Belgium is trying to clamp down on juvenile offenders. But are the law reforms proposed the right way to go about it?

Belgium's battle against youth crime

A draft law designed to make it easier to punish juvenile offenders — and adults that aid and abet them — has sparked a wide-ranging debate among Belgium's politicians, jurists, children's advocates and psychologists over the right way to deal with young criminals.
While proponents of the move say reform is long overdue, others are worried that it will strip all young people of important civil rights. Still other critics argue that stigmatising young criminals will do more harm than good. Though the law in one form or another is set to take effect later this year, the fate of Belgium's long-standing youth-protection law still hangs in the balance.

Youth prisons
Last week, senior members of the Belgian cabinet approved a plan drawn up by Justice Minister Marc Verwilghen making it possible for persons aged 16 and over accused of committing serious crimes to be tried as adults, and to be sent to federal youth prisons during and after trial if found guilty. It also calls for more severe prosecution and punishment of adults who force minors to commit crimes, even if the adults do not commit any crimes themselves. The plan got the green light despite opposition from the Green and Socialist parties.
“The point of this law is to give magistrates more equipment to prosecute and eventually punish those who commit crimes,” said Joannes Thuy, a spokesman for Verwilghen, a member of the ruling Flemish Liberal (VLD) party. Thuy said the government believes the new measures will act as a deterrent to both juveniles and adults who recruit young people to partake in criminal acts. “It's a very clear sign that the Belgian government means business.”

Power for judges
But the reform also aims to give judges more tools to deal with offenders found guilty of less serious offences. It would, for example, allow judges to impose alternative punishments to those aged 12 and older, tailored to fit the accused person's personal circumstances. These might include reparation to victims, community service or payment of a fine.
The plan is aimed at modernising Belgium's youth-protection law, which dates back to 1965. Though the philosophy behind the plan is essentially the same as the law currently in place, there is one important difference. Under the new system, judges will be allowed to hand down a punishment based on the gravity of the crime committed.
While proponents of the reform say they have no intention of scrapping the 1965 law, human rights and children's rights campaigners will be watching closely. Green Party officials have pledged to remain “vigilant” as the law is transposed.
“It's a victory that we won't touch that law for now, but this reform represents a huge regression for young people's rights,” said Julien Pieret, legal counsellor to the Lique des droits de l'homme (League of Human Rights) for Belgium's French-speaking community.

Children and adults
Some psychologists also question whether trying young accused criminals as adults does much good. In an interview with Belgian daily newspaper Le Soir, French psychiatrist Patrice Huerre points out that 95 percent of young convicted criminals still want to do something positive in the future. Huerre, who runs a clinic for adolescents in Paris, said it's up to adults to reassure these 'fragile' adolescents that violence is not appropriate.
Nationwide statistics about juvenile crime are hard to come by, but in 2000 there were 947,000 juvenile delinquents in the French-speaking community. The most common crime was theft (68 percent), followed by drug use (23 percent) and assault (20 percent). In part, the government's new plan will make it easier to gain an oversight of the entire system, because the juvenile-detention system will be changed from a regional to a federal system.

Thuy, the justice ministry spokesman, dismissed criticism from human rights groups, saying, “When persons commit a crime isn't that a violation of human rights?”

Renée Cordes
5 August 2005

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