No prison for under 13s
Justice Minister Dati scraps plan to drop age of imprisonment to 12 as new youth offender reforms announced.
CHILDREN aged under 13 will not go to prison if reforms to the youth justice system are passed.
Justice Minister Rachida Dati announced the withdrawal of a plan to jail those as young as 12 during a visit to open a new centre éducatif fermé (CEF) at Sainte-Menehould in the Marne.
France currently allows young people to be jailed – judges can rule if a child has enough ‘discernment’ to be considered responsible.
During the visit she outlined plans to reform the youth justice system.
The vocabulary used for young offenders will be changed – updating the more official terms used in current legislation (drawn up in 1945) to terms more easily understood by young people.
For those aged 16-18 the text proposes a specific type of tribunal similar to that used for adults.
The new code will also seek to include parents, who could be charged for not attending hearings.
The process for dealing with young offenders will be streamlined, with one file containing all elements of the case and strict deadlines.
Juvenile delinquency was an election campaign highlight of Nicolas Sarkozy.
Under 18s represent nearly 20% of people charged by the police. The number of under 18s charged with criminal offences has risen steadily for more than a decade.
The increase has had an affect on reoffending.
“Currently more than one third of young offenders appear in court once they become adults,” said Dati.
While Dati has drawn up the reforms, it is unlikely that she will see them through parliament as she steps down from her position to take part in the European elections in June.
Photo: Simon Kirby
