do not want to work, and this habit comes from poor child rearing, lack of goodrole models and the inability of parents to communicate and convey proper values to their children.
Furthermore, there is relative poverty leading to the cycle of crime among children due to lack of adequate
provision of basic needs. Juvenile offenders are stigmatized which makes them feel hated and become
recidivists.
5. Kenya ‒ In Kenya, the situation is dynamically characterized by multi-faceted causative factors. The
age of the juvenile has been floated as contributing to recidivism. The age of first onset of criminal behaviour
is declining. Those who engage in drugs and substance abuse reoffend in order to get money to buy drugs
and also achieve gratification of other desires with a “dead conscience”. Family conditions such as poverty,
breakdown and poor relationships lead to reoffending. The broader social environment comprised of schoolcommunity, mass media when characterized by vices such as bullying, criminal gangs, violence, drug abuseand questionable conduct push juveniles toward offending. Negative role models such as known current orformer criminals who appear wealthy as compared to low or middle class educated working or businesspersons attract recidivism because it appears in the mind of juvenile that he/she stands to gain fromengaging in crime. Adolescents also have great respect for their peers and the influence if negative leads todelinquency. Retrogressive cultural beliefs and practices often times promote crime and violence byencouraging youth to commit murder, livestock theft, and sexual violence among other vices. The
perpetrators are honored and held in high esteem. This promotes ethnic-based conflicts that remain
protracted.
6. Myanmar ‒ In Myanmar, there is a high rate of crime due to lack of funds to promote after-carefacilities and to create more infrastructure, which implies that the treatment process is not sustained.
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Discrimination by society after juveniles are released from correctional facilities such as training schools
makes them feel unwanted; thus, they opt to reoffend. This is compounded by inadequate human resource
capacity, especially social workers.
7. Nepal ‒ Nepalese society is faced with the problem of street children from broken homes. Juveniles
become vulnerable and develop high affinity for reoffending. Crimes commonly committed by the youth in
Nepal include pickpocketing, theft in abandoned houses while under the influence of the drugs. Poverty levels
are high hence juveniles lack provision of basic needs. There are situations that drive children to the streets
and force them to resort to committing crime for survival. In addition, recidivism also is caused by lack ofaftercare facilities and discrimination by society after release. There is also a lack of correctional facilities as
currently there are 3 of 75 districts with facilities, which compromises the treatment process.
8. Papua New Guinea ‒ Papua New Guinea is plagued by social and economic issues, where former
offenders have little chance to be successful in normal society. They go back to the same area, same criminal
friends and criminal enterprises. It becomes a vicious cycle of arrest, conviction, sentence and a repeat ofthose elements. Family conditions characterized by poverty and broken marriages lead to single parenthood,large families, violence and abuse. He/she feels frightened, angry and unsafe at home and may join street
families. Poor education due to dropping out of school denies juveniles skills and knowledge to compete forsocio-economic and other opportunities in the broader environment, which makes the juvenile feel useless andcauses them to lose hope. As a consequence, many resort to habitual criminality. Juveniles have great respect
for peer groups; hence fear of being rejected by fellow members leads to recidivism when the influence isnegative. Rapid social change leads to a high rate of urbanization, where people move from rural areas totowns in search of a better life. In most cases their expectations are not met, they become jobless, and mostyouths resort to crime and reoffending. The criminal justice system has gaps that lead to recidivism.
Juveniles are confined together with adults and learn bad habits. Juveniles become hardened, join gangs andother criminal organization. When released they try to emulate their peers and thereby reoffend.
9. Thailand ‒ Juveniles commit criminal offences for various reasons, but mainly due to the fact thatsociety has failed to provide appropriate care for them. Once they are committed to the juvenile justicesystem, it is the responsibility of the society to help rehabilitate and bring them back to their homes andcommunities. Limited utilization of evidence-based intervention programmes for youths, both in thecommunity and in the residential placements, is one of the key factors contributing to the high rate ofyoungsters returning back to their former criminal activities. Reformation is in process but it is slow due toan inadequate number of researchers to address many areas that need improvement and expansion,
particularly, for the development of alternatives to judicial process and community-based intervention.
Limited involvement of family due to lack of awareness, failure of the juvenile justice systems to empower thefamily unit, and lack of coordination among the related organizations in reintegrating the youth back into
their communities are the main factors contributing to the rise of juvenile recidivism.
B. Ways to Address Recidivism
The factors that lead to recidivism may not be the same factors that are needed for children to stop
committing offences. During our group discussion, we found several practical suggestions to improve thesituation of recidivism that could be useful to address the specific issues in different countries.
1. Brazil ‒ To reduce recidivism in Brazil, some measures must be taken to restructure the services
offered by the State. This may imply the need to create new services and remodel existing ones. At the
government level, for example: (1) Revise diversion programmes, offering new structures as family courts,
juvenile courts, probations offices and officers. In some countries, an alternative taken into consideration was
the recruitment of volunteer probation officers, to provide wider coverage in services, enhance communitybased follow-up services and to involve ordinary people in juvenile rehabilitation. (2) Create new services andfacilities like halfway houses. (3) Revise the procedures of the court system, applying new concepts according
to the services and international procedures. (4) Reinforce juvenile policy as a priority. (5) Reinforce family
awareness, offering counselling for parents. (6) Reinforce law enforcement against the recruitment of children
to crime. This may require some adjustments in the penal system, but it is a necessary step to be taken.
2. Cook Islands ‒ Among other reasons, similar to many other countries such as inadequate parental
supervision, stigmatization, and insufficient facilities to provide appropriate care for the juveniles, an ability of231

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the Cook Islanders to travel freely to New Zealand and Australia was perceived to be one of the main causesof the increase in juvenile crime and recidivism. Unable to count the number of its own population due to thismobility, the information regarding the amount of the juvenile offences and the effectiveness is a main
challenge to solving the problems. Moreover, it was believed that the New Zealand authorities have used the
Cook Islands as a dumping ground for delinquent teenagers of Cook Island descent3. From the suggestion of
the participants in this group, the improvement of the situation can be accomplished by creating anagreement or a memorandum of understanding among the three countries to deal with the problems. The
issues that need to be discussed among the three countries relating to the issues are standard of datacollecting and sharing of the information among agencies in the justice system, factors that contribute tojuvenile crime and recidivism, and effective treatment and intervention programmes for children in conflictwith the law across the three countries.
3. Côte dʼIvoire ‒ For Côte dʼIvoire, at the national level, it is desirable that the government makes theissue of children a national priority of governmental policy by establishing a national programme for the careof street children in general and those in difficulty with the law in particular with a view to their resocialization. In this regard, the state must set up specialized centres in education, assistance, vocational
training and the psychological care of minors in difficulty in general, including the training of appropriate andcompetent staff in the treatment of juvenile delinquency as a priority. Because the country is currently in theprocess of developing, it is as paramount to receive support from international organizations to ensure its
ability to conform to the international standards and norms in administration of the juvenile justice system.
For the actors such as police officers, social workers and magistrates who are already involved, the State
must strengthen their capacity and provide them with the necessary means to carry out their tasks.
4. Japan ‒ In Japan, the number of juvenile offenders has been decreasing over the last decade, but therate of juvenile recidivism has been increasing. As a result, the rehabilitation programmes provided by thejuvenile training schools and probation offices need to be improved to be able to serve the youth and reduce
recidivism. The intervention methods that could help reduce recidivism are to assist the parents and teachersand correctional personnel to develop skills in communicating with the juveniles to instill social norms andvalues, foster appropriate work habits for youths and reduce stigmatization from the community. But
nowadays, at the end of parole, a number of youths cannot return back to schools or jobs and recommit
offences. Multi-agency cooperation is necessary to assist and support the youths in their return to school orfinding employment. More juveniles will be reintegrated into society and prevented from reoffending if thegovernmental organizations, NGOs and NPOs take action to help remove the stigma. In Japan, this idea isreferred to as creating a “Place to Belong” and creating “Opportunity” in the Community. The problems ofnegative views of the juveniles that resulted in inadequate support for youth after release can be addressedby creating campaigns and events to develop a better understanding of the nature of juvenile behaviour andthe value of public support for reintegration of the youth. Since Japan has set the goal to become the safest
country in the world, this goal can be used as part of the campaign to communicate to the public using theslogan “together, we can.” The acceptance of the community may help to increase the chances that the youth
will find their turning points and continue to prosper and be productive members of society.
5. Kenya ‒ For Kenya, it is suggested that institutional reforms be adopted to make the justice system
more friendly to juveniles. Comprehensive monitoring of the related agencies in the criminal justice systemneeds to be developed and executed. Another important point that needs to be addressed, as it is relevant tothe countryʼs development history, is the inequality of the opportunities provided for men and woman. For
example, there is a Youth and Women Fund that provides loans to youth and women for investment but none
for men. The aggressive campaign to empower girls in the 1990s and affirmative active action policy by thegovernment led to the emerging disparities in the social, economic and political achievements where womenappear to be gaining more mileage than men. The suggestion is for the government to encourage more
empowerment for boys. This will address the recidivism issues by having more involvement of men in theprovision of care for children in the family resulting in empowerment of family units socially andeconomically.

From “A Situational Analysis of Children Youth & Women.” Government of Cook Islands with Assistance from UNICEF, 2004,
p. 11.
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6. Myanmar ‒ In Myanmar, recidivism of juvenile crime can be reduced by increasing awareness of the
public and relevant agencies in the communities of their imperative roles in rehabilitating and reintegrating
youth back into society. Involvement of the agencies will lead to a greater variety of alternative ways to treat
children in conflict with the law. In addition, increasing political will power and convincing the related
government entities to allocate their resources to this population are the keys to improving the quality ofservices that the youths need.
7. Nepal ‒ For Nepal, because the resources from the government sector are quite limited, it is morepractical, and possible in a shorter time, to obtain support from non-governmental entities, not only from theorganizations but also from the people from the community and family themselves. This can be done bydisseminating the information by using the mass media such as radio or television broadcasting to the people
in communities of the significant roles that they have in helping to prevent juvenile crimes and increasechances for the children to be reintegrated back into their homes and communities. In Nepal, there is plentyof assistance being provided by INGOs and NGOs, and they are all required to register their services with thegovernment, but the quality of services in addressing the recidivism is not yet determined. Thus, to be able toutilize the already available resources from the NGOs, it is helpful for the related government agencies todevelop an evaluation system to ensure the effectiveness of the work of these organizations. With these
activities, the problems of street children and the number of children who return to commit more crimes may
be reduced. For a longer-term plan, more government facilities that provide intervention and reintegration
services for youth should be built since the services provided in those districts are effective and havecontributed to the reduction of recidivism.
8. Papua New Guinea ‒ For Papua New Guinea (PNG), four main solutions to the problems were
proposed. (1) Improve the quality of the rehabilitation programmes for youth to ensure that they receive
programmes that provide education, job skills, pro-social life skills, and effective behaviour intervention that
fit their individual needs and interests. The support should also continue after they are released from theinstitutions to ensure successful reintegration. (2) Develop a comprehensive data collecting and management
system to capture the situation of recidivism so that the state can make policy and plan to address the
problems more accurately. (3) Increase the use of administrative measures such as diversion, mediation, andAlternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) instead of judicial measures. (4) Provide regular training for related
personnel including probation officers, psychologists, and particularly in the judiciary (judges/magistrates) to
avoid the order of confinement and to use alternative penalties such as suspension of sentences and probation.
Also, it is important to increase public awareness by disseminating information and promoting a better
understanding of the importance of the reintegration of youth. To achieve these suggestions, Juvenile
Rehabilitation Bills would need to be drafted to ensure full financial and managerial support from thegovernment.
9. Thailand ‒ For Thailand, the juvenile justice system is undergoing a major reform to ensure that itcomplies with the international standards and norms and also to serve the main purpose of the system, thatis, to prevent reoccurrence of criminal offences committed by youths. Advancement can be seen in thedevelopment of the risks and needs screening system and some research studies that showed promising
results in reduction of recidivism. However, the greater challenges were in the implementation of the system
nationwide. With offices located in 77 provinces and about 4, 000 staff members working under the
department, the training and monitoring of the implementation of the programmes are the targets that need
to be attended to. In addition, more creative and efficient ways of inviting participation from the public andprivate sectors are needed, and most importantly, members of the youthʼs family must be a part of theintervention and reintegration process. Finally, the evaluation of the effectiveness of the programmes is indire need. Not until last year, in 2016, did we know how many youths recommitted crimes after release fromjuvenile training schools. The indicators of success should be set in ways that reflect the goal of the juvenile
justice system. To accomplish that, better use of information technology would need to be in place so thatdata entering and utilization of significant processes and outcomes can be done to aid the monitoring andevaluation effort.
C. Multi-agency Cooperation with the Community and the Private Sector
1. Brazil ‒ To stimulate and expand inter-agency cooperation to contribute to the protection, treatment
and rehabilitation of juveniles, it is necessary to adopt initiatives that seek to facilitate the involvement of nongovernmental organizations, favouring the formation of networks. In this sense, it is necessary (1) to stimulate233

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companies to offer more opportunities of work to youths, offering, for example, tax reduction and providing
tax incentives, or financial support to do that. (2) Stimulate companies to offer training for youths that need to
improve job skills. (3) Stimulate community treatment and counselling for youths involved in minor cases. (4)Create programmes based on volunteer work to offer counselling and guidance, or improve job skills. (5)Create anti-discrimination programmes based on acceptance of differences, avoiding stigmatization. These
initiatives should be carried out within communities and especially in the school environment, with mass
media support. (6) Create programmes based on school, promoting academic achievement and self-esteem.
Within non-governmental organizations, initiatives can range from (1) recruitment of volunteers to diverse
activities aimed at rehabilitating young people, to the (2) accreditation of institutions for the reception and/or
treatment of young people with drug abuse problems. Besides that, (3) companies must open their doors tooffer more opportunities to employ and to encourage youths to change their lives. Offering vocational training
can contribute to building solid foundations for a future professional career, to rebuild self-esteem and todevelop a work culture. (4) Schools, mainly the public ones, need to be prepared to receive youths on parole.
This may require prior preparation of the school environment and training of staff to be able to offer suitableconditions for reception and rehabilitation of juveniles. (5) Involve community structures, such as community
boards, to work together with the juvenile justice system. In this case, the community boards need to be
trained for that, being prepared to offer counselling and guidance. (6) Promote, with the support ofinternational humanitarian agencies such as UNICEF and other agencies, a joint effort to prevent violence
and recidivism, building a culture of peace. Inter-organizational cooperation is imperative for government
efforts to integrate services and provide adequate conditions for the application of new concepts related tothe juvenile justices system. Starting with (1) the adoption of integrated registration systems for cases
involving juvenile delinquency, the lack of reliable data does not allow for a deeper understanding of the
problem nor help to define priorities or policies. Thus, there is a need to define indicators and invest in local,
national and international research, as well as share results and experiences, especially those of success. In
addition, it is (2) necessary to promote a wide discussion about the roles in prevention, treatment andrehabilitation of juveniles. At this point, the role of agencies in areas such as education, health, social welfare
and the juvenile justice system in the prevention and reduction of criminal behaviour needs to be clearly
defined.
2. Cook Islands ‒ The country does not have juvenile rehabilitation centres or classification homes toaccommodate juveniles in conflict with the law. This is because the country is yet to adopt the United Nations
Standards and Norms. The government has established two vocational training centres in the country: The“Cook Islands Trade Training Centre”, where they offered some training on job skills such as electrician,carpentry and mechanics/engineering, and the “Cook Islands Hospitality Training Centre”, which offers
training on catering and hotel services. However, these training centres are not specifically established forjuveniles in conflict with the law or detainees, but provide job skills training for the general community.
These training centres have been very effective in offering training and guidance to offenders. On completionof the training, the trainees are issued trade certificates which can help them get into the labour market.
However, even though these training centres are fully funded by the government, it only funds half of theenrolment fee and the other half must be covered by the trainees. So for the programme to be effective, theDepartment of Probation Service has to look for sponsorship to help out with the fees. We also have twoNGOs that also play a big role in the countryʼs justice system. One is the “Pananga Tauturu”, which provides
counselling and support to women and children victims of violence, and the “Rotaianga Menʼs Support
Center”, which provides counselling on anger management and alcohol abuse.
3. Côte dʼIvoire ‒ In Cote dʼIvoire, there are a number of international partners, like UNICEF, BICE
(International Catholic Child Office), International Rescue and Aid to Prisoners (LISAP), the World HealthOrganization (WHO), Prisoners Without Borders and the International Committee of the Red Cross, that
support rescue apart from other humanitarian activities provided to prisoners. The national partners are
Akwaba St Camille, the Red Cross, ANAP (National Prisonersʼ Assistants Associations), Caritas of theCatholic Church, the Association of Visitors to Prisons, private orphanage centres, and several other NGOs
that intervene directly in prisons. They aim to provide assistance in the form of care, intervention
programmes for juveniles, orphanages and prisoners to improve the conditions of detention of minors byproviding necessities and the preparation of their reintegration or social reclassification. Legal assistance isalso provided for juveniles. At least there is some level of collaboration but more work needs to be done bynational agencies to create a policy framework enabling agencies to collaborate and to address issues of234

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minors. Also, the State could grant facilities such as removing customs barriers and providing all kinds ofconveniences necessary to their activities for the welfare of minors.
4. Japan ‒ There are many governmental organizations which are involved in the prevention of juvenile
recidivism; however, from the statistical point of view, those organizations do not function well so far.
Therefore, NGOs and NPOs have an important role to prevent juveniles from reoffending by providing
assistance in the fields of education, welfare, employment, and medical care. Above all, “Therapeuticcommunities” which achieve a measure of success in treating addiction in the United States and Canada arealso useful in Japan. The “Kodomo-Shokudo” (childrenʼs diner), one of the NPOs, creates a “Place to Belong”
for youth and their single-parents all over Japan.
5. Kenya ‒ Like in most developing countries, Kenya has experienced a higher rise of recidivism byminors. There are international and national agencies present to ensure reduction of delinquency recidivism.
The agencies and intuitions basically start at home, working with parents and the community, and provide
initial guidance, counselling and support. Everyone should contribute to the juvenileʼs up-bringing and ensure
there is no stigmatization or offender labeling. The national and county governments are responsible toensure good governance and strategic planning to addressing issues of law and order in the country. The
government has developed polices that address youth empowerment and poverty eradication. The main aim
is to bring effective and efficient basic service delivery to the majority of the countryʼs population. Meanwhile
law enforcement agencies have a much bigger role in building awareness targeted at juveniles, through talkshows, counselling and instilling professionalism. Faith-based organizations (churches and mosques), agenciesof the United Nations, Non-Governmental Organizations, the media, corporate entities, e.g., banks, among
others contribute to providing guidance to juveniles and empowerment programmes. They complement
government efforts and, thus, fill gaps left due to resource constraints in diverse areas, e.g., health, education,water and agriculture. They engage in assisting recipient communities in agriculture, nutrition, education
through scholarships, promote ethics in their work such as responsible journalism, and programmes todiscourage delinquency. They have scholarship programmes and deserving cases of bright children, personaland development loans for universityʼs and also partnered with prisons services.
6. Myanmar ‒ The involvement of the public and private sectors needs to be encouraged. Many
professionals who deal directly with the criminal justice system and the causes of violence have insufficienttraining to be able to develop their activities satisfactorily and contribute to building a safer society. In
addition, the country needs to adjust to international standards to deal with juvenile violence and recidivism,
prioritizing policies aimed at raising awareness among the public. To achieve these goals, it is necessary to (1)increase public awareness, which can be done by using mass media capable of reaching large audiences
across the country and helping to develop greater awareness of public safety responsibility; (2) Capacity
building for social workers and related organizations; (3) Counselling programmes for juveniles who
committed crimes, supporting initiatives for job skills training and school achievements; (4) Increasing
political will power and convincing the related government entities to allocate their resources to be placed forjuvenile delinquency prevention and rehabilitation. In terms of support coming from international andnational non-governmental agencies, Myanmar relies on UNICEF (which provides funding and technicalassistance), the WHO (which takes care of children and women), the UNODC (which works in cooperation
with UNICEF to provide funding and technical assistance to enhance capacity building), MANA ‒ Myanmar
Anti Narcotic Association ‒ (Assists by paying for public awareness campaigns to prevent juvenile crime),
the Child and Women Care Association (CWCA), which assists in caring for children and women, the Women
Association (which assists in caring for womenʼs rights and children), the Volunteer Red Cross Association(which assists in the collaboration and coordination within youth communities) and the Volunteer Fire
Brigade Association (which assists in collaboration and coordination within youth communities). Finally, morecoordination between these different agencies related to crime prevention is needed to reduce recidivism.
7. Nepal ‒ In Nepal, the Ministry of Women and Children Central Level Coordination Committee provides
extensive programmes for child care and development addressed to abandoned orphans and also offers
support to children from low income families and strengthens the capacity of the nationwide network. Nongovernmental agencies like the UCEP (Under Privileged Children Educational Program) provide behavioural,
educational and vocational programmes for underprivileged and disadvantaged children in partnership withthe government. CIWIN (Child Workers in Nepal) seeks to empower homeless children. This programme isavailable for 10 of 75 districts. The institution Namaste Children Nepal rescues children, including ex235

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offender youth. Institution Fresh Nepal also offers security, health and education for at-risk children. Karuna
Foundation helps to rescue children in conflict with the law, including ex-offender youth. The different nongovernmental institutions must submit their programmes to government evaluation and work as partners of
the Ministry of Woman and Children Welfare.
8. Papua New Guinea ‒ Apart from parents who provide basic support and assistance, unconditional love,attention and support for the offendersʼ well-being and development, various government and nongovernmental organizations also cooperate and work together to reduce juvenile recidivism in thecommunity. The law and justice agencies represent the state as the key players in the juvenile justice system,
which includes the judiciary, police, Community Based Correction Services, juvenile institutions andCorrectional Services to ensure the Juvenile Justice Act is implemented. There are specific juvenile justicepolicies and guidelines that encourage agencies to be involved to ensure good governance and that juveniles
are dealt with fairly and justly in line with the international standards and norms. The Juvenile Justice Act
also provides for the formation and appointment of National and Provincial Juvenile Working Committees
that convene meetings to address juvenile issues and to be the mouthpiece of the provincial and national
governments for agency support. Statutory organizations like the local radio and television are important
media for dissemination of information to a wider audience to enhance awareness, law talks and use of
airtime for panel discussions on new laws and juvenile delinquent issues. Also, Non-Government Organizations like the City Mission, Gini Goada, and Morata halfway house provide care for the homeless anddisadvantaged, while the Young Womenʼs Country Association (YWCA) provides day training and career
guidance. UNICEF and AUS-AID (JSS4D) provide financial and much needed technical assistance in capacity
building and training for all law and justice agencies including juvenile justice for progressive implementationof its activities. Similarly, various religious organizations are contracted to assist in the management of four of
the State-owned juvenile institutions located in the provinces with subsidized management fees paid annuallyfrom the stateʼs budget. Others like the Salvation Army, Haus of Hope, Haus Root and Life-line provide
spiritual enrichment, counselling and guidance. In order for effective coordination between agencies to exist,
it is suggested that a separate bill for Rehabilitation Centers be passed, as it would oblige agencies tocooperate and focus more on rehabilitation and re-integration of juveniles to reduce recidivism. The process
will also involve parents, victims and communities in restoring and building a harmonious and peacefulsociety. Also, it will gain more attention and support from the government to be successful.
9. Thailand ‒ For Thailand, even though the establishment of the Juvenile Court Act of 2010 does provide
an opportunity for the Department of Juvenile Observation and Protection (DJOP) under the Ministry ofJustice to authorize and provide monetary support to non-governmental organizations to provide services
and intervention programmes for the youth, until now, the rules and regulations have not yet been developed.
As a result, the level of participation of the non-governmental organizations in providing rehabilitation foryouth is limited. Also, like other countries, multi-agency cooperation to provide services for children needs tobe well organized. The youth entering the justice system need supervision and support from adults until they
can stand on their own feet. Merely having the agencies that provide service is not sufficient. So, with all of
the services available, the effective case management for each young person should also be available. Thiscan be done by working with the Department of Probation to strengthen the skills of probation officers andvolunteer probation officers in organizing the services available in the community to fit the needs of eachindividual youth in his or her own community.

II. CONCLUSION
The purpose of this paper is not to provide an extensive review of the causes and the ways to eradicate
juvenile recidivism, but rather to shed some light on the problems and possible solutions from the experiencesof the members of the participating countries. We hope the information shared in this report will help thereader understand the situation of the juvenile justice system that we currently experience and be inspired totake part in reformation of the system to better serve the youth and their families for a just, safe and securesociety for all.

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