• Regional
  
• Belgium
  
• Finland
  
• Ireland
  
• Netherlands
  
• UK

Regional

'Dealing with Juvenile Offenders in the Criminal
Justice System', Jörg-Martin Jehle & Christopher Lewis & Piotr Sobota, July 2008 [PDF 143kb]
Academic article comparing criminal justice systems in relation to children in conflict with the law in 11 European countries (Croatia, England and Wales, France, Germany, Hungary, Netherlands, Poland, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland & Turkey). Includes information on diversion and alternatives.

'Opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee on Urban areas and youth violence' (SOC/316), 15 July 2009 [Pdf 60kb]
12-page opinion paper on the development of policy regarding collective violence involving young people in public spaces. Examines the causes (including socio-economic factors, ethnicity, gangs, relations with the police and the impact of media coverage) and state responses. Emphasises the need for prevention and 'alternative strategies' which avoid judicial involvement where possible.

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Belgium

'Victim- offender mediation in Flanders, Belgium: An example of a well developed good practice', Saskia Kuypers [Pdf 78kb]
Presentation for the First World Congress on Restorative Juvenile Justice held in Lima, Peru, 4-7 November 2009.

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Finland

Finland - Act on Conciliation in Criminal and Certain Civil Cases (unofficial translation) Ministry of Social Affairs and Health, Finland, 2005 [Pdf 30kb]
Example of legislation. Not specific to children but includes reference to underage participants in conciliation processes.

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Ireland

Ireland - 'Garda [Police] Juvenile Diversion Programme', Public Service Information provided by the Citizens' Information Board (internet), updated August 2009 [Word 43kb]
Simple description of Ireland's police diversion programme, including: background; responsibilities; process; admission criteria; child protection considerations; different types of caution, supervision and conferences.

'Designing effective local responses to youth crime: A Baseline Analysis of the Garda Youth Diversion Projects', Irish Youth Justice Service, 2009 [Pdf 2.6Mb]

‘The Irish Juvenile Justice System: Positive Approaches to Young People in Conflict with the Law?’, Ursula Kilkelly, International Juvenile Justice Observatory, October 2006 [Pdf 109kb]
Description and critique of the system since the introduction of the Children Act 2001. Includes reference to diversion and alternatives.

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Netherlands

'Halt: An alternative intervention for light-delinquent juveniles in the Netherlands', Albert R. Hauber, presentation for the International Congress: ‘Phenomena in Juvenile Delinquency: New penal forms’, Seville, Spain, 6-7 November 2007 [Pdf 47kb]
Brief outline of the HALT diversion programme.

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UK

'Call to cut UK youth custody rate', BBC News article (online) 3 September 2009 [Word 26kb]
Media coverage of a report by the Prison Reform Trust calling on UK authorities to mimic radical measures from overseas to cut youth crime and the number of children in prison.

UK - 'Teen alcohol crackdown 'success'', BBC News article (online) 15 October 2009 [Word 28kb]
Media coverage of the results of a £1.4 million (GBP) campaign to tackle teenage 'binge drinking' in 69 'priority areas' of England between July and September 2009.

UK - 'Ten-minute justice: Young thugs sentenced to serve less than a quarter of an hour in the community', ‘Mail online’ (Daily Mail newspaper), 22 August 2009 [Word 81kb]
Example of negative media coverage towards alternatives to detention in the UK.

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