SVRHA KAŽNJAVANJA I MALOLJETNI POČINITELJI KAZNENIH DJELA U REPUBLICI HRVATSKOJ
PURPOSE OF PUNISHMENT AND JUVENILE OFFENDERS IN CROATIA

Summary/Abstract: The main goal of this research is to provide an overview of the relevant body of literature into the area of the punishment of juvenile offenders and to analyze phenomenology i.e., the scope, structure, and dynamics of juvenile delinquency particularly the purpose of punishment in the Republic of Croatia. Empirical analysis is based on secondary data from registered crimes of the police, state attorney's offices, juvenile courts, and Croatian Bureau of Statistic in the observed period(2013 -2020). Juvenile offenders are analyzed in relation to gender, age, education, types of crimes committed, previous convictions, who they live with, imposed penalties and other relevant criteria to identify trends and crime patterns across the spanning decade. The paper discusses the obvious downward trend of reported, accused, and convicted juveniles, but also the relatively large number of dismissed criminal charges by applying the principle of opportunity as a rehabilitation approach of the State Attorney's Office to juvenile offenders. Although conditional opportunity as a measure of diversion relieves the courts and shortens the time from the commission of crime to the beginning of treatment, the simultaneous increase in the number of juvenile recidivists raises concerns, indicating that the current system of juvenile sanctions does not fulfill its primary purpose of special prevention. The research paper builds on the existing knowledge on the topic and addresses possible implications of future developments.

• Details
• Contents