Measures introduced by the government
to crack down on youth crime in Italy after two cousins aged 10
and 12 were allegedly gang raped by nine youths including seven
minors in Caivano last July are having "destructive effects" on
the juvenile justice system, human rights association Antigone
said on Tuesday.
"The so called 'Caivano decree' has introduced a series of
measures that are having and will continue to have destructive
effects on the juvenile justice system, both in terms of the
increased recourse to detention and in terms of the quality of
rehabilitation paths for young offenders," said Antigone in its
seventh report on juvenile justice, referring to the package
approved by the cabinet last September including tougher
penalties for the parents of minors of compulsory school age
caught truanting, DASPO bans and the possibility of earlier
arrests than currently envisaged.
The association focusing on human right protection in the penal
and penitentiary system said the decree represents a "step
backwards" in juvenile justice, with 500 minors in prison at the
start of this year.
This, it added, is the highest number in the last decade.
"The extension of the application of accompaniment before police
or judicial authorities in the event of flagrancy and of
pre-trial prison custody disrupts the structure of the 1988 Code
of Juvenile Criminal Procedure and is already leading to a surge
in admissions to Juvenile Criminal Institutes (Ipm)," noted the
report.
"The growth of admissions in the last 12 months is almost
entirely made up of girls and boys in pre-trial detention," it
continued.
Another effect of the decree "is the considerable growth of
admissions to Ipm for alleged violation of drugs laws, with an
increase of 37.4% in just one year", said Antigone.
Minors currently represent nearly 60% of inmates in juvenile
prisons, with 16 and 17-year-olds being the most represented age
group.
Two years ago, Antigone said the situation was the reverse, with
young adults representing the majority.
"The increased possibility introduced by the Caivano decree to
transfer young adults from Ipm to adult prisons is showing its
effects, with enormous damage to the future of the young
people," said the report.
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