An examination and synthesis of the contemporary psychological views on the causation of juvenile delinquency

Every year thousands of "Delinquent" children appear before the Juvenile Courts of the world. What then is a delinquent child? The definition of a delinquent child varies in different schools of thought. The aim of this thesis is to take each of these schools of thought, critically examine them, and then try to reach some decree of synthesis in the etimological battlefield of Juvenile delinquency.

An examination and synthesis of the contemporary psychological views on the causation of juvenile delinquency

Every year thousands of "Delinquent" children appear before the Juvenile Courts of the world. What then is a delinquent child? The definition of a delinquent child varies in different schools of thought. The aim of this thesis is to take each of these schools of thought, critically examine them, and then try to reach some decree of synthesis in the etimological battlefield of Juvenile delinquency.

The Age of Mass Child Removal in Spain

This book analyses the ideas and practices that underpinned the age of mass child removal. This era emerged from growing criticisms across the world of ‘dangerous’ parents and the developing belief in the nineteenth century that the state could provide superior guardianship to ‘unfit’ parents. In the late nineteenth century, the juvenile court movement led the way in forging a new and more efficient system of child removal that severely curtailed the previously highly protected sovereignty of guardians deemed dangerous. This transnational movement rapidly established courts across the world and used them to train the personnel and create the systems that frequently lay behind mass child removal. Spaniards formed a significant part of this transnational movement and the country’s juvenile courts became involved in the three main areas of removal that characterize the age: the taking of children from poor families, from families displaced by war, and from political opponents. The study of Spanish case files reveals much about how the removal process worked in practice across time and across democratic regimes and dictatorships. It also affords an insight into the rich array of child-removal practices that lay between the poles of coercion and victimhood. Accordingly, the book further offers a history of some of most marginalized parents and children and recaptures their voice, agency, and experience. It also analyses the removal of tens of thousands of children from General Franco’s political opponents, sometimes referred to as the lost children of Francoism, through the history and practice of the juvenile courts.

The Rise of Juvenile Courts and the Consolidation of Child Removal

In the late nineteenth century, demands to curb parental sovereignty merged with campaigns for prison reform. As a result, calls gathered pace for juvenile courts which would remove children from the adult, criminal justice system and protect children from abusive parents and adults. The juvenile-court movement developed in the context of the growth of child-protection societies and child-protection legislation. Nevertheless, reformers remained frustrated by the enduring power of parental sovereignty and pushed for greater change. In 1899, reformers in Illinois achieved their ambition of creating courts that removed children from the criminal justice system, ensured children could be placed in reformatories, and empowered judges to curb guardianship rights. The courts also worked with family visitors and frequently preferred to place families and children on probation rather than move directly to child removal. Spaniards followed these developments in the USA and countries such as Belgium, and created their own courts.

The Spanish Courts and the Poor, 1926–1936

This chapter traces the growth of juvenile courts in Spain and the support they attracted from across the political spectrum. Under the surface of this support lay conflict between Catholic, liberals, and socialists over the degree to which secular principles and practices should govern the courts. With the support of the Primo de Rivera dictatorship, the Catholic viewpoint proved ascendant and did not come under serious threat after the democratic Second Republic arrived in 1931. The chapter studies the personnel and practices adopted by the largely Catholic-dominated courts. It also offers a case study of social conditions in Madrid and explores the vulnerability of poor families to removal, the role of support networks, and the agency of poor families who turned to the courts to take children into care as a stop-gap measure while they put their lives in order.

Franco’s Victory

Social Catholic groups took firm control of the juvenile courts after General Franco occupied Madrid. They swiftly exercised their moral judgements on families which suffered executions, imprisonment, employment purges, dire living conditions, and the high cost of living. Court staff particularly loathed secular ‘Red’ worker groups and endeavoured to capture the children of these foes of the faith. Mothers forced into prostitution or petty crime, living in overcrowded and poor housing whose lives were marked by hunger and disease, proved especially vulnerable to child removal. They could also fall victim to their husbands serving jail terms for political offences who, from prison, could battle to deprive them of custody. In other cases, families managed to keep bonds alive by visiting children and youngsters petitioned the authorities to be allowed home to help look after their parents.

Conclusion

The Conclusion highlights some of the text’s main arguments. These include the importance of the discourse of the dangerous parent and superior state guardianship in paving the way to the age of mass child removal. The juvenile courts are shown to sit centre stage in this history. The Spanish case helps reveal the transnational origins of these courts. It also sheds light on the political agreement and conflict that underpinned the creation and operation of the courts. The documentary record left by the courts reveals much about the processes behind removal and helps us move away from the binary of coercion and victimhood which frequently characterizes discussion of removals. By exploring these processes we can recognize the suffering, agency and resilience of poor families, displaced families and political families. This approach provides a more complex context for understanding the debate around ‘lost children of Francoism’ and child removal more widely.

Introduction

The Introduction explains the key features of the age of mass child removal and the central role of the juvenile courts. It examines how the historiography has overlooked the transnational origins of the courts and their role in child removal. The introduction further shows how the neglected history of the courts in Spain allows scholars to challenge the existing consensus of Francoist child-removal practice. The courts carried out the vast majority of removals and owe their origins to child-welfare reformers rather than Francoist psychiatrists such as Antonio Vallejo-Nágera. The courts also carried out removals in everyday life and this focus makes it possible to overcome the privileging of removals from ‘political’ families. The Introduction further brings into question the view that the Francoist removals were imposed upon passive victims and parents who permanently lost contact with their children and the ability to bring them up according to their own beliefs.

Vizura hrvatskog maloljetničkog kaznenog prava pri odlučivanju o maloljetničkom zatvoru i njegovu pridržaju – postoje li kriteriji ili je sve diskrecijska odluka suda

Juvenile courts throughout Croatia impose sanctions on juvenile offenders (juveniles). Their decision-making often raises issues of their discretion in deciding on the application of juvenile sanctions, especially juvenile incarceration and its suspension (Reservation of the Right to Impose the Sentence of Juvenile Incarceration), which can be a significant issue in terms of the uniformity of the juvenile case law. Therefore, the research sought to examine whether there are certain formal criteria for distinguishing the application of juvenile incarceration from its suspension (Reservation of the Right to Impose the Sentence of Juvenile Incarceration), or if there are criteria that judges use when deciding when and in which cases to apply juvenile imprisonment, and when its suspension. Consequently, the following Hypothesis is set: There are criteria for distinguishing the application of juvenile incarceration from the suspension of sentence of juvenile incarceration (Reservation of the Right to Impose the Sentence of Juvenile Incarceration). Normative - descriptive, qualitative and descriptive analyses were used to test the hypothesis in the research.