GROUP 2

EFFECTIVE MEASURES FOR YOUTH AT RISK
Chairperson
Co-Chairperson
Rapporteur
Co-Rapporteur
Members

Mr. Silence Pondo
Ms. Robiah Abdul Ghani
Mr. Noboru Nakatani
Ms. Judith Gomez Serrano
Mr. Harlan Mardite
Mr. Bounsavad Boupha
Mr. Kimio Chiba
Mr. Hideki Tanaka(Zimbabwe)(Malaysia)(Japan)(Panama)(Indonesia)(Laos)(Japan)(Japan)Advisers

Deputy Director Tomoko Akane
Prof. Iichiro Sakata
Prof. Masato UchidaProf. Tamaki Yokochi(UNAFEI)(UNAFEI)(UNAFEI)(UNAFEI)

I. INTRODUCTIONth

At the 129 UNAFEI International Senior Seminar, we discussed “Effective Measures for Youth at Risk”
under the topic of “Crime Prevention in the 21st Century”. The purpose of the discussion was to suggest
possible directions with which the criminal justice agencies such as the police, public prosecutors, judges,
probation officers, and correctional officers can work together to improve their effectiveness in dealing withyouth at risk in cooperation with the community.
These proposals are the result of the above-mentioned discussion and were also facilitated by the ardent
efforts of each participant and precious advice from the Professors of UNAFEI.

II. BACKGROUND
Urbanization has given rise to many crime-related factors such as a weakening sense of community
among residents, greater anonymity and more “blind spots” in urban areas. The crime situation in mostcountries has reached alarming proportions with an increase in crime committed by foreign visitors andstreet crimes, while the crime deterrence function of our society has decreased in recent years by aweakening sense of community.
In the background of the recent strict view towards Juvenile delinquents, we should realize that
community residents often live in fear of becoming victims of juvenile offences and victims and theirrelatives often have complaints about the juvenile justice system. In order to respond to those needs, weneed to promote a new way to take into consideration the victims’ feelings and the situation in thecommunity.
The prevention of disorderly behaviour by juveniles in public places is also a matter of considerable
importance in many local areas in contemporary societies. To prevent this kind of disorder, we need skilled
mediators who are respected both by the juveniles and by the residents themselves.
Many countries have long been plagued by juvenile misconduct. Although much has been said anddebated, the issue has not received its due attention. The problem of misconduct among juveniles isreported to be on the increase. The actual number of cases is estimated to be much higher than thatreported. Many factors have been found to correlate with the delinquent behaviour of juveniles. Below, someof those factors are discussed.

A. Individual Factors
Individual factors, namely, attitude, mental and physical health problems, a low level of education, theinability to cope with stress and to solve problems and drug abuse are contributing factors to social devianceamong adolescents. Adolescents require guidance and support in the process of developing their identity andto determine their goals in life. Self-esteem is a judgment that individuals make about themselves.
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Individuals with low self-esteem are not confident in their own abilities and have problems coping with dayto-day challenges. Individuals who perceive themselves negatively are more prone to participate indelinquent acts. Poverty is also connected with criminal misconduct. The strain of financial burden is often
used as an excuse by offenders to commit crimes such as theft, snatch thefts and housebreaking.

B. Family Factors
Family interaction is one of the factors that cannot be ignored in any effort to understand juvenile
delinquents. The family is the institution that determines what sort of individual a child will grow up to be
and how they cope and react in their social life. So factors, such as poor attachment with the family, noninvolvement of family members and a poor parent-child relationship are among the strongest predictors ofdelinquency.
Many parents of today are distressed and confused. Consumer goods and services are psychologically andprofessionally marketed so that parents are compelled to purchase them or subscribe to their services. They are
persuaded by the marketing strategies that they need them for the well-being of themselves and their families.
Hence, parents feel that they have to earn more to purchase the goods and services. As a consequence, they are
stressed out and have little time to give love and attention, to communicate, to discipline and monitor theirchildren. While the children want the goodies, they also need love, attention and training.
Marital break-up also plays an important role in predicting delinquent behaviour as it is found that moredelinquent adolescents come from divorce or broken families. The stress of divorce or separation on theremaining parent, usually the mother, may cause conflicts between them and their children. This group of
divorced women tend to experience problems as a result of reduced social support, financial difficulties, andthe lack of relief from household tasks which causes a deterioration in their parenting skills. Children from
non-intact families receive less supervision, thus their social bond to either parents or school are not readily
developed and they are more prone to becoming delinquent as a result of it. Loss of either one parent
through divorce will mean the loss of a trusting relationship in their life and adults and such children are at
risk of being influenced by other external factors.
The size of the family residence is another contributing factor to juvenile misconduct. Physical conditions
such as living in poor and overcrowded homes complicate the situation. Parents with more children
experience greater stress, face difficulty in disciplining them and their children receive less supervision. A
majority of social degradation cases among adolescents are those who live in small and overcrowded homes
which have an insufficient number of rooms. The discomfort of living in such a residence causes theoccupants to seek comfort outside the home, particularly in shopping complexes and places of entertainment
which encourages them to mix among other adolescents.

C. Environmental Factors
The environment refers to a wide area. With regards to school experiences, factors such as school failure
and the individual’s poor commitment to education goals have been implicated as contributing factors
towards the development of juvenile delinquency. Those who have poor reading skills, lack social skills tomeet classroom demands and to form peer relations, fail in school and become alienated and hostile to theschool system are more likely to play truant and leave school early.
Peer group influence is another contributing factor to social deviance among juveniles. The urge to try
something new and provocation from the peer group often results in the juvenile being involved in criminal
activities. The habit of imitating a certain culture for example the ‘Punk’ and ‘Skinhead’ cultures, without
evaluating the good and bad of the culture concerned, can also lead juveniles to involve themselves in social
deviance. In the process of searching for their self-identity, Juveniles make mistakes in their choice of a rolemodel. They are more inclined to be influenced by their peer group and treat advice and criticisms from theirfamily as something that restricts and bores them.
With the advancement of mass media, which includes the electronic media and printed material, mostindividuals are exposed to media influences and rituals that are difficult to exclude from our daily lives andthis is especially true for juveniles who are still exploring and questioning the world. The media has a strong
effect on juveniles’ behaviour mainly due to their lack of mature understanding of what they see on
television. They tend to be more easily influenced and it has been found that watching violent films
increases the aggressiveness of juvenile delinquents. Television and the internet expose children to all kinds

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of experiences and values. Where the parents are busy, children have more contact hours with the televisionand the internet than with their parents and siblings. As the television programmes are produced to attract
an audience, children are therefore more attracted towards the values portrayed in the programmes andcomputer games than those of their parents.
The neighbourhood climate also has an effect on juvenile delinquency. Living in an environment withunhealthy social circumstances can lead to the development of delinquent acts by those around them,because such unhealthy ways of life could be considered as a means of releasing anger and dissatisfaction
towards authority or even to themselves.

III. EARLY INTERVENTION FOR YOUTH AT RISK
The problems of juvenile delinquency need to be addressed early. This is necessary as it is becoming ahigh frequency problem and such individuals are known to have a higher risk of committing more serious
crimes in the later years. As such, strategies for intervention and especially for prevention, need to belooked at.
Intervention will mean doing something to the adolescent or to the adolescent’s family after theadolescent has been identified to have demonstrated the problem behaviour. If Juveniles make risky lifestyleand routine choices, they are regarded as those who are at particular risk of delinquency. There could besome merit in trying to identify this group and giving them and their parents’ appropriate advice and help.
The objective of intervention in an adolescent with delinquent problems is also to prevent the chance ofrepetition and its progression towards more serious crimes.

A. Educational Initiatives
1. Education of Youth (Juveniles)(i) Talks to schoolchildren
To stimulate interest and instil awareness about social deviances, talks about the dangers of drug abuse,
involvement in criminal activities, etc. should be given to children in schools. Schoolchildren should be
provided such skills as anger management and problem-solving skills in a non-violent way. This can avoid
bullying cases.
Truancy is one of several social problems. It needs to be treated at its root cause. Eradication of truancy
needs a long-term approach — that is prevention and intervention. The measures taken to control truancy
require the assistance and cooperation of various parties including education, welfare authorities, community
and NGOs. Reducing truancy will help reduce juvenile delinquency.

(ii) Counselling/MentoringCounselling activities should also be provided to solve individual delinquent problems, e.g. increasing thedelinquents’ self-esteem. This includes working with the family through regular family therapy sessions.
The delinquent will need to feel accepted again, not only by the immediate family but also by society.
Helping the delinquents work towards independence and self-esteem and to be able to find a reasonable job
once they leave home should be the target, even if the family continues to reject them.
Fostering an adult mentor is also a useful way of limiting the involvement of delinquency. “Big brothers
and sisters” programmes are widely known in Japan and have shown the effectiveness of mentoring inbuilding protective factors in young people.
2. Educating Parents(i) Parenting skills
Knowledge and skills for positive parenting will help raise children soundly and enable them to acquire
the ability to be law-abiding persons. Unfortunately those parents who attend parenting courses are thosethat are doing relatively well in their task as parents. Those who need the knowledge and skills are staying
away.

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Social problems and juvenile delinquency have their roots in the home. Counselling of students without
involvement of parents is likely to be ineffective especially if the values upheld at home differ from those inschools.
(iii) “Moral Education” of parents
Criminal and anti-social parents tend to have delinquent and anti-social children. Children follow themodel they see in their family. In some cases, we can see one or both parents with bad habits and behaviours
such as alcohol problems, drug abuse and domestic violence. Because of such parents, children have atendency to follow or imitate those bad habits.
3. Educating the Community(i) Emphasis on poor areas
Generally speaking, being poor and criminality have some correlation. While an effective social welfare
policy is required to financially assist people in poverty, we should pay more attention to promote integrationof juveniles into society and avoid stigmatization. For example, Japan was successful in overcoming serious
problems of juvenile delinquency in the chaotic and poor period just after World War II. During that period,
there were campaign activities under the auspices of the Ministry of Justice in which people in thecommunity actively participated in helping juveniles’ sound development. The purpose of these activities
was to warm-heartedly accept juveniles who committed delinquent acts and promote their rehabilitation
with the assistance of people in the community.

(ii) Providing criminal data to the community (by the police)
Paying due attention to the victims’ rights, the identification of areas where crimes are being committed
is channelled through the committee to promote awareness of people in the community.
(iii) Providing “Moral Education” for schools
Schools are supposed to play a key role as a liaison in the community, because the majority of juvenile
usually go to school, especially elementary and junior high school. When juveniles are in school, there aremany opportunities for relevant agencies to have direct contact with them, such as police officers deliveringso-called “Safety Classes” to them.
Moral education in schools is very important for the sustainable sound development of juveniles;
however, school teachers do not have enough resources and knowledge. In those circumstances, it is very
effective for the police, religious groups and welfare organizations to provide such resources for children inelementary, junior high and high schools.

B. Implementation of an Education Programme
1. Use of Government Resources
Government institutions have many professional personnel such as psychologists, social workers andcounsellors. It is cost-effective to utilize such professionals who have gained relevant experience andknowledge in their daily work, because we can avoid hiring new professionals.
2. Revitalization of the Community
There is a necessity for the socio-economic integration of youth at risk into the community. Sometimes
financial assistance from the private sector such as the “Godfather” Programme in Panama should be utilized
to successfully integrate youth at risk into the community.
3. Cooperation with NGOs
Non-Government Organizations which are involved in youth programmes have to work closely withgovernment agencies to assist in conducting research and surveys as they have financial resources.
4. Cooperation with Religious Institutions
In some countries, religious institutions such as the Catholic church, Buddhism and Islam are a big help
for juveniles, because they give them informal education outside of schools. For example, in Malaysia,
religious groups conduct short courses to enrich their fundamental knowledge about religion and moral
education.

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C. Implementation of Early Identification of Juvenile Delinquents
There are several different ways of implementing early identification and intervention of juvenile
delinquents such as:
1. Police patrolling late at night especially “hot spots” such as amusement areas on foot, by motorcycle,
bicycle and boat in order to prevent crime.
2. Police/Prosecutors visiting “problem schools”, with the permission of school principals.
3. Deployment of school councillors to (elementary) junior high schools to provide advice to teachersand counselling to juveniles and their parents.
4. Tackling truancy with the assistance and cooperation of various parties including schools, welfare
authorities, community, religious institutions and NGOs.
D. Advantages of Early Intervention
Early intervention with families can be implemented by:
1. Maintaining active participation in education and employment.
2. Keeping focus on their peer group.
3. Providing drug treatment.
4. Incorporating various cognitive behavioural and skill oriented techniques.
5. Passing all relevant knowledge from the government to the community to facilitate information flow.
Early intervention “works”, because it diverts attention away from the narrow issue of crime. However,it should be noted that intervention has to focus not only on juvenile delinquents but also their families. The
government seeks to redistribute its resources to children and families who are often struggling withdisadvantages. Early intervention is a concrete, promising way to deliver needed services where none now
exist.

IV. THE ESTABLISHMENT AND MANAGEMENT OF A FLEXIBLE DISPOSITION AND
TREATMENT SYSTEM/MEASURES TO TACKLE JUVENILE DELINQUENCY
There has been a traditional and strong recognition that juveniles who have committed very serious
crimes should be held accountable in the same way as adult offenders. Since there is a notion that
seriousness of delinquency gradually advances, we should effectively intervene at the early stage ofdelinquency, before they are committed to prisons just like an adult. For offences committed in the earlystages of delinquency, the delinquents are often not tried and no action is taken. In regard to offences where
correction in society is feasible, the offenders are basically given community-based treatment. It means thatvarious flexible measures and dispositions should be discussed. Especially, focus is placed on educating
offenders, while due attention should be paid to the victims’ feelings and/or damages.

A. Juvenile Justice System
There are many different types of juvenile justice system in the world which are influenced by thecriminal justice system in each country. For instance, in Zimbabwe only serious crimes are referred to the
public prosecutors by the police, on the recommendation of the Welfare Officers. In general, there are fourstages of law enforcement in the juvenile justice system.
1. The police are a formal institution when a delinquent juvenile faces the legal process for the very
first time, which will constitute whether the juvenile should be released or face the next process.
2. A Public Prosecutor and/or Probation system will decide whether the juvenile should be released orface the juvenile court.
3. Juvenile court (Family court) is the stage where children will be placed in options, whether he/shewill be free or put under correctional treatment or Community-based treatment.
4. Institutional treatment or Community-based treatment.
“Juvenile” is any person who is under the age of 18 years old in most countries, except Japan in which itis designated as anyone under 20 years old. In most countries, the Family (Juvenile) court has jurisdiction
over juvenile delinquent cases, except for Laos where the ordinary criminal courts handle juvenile
delinquent cases. The age of criminal responsibility varies among the Group’s countries. The minimum ageof criminal responsibility is fifteen both in Indonesia and in Laos, although it is only seven in Zimbabwe. It is
fourteen in Japan and Panama, and ten in Malaysia.

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Court Disposition
 Indonesia
Juvenile Court(i) Sent back to parents or their family(ii) Sent to a government institution without any sanctions
For serious crime(i) Criminal sanction (Imprisonment, detention, fine, supervision)(ii) Sent to the state in order to receive education (Delivered by the Social Department) or other society
organization in the field of education and training JapanFamily Court(i) Dismissal without/after the hearing(ii) Protective Measures by Family Court
Probationary Supervision
Commitment to Support Facilities for the Development of Self-sustaining Capacity, etc.
Commitment to Juvenile Training School(iii) Referral to the Chief of Child Guidance Centre(iv) Case is sent to the Public Prosecutors
 LaosCriminal Court (Family and Children Department)
For serious crime(i) Probation(ii) Imprisonment Malaysia
Court for Children(i) Admonish and Discharge(ii) Sent to an approved school(iii) Discharged on condition of good behaviour(iv) Order the child to be placed in the care of a relative or fit person(v) Whipping, if male, with not more than ten strokes of a light cane(vi) Imprisonment (fourteen or above) Panama
Juvenile Court(i) Supervision order(ii) Community activity order(iii) Imprisonment
 Zimbabwe
Juvenile Court(i) Order of community service(ii) Whipping (male)(iii) Sent to reformatory school
All cases are referred to the Public Prosecutor by the Police on the recommendation of the Welfare
Officer.

B. Necessity of Flexible Disposition
As shown above, it seems that it is not uncommon that a criminal penalty is imposed on delinquentjuveniles. In addition, recently, policies designed to increase criminal punishment of juvenile delinquents
have been demanded in the media or by the public, especially by victims of juvenile crimes, because juvenile
crimes have been increasing and become more brutal in most of our countries.
However, modern criminal laws have provided various flexible dispositions as well as punishing juvenile
offenders who commit offences. Flexibility of disposition has the following advantages. For example, when
we give juveniles community service orders, they can avoid stigmatization and also continue to live a normallife at home. In other words, this kind of flexible disposition enables the juveniles to keep their jobs. And in230

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their free time they work for the community. Under the supervision of psychologists or counsellors, with theconsent of parents, juveniles increase their self-esteem and feel a sense of belonging in the community. A
flexible disposition can avoid overcrowding in prisons and is often less costly than imprisonment.
This encourages a process of behavioural changes; helps juveniles feel accountable for their actions andfosters integration rather than alienation, avoids involvement of the formal court system and places
importance on community-based solutions.
On the other hand, there are disadvantages, when we talk about flexible disposition. Juvenile offenders
who are sent back to the community may not regret their conduct unless they are aware of the purpose andsignificance of this disposition. Sometimes, victims complain, if they are not made fully aware of what aflexible disposition is. These disadvantages should be carefully considered in administrating a flexible
disposition. A Flexible disposition is emphasized in the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules.

United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Administration of Juvenile Justice (“The Beijing
Rules”), G.A. res. 40/33
Article 18
A large variety of disposition measures shall be made available to the competent authority, allowing forflexibility so as to avoid institutionalization to the greatest extent possible. Such measures, some ofwhich may be combined,
Include:a)Care, guidance and supervision ordersb)
Probationc)Community service ordersd)Financial penalties, compensation and restitutione)Intermediate treatment and other treatment ordersf)Orders to participate in group counselling and similar activitiesg)Orders concerning foster care, living communities or other educational settingsh)Other relevant orders
When we think about a flexible disposition, this large variety of disposition measures and their
combination are good examples.

C. Diversion
As mentioned above, a get-tough policy should not be applied to all juveniles, because there might be agood chance of reformation and they should not be subject to adverse effects of incarceration in prison.
Except for cases in which imprisonment is unavoidable due to the seriousness of the offence, alternative
measures such as commitment to an approved school or community-based treatment programmes should
always be sought. A flexible disposition will help juveniles acquire necessary education, knowledge andskills and promote reintegration into society without being labelled as a criminal offender.
Diversion is a typical form of flexible disposition. The definition of “diversion” has different meanings indifferent countries. In this report, we define it as treating juvenile delinquents in a different way outside aformal criminal justice system, referring to the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the
Administration of Juvenile Justice (“The Beijing Rules”), G.A. res. 40/33.

Article 1111.1 Consideration shall be given, wherever appropriate, to dealing with juvenile offenders without
resorting to formal trial by the competent authority.
11.2 The police, the prosecution or other agencies dealing with juvenile cases shall be empowered todispose of such cases, at their discretion, without recourse to formal hearings, in accordance withthe criteria laid down for that purpose in the respective legal system and also in accordance withthe principles contained in these Rules.
11.3 Any diversion involving referral to appropriate community or other services shall require theconsent of the juvenile, or her or his parents or guardian, provided that such decision to refer acase shall be subject to review by a competent authority, upon application.
There are different processes of diversion in our countries. For example, the police in Malaysia,
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prosecutors and judges by way of caution is carried out in Indonesia, and Zimbabwe. On the other hand, inJapan all juvenile delinquency cases must be referred to the Family Court by the Public Prosecutors or by
the police. This is based on the principle that the Family Court shall play a pivotal role in the juvenile justicesystem. However, more than 70 percent of cases are dismissed by the Family Court.
The diversion procedure varies in each country as follows.
(By the prosecutor)
Sent back home subject to certain conditions (He/she has to sign a paper three times a week in theprosecutors’ office. He/she is prohibited from going to bars, discos and must be home at 6 pm. This
diversion is implemented in Panama.)(By the court)
Community Service order by the Family court in Panama, by Juvenile court in Zimbabwe.
Sent back to parents or family or government institutions without any sanctions in Indonesia.
As mentioned above, in Japan, the majority of juvenile delinquency cases are dismissed by the Family
Court.
(By others)
Mediation between juvenile offenders and victims by the Lao women’s union and Lao youth union. It is
used only when a young person under the age of eighteen years has admitted he/she committed an
offence or has been found guilty of committing an offence.

V. EFFECTIVE INSTITUTIONAL TREATMENT FOR JUVENILES
A. Core Treatment
The main purpose of institutional treatment is to rehabilitate the juveniles by solving their individual
problems and by developing a positive attitude toward their life, in order to develop a stable life and live
independently in the community in a more socially acceptable way. Considering the needs of juveniles,
intensive treatment should be provided, based on the special knowledge and skills of psychology, sociology,
pedagogy, medical science, etc.
Japan has thirteen different types of treatment courses in Juvenile Training Schools (JTS). At the family
court hearing, the court specifies the type of JTS and sometimes makes recommendations for the length
and/or contents of the treatment programmes if it is deemed necessary and appropriate for the juvenile. In
addition, the Juvenile Classification Home sends detailed recommendations concerning the individual
treatment to JTS based on the results of the classification. Correctional education of JTS consists of social
education, guidance, vocational training and medical treatment, all of which are organized in theindividualized treatment scheme.
Malaysia has three categories in the Juvenile Rehabilitation Module: rehabilitation of students below theage of 18 years, rehabilitation of students above 18 years and rehabilitation of those without basic education.
The purpose is focused on attitude building and knowledge and skills development as the core objectives
through a religious approach, moral and civic awareness, counselling, nationalism and co-curricular activities
to ensure their rehabilitation.
In Panama, according to Law 40, the core treatment is re-socialization of the juveniles, based on
psychological studies, regular studies and recreation for the juveniles.
Zimbabwe has several types of core institutional treatment for juvenile offenders such as carpentry,
knitting, sewing and farming. Laos has similar programmes such as education, vocational training andmedical treatment for drug and alcohol problems in detention centres for juvenile delinquents. Indonesia has
a mentor programme and also medical treatment for drug abuse juveniles in detention houses under thesupervision of welfare officers.

B. Operational Problems
Malaysia, Indonesia and Panama have a shortage of professional human resources, especially counsellors
and social workers. Malaysia also has overcrowding in their prisons and does not have enough school
teachers and sufficient support from parents/guardians.
Zimbabwe and Laos have difficulties in financing institutions for juvenile offenders and purchasingnecessary materials for institutional programmes.

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C. Effective Measures
Individualized treatment corresponding to the juveniles’ own characteristics and problems should be
developed, as it has been done in Japan.
To implement effective institutional treatment for juveniles, the support and involvement of their family,such as once-a-week visits to them is crucial. Volunteers from the community such as religious chaplainsand experts of various fields will help the juvenile’s smooth rehabilitation.
Although implementation of the above-mentioned treatment needs extensive human and financial
resources, progress has been seen in most countries. For example, increasing the budget allocation for the
institutional treatment of juvenile offenders led to significant progress in Zimbabwe.

D. The Smooth Transition Back into the Community from Institutions
In terms of their adjustment to society, smooth transition programmes are indispensable in institutional
treatment, especially for juvenile offenders who need special rehabilitation programmes due to thecomplexity and seriousness of their problems, resulting from the gravity of their delinquency. For example, aweekly-visit is effective in helping juveniles to adjust to society after their release. If the institution provides
information regarding juvenile offenders to probation officers to start environmental adjustment, such as
their relationship with their family or guardians at an earlier stage of the institutional treatment, it could
make the institutional treatment of the juvenile more effective. In addition, effective institutional treatmentof juveniles should require the understanding and cooperation of people in society. We should developtransition programmes which involve those who are very knowledgeable about juveniles such as teachers
and neighbours, in addition to their parents. Sending juveniles to a private company or a public service in a
vocational training programme and any other community-based programmes will promote a smoothtransition into the community after their release from the institution.
VI. EFFECTIVE COMMUNITY-BASED TREATMENT FOR JUVENILES
There are many juvenile delinquency problems not only in our countries, but all over the world.
However, the causes of each case are different. In the context of the sound growth of juveniles/youth, it is
not effective to deal with them only by a single government organization such as the police, schools and soon. Many government organizations both at the national and a prefecutural/provincial/state level shouldshare information regarding juveniles/youth at risk. It means that an integrated approach (multidisciplinary
approach) for youth/juveniles at risk must be taken with the cooperation and collaboration of multiple
agencies such as the criminal justice system, schools, welfare services, hospitals and others.
But even though relevant agencies focus on the role of the community in terms of crime prevention,
most local residents may not be willing to be engaged in juvenile crime prevention activities in thecommunity.

A. Types of Community-based Treatment
Zimbabwe has some programmes for the prevention of pre-delinquency such as knitting, welding andagriculture supported by the Ministries of Social Welfare and Youth, UNICEF and Non-Government
Organizations (NGOs). One of the programmes implemented and monitored by the Ministry of Social
Welfare of Malaysia is the District Children Welfare Committee. Throughout Malaysia there are 110 suchcommittees with 1430 members (volunteers). Among the role and responsibilities of the committees are toassist in getting adoptive parents and guardians for juveniles under supervision, training and job offers forjuvenile delinquents and to encourage the involvement of the community in crime prevention and juvenile
welfare. There are also eleven Probation Hostels in Malaysia, in which two are community based. The only
way an individual juvenile can be placed in this institution is by a court order. The main objective is to
educate the juvenile to develop a positive attitude towards life, develop a stable self and to prepare them tolive independently in the community in a more socially acceptable way. Structured activities are designed toachieve these objectives whilst living in these institutions which include academic education, moral andreligious education, vocational training such as carpentry, welding, hair dressing, motor mechanics, etc., andsports and counselling services.
In Laos, the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare has a programme called “Protection of Children” incooperation with UNICEF. The Lao Youth Union has a programme “For Children Development” in233

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cooperation with UNICEF and the Ministry of Justice has a programme called “Legal Protection and Justicefor children” in cooperation with the UK NGO, “Save the Children”.
In Indonesia, Pre-delinquent juveniles are supervised by the Social and Welfare Ministry with thecooperation of an NGO.
In Japan, the Family Court can put juveniles on probationary supervision as a protective measure insteadof committing them to JTS. In addition, juveniles who are released on parole, are also put on probation for
their smooth reintegration into society. Volunteer Probation Officers (VPOs) who are community-based,
carry out the probation/parole supervision and crime prevention activities in collaboration with Probation
officers. There are about 50,000 VPOs and they provide day-to-day supervision services in mostprobationary supervision cases.

B. Problems
There are funding problems in Laos, Zimbabwe and Panama, in terms of finances, materials and humanrecourses. There is a little international assistance to implement local government programmes in Laos.
There are shortages of correct statistics and treatment plans for juveniles in Indonesia and Panama andthere is a shortage of vocational schools in Malaysia.
We found that in most countries, company owners do not want to hire juvenile ex-offenders as employees
and their family cannot control their conduct. Juveniles are likely to have a tendency of repeating the same
behaviour patterns instead of quitting them.
Since there are budgetary limitations, the most practical countermeasures will be an approach to makethe best use of existing resources; an integrated approach.

C. Necessity of Implementation of an Integrated Approach
Maintaining public safety and order has been primarily the responsibility of the police. The police havebeen making efforts to harmonize itself with the current severe situation. Besides police efforts, it isnecessary and important for effective regional crime prevention activities to produce a sense of community
with a common recognition that communities should keep an eye on the youth in their neighbourhood andhelp raise them. To develop such a common understanding, the establishment of a network for juveniles andan information exchange, on a daily basis, are required among the police, other agencies and community
residents.
D. Recent Measures for Effectiveness
There are various effective measures which have recently been taken by most governments.
The Ministry of Youth has a new programme for juveniles in cooperation with universities and juvenile
civil organizations in Panama.
The Mayor of Harare formed a committee that is comprised of the police, Ministry of Social Welfare,
Ministry of Youth and an NGO in order to solve this problem in Harare, Zimbabwe.
The relevant ministries in Malaysia injected additional funds for the District Childrens Welfare
Committee.
The Lao government is supporting the drafting and dissemination of a new law regarding children
sensitive investigation procedures.
The Indonesian government made a treatment plan for the juvenile system in collaboration with an NGO
and universities.
The Government of Japan promotes implementation and outreach of a “Support Team” which was
described and recommended in the “Action Plan for the Realization of Society Tough-on-Crime” which was
adopted by the Cabinet Meeting regarding Measures Against Crime. A “Support Team” is composed of thepolice, schools, the Board of Education, the probation office (including Volunteer Probation Officers) and234

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correctional institutions on a case by case basis. It aims at supporting activities in the community to secure
deterrence of juvenile crime which needs to be tackled by society as a whole.

VII. FUTURE PROSPECTS
Social deviance among adolescents cannot be separated from the fact that the problem has its source at
all levels of community and involves all members of the community. Thus, each programme, module,
approach and activity whether in the form of prevention, rehabilitation, policy or social system development,
must involve a role that is united, thorough and continuous, requiring the full commitment of all levels
including individuals, families, society, social institutions, rehabilitation institutions, non-governmentorganizations, private agencies and the government.
Many new initiatives should be taken by the government, foundations, businesses and non-governmentorganizations to combat juvenile delinquency, youth crimes and unemployment as follows:
1. Emphasis on staff training and development, cross-disciplinary training should be increased.
2. Professional development opportunities for staff and officials at all level of the system including
correction officers, police officers, probation officers, social workers and public prosecutors,
especially juvenile prosecutors and judges.
3. Overcoming the negative perceptions of juvenile offenders. Negative public reaction to violent
offences committed by youths creates great obstacles for them to seek access to community
services including education, employment and practical training.
4. Providing public forums that enable young people to tell their stories is an effective way to engage
the media, public officials and the public. Public forums can highlight positive outcomes for juvenile
delinquents and present them as a part of the general youth population.
5. More extensive diversionary measures with more respect for victims should be discussed in thecriminal justice system.
6. Institutional vocational training education programmes should offer training only in occupations andindustries for which there is current and projected future demand in the country. Efforts to reach out
to employers should also extend to public sector employers and small and medium businesses.
7. To ensure that the necessary community based services and support for juveniles are available andaccessible in the community.
8. Youth correctional facilities, local workforce development, education and youth development
providers should work closely together to connect youth to appropriate services prior to theirscheduled release date.
9. Identifying adequate resources. Policymakers should be informed about the outcome of effective
programmes and the cost savings they achieve. Joint advocacy by juvenile justice, workforce
development, and most particularly the business community may increase resources.
10. Develop common understandings and goals and desired outcomes through a multi-disciplinary
approach involving law enforcers, educators, judiciary, social workers, correction officers,
community-based organizations and non-government organizations.
Prevention of crimes committed by juveniles is a critical task to be tackled in our countries facing thedifficulties of limited financial and human resources. Each country has taken various measures as mentioned
above. The government should put an emphasis on implementing effective early prevention measures;executing criminal justice procedures with more extensive diversionary measures including more respectfor victims; and promoting re-integration of juveniles into society with any court disposition. In addition to
the above mentioned, an example of an integrated crime prevention and criminal justice policy is theformation of a legislative board, such as the “Youth Justice Board (YJB)” which was established by the Crimeand Disorder Act in 1998 as a permanently funded public body mandated to prevent crime and re-organize
the youth justice system in the UK. Crime prevention is a permanent part of the youth justice structure ofeach country.

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