Crime Prevention Council discussed possibilities of reducing juvenile delinquency and number of prisoners
21. June 05
/
At today's meeting the members of the Crime Prevention Council came to a joint conclusion that it is necessary to take complex measures to reduce juvenile delinquency and the spread of drugs among young people.
Mr. Robert Antropov, the Head of the Police Board, noted that a third of all detected robberies is committed by minors, but in reality the proportion may even be higher. The Head of the Police Board found that combating organised crime is very important upon reducing the supply of drugs, but reducing the demand for drugs depends more on general socio-economic factors, which require the cooperation of various Estonian state agencies.
"The growth of juvenile delinquency is certainly extremely disturbing. We must collectively find possibilities for reducing drug abuse and crime among young people. The answer does not lie in sending a young person who has committed a minor theft to a special school or, even worse, to a juvenile prison. State agencies must cooperate to find as many ways as possible for helping young people who have committed a crime to realise the consequences of their act and to reduce the risk of another offence.
Various alternatives, notably community work, should be much more effective penal methods than imprisonment. Moreover, it is important that the juvenile delinquent who committed a crime compensate the victim for the damage," said Rein Lang, the Minister of Justice.
The Ministry of Social Affairs is drafting a strategy for combating drug abuse. Mr. Jaak Aab, the Minister of Social Affairs, will make a presentation about it in the autumn session of the Council.
Mr. Rait Kuuse, the Head of the Probation Supervision Division of the Ministry of Justice, spoke to the members of the Council about how to reduce the number of imprisoned persons using the probation supervision measures. "Currently, approximately 25% of imprisoned persons are paroled and they are subject to probation supervision; the remaining ¾ are released after the official end of their prison sentence and at present there is no supervision or systematic follow-up probation with respect to them. Unfortunately, a large number of them end up behind the bars again," admitted Mr. Rait Kuuse. "However, criminal probation is successfully passed, that is, without committing an offence, by over 75% of persons. By increasing the number of persons who are paroled and subjected to probation supervision, we will see in 4-5 years that the number of imprisoned persons in Estonian prisons has really decreased."
Kristi Künnapas Public Relations Division Ministry of Justice Phone 6 208 118 Mobile phone 56 215672
