Review article
https://doi.org/10.31299/ksi.30.1.4
Dynamics of juvenile crime in the Republic of Croatia from 2000 to 2020
Neven Ricijaš
; Edukacijsko-rehabilitacijski fakultet Sveučilišta u Zagrebu
Sabina Mandić
orcid.org/0000-0002-7646-6283
; Edukacijsko-rehabilitacijski fakultet Sveučilišta u Zagrebu
Lucija Lamešić
orcid.org/0000-0002-8992-2006
; Nastavno-klinički centar Edukacijsko-rehabilitacijskog fakulteta Sveučilišta u Zagrebu
Abstract
This paper analyses the criminal charges, reports, and convictions of juvenile offenders in the Republic of Croatia over a 21-year period (from 2000 to 2020) with the aim of gaining insight into the quantity and formal criminal characteristics of the juveniles’ delinquent behavior over time. The fundamental purpose of this paper is twofold. On the one hand, it is aimed at answering the question of whether the official juveniles’ criminality is increasing, declining, or stagnant, which is why the crime rate is calculated overall and especially according to the dominant chapters of the Criminal Code. On the other hand, the purpose is also to offer scientific and professional assumptions, i.e., possible answers for the observed dynamic changes, which is why the results were interpreted in the context of relevant legal changes, broader strategic national policies, as well as the results of empirical scientific studies on modern forms of adolescent risk behavior.
Data from the Croatian Bureau of Statistics and the EUROSTAT database on the absolute number of juveniles in the Republic of Croatia were used for each year individually in order to calculate the crime rate for each year and thus control potential demographic changes. The analysis also counted the base index compared to two years: 2000, as the initial year of analysis, and 2013, due to the new Criminal Code that entered into force that year.
The results show a downward trend in the overall official juvenile crime rates, but with specificities regarding different groups of crimes. For example, property offenses and those against life and limb are in slight decline, those related to drugs have stagnated since 2013, when possession of drugs for personal use was transferred to the misdemeanor sphere, while sexual offenses are continuously slightly increasing. Results are also discussed in the context of the pros and cons of using official data as a methodological approach in criminological studies.
Keywords
juvenile delinquency; juveniles; criminality; official data; behavioral problems
Hrčak ID:
279861
URI
Publication date:
29.6.2022.
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