What is juvenile punishment?

Juvenile punishment, included in the Penal Code, is specific sentence for offenders under the age of 18.

The court can sentence a young person to juvenile punishment for 4 to 12 months. Juvenile punishment consists of supervision, different activities and programmes promoting coping in society, and an orientation to working life and work. Juvenile punishment is enforced by the Probation Service, which is subject to the Ministry of Justice. An official of the Probation Service acts as the supervisor of the young offender sentenced to juvenile punishment.

When can juvenile punishment be sentenced?

Juvenile punishment can be sentenced if:

• the accused has committed the offence at the age of 15 to 17,
• the court considers a fine to be too lenient and unconditional imprisonment too severe a sanction for the young person's offence, which means that juvenile punishment is comparable to suspended sentence in severity, and
• juvenile punishment can improve the young person's skills to cope in society and prevent recidivism.

The content and serving of juvenile punishment

Juvenile punishment consists of supervision appointments, activities and programmes carried out under supervision, and an orientation to working life and work. The content of an each juvenile punishment is defined in the enforcement plan approved by the court. Juvenile punishment is served according to a planned schedule eight hours a week at most. The young offender is compensated for moderate travelling expenses caused by serving the juvenile punishment.

Supervision

The supervision of the young offender is based on trust between the supervisor and the offender. The supervisor's main duties are to motivate the young offender to change, support and guide him/her, and make sure that he/she serves the sentence according to the conditions and regulations. The factors concerning the juvenile's life situation in general and specifically his/her offences are discussed during the supervision appointments.

Activities and programmes

Each young offender sentenced to juvenile punishment attends a programme which consists of discussions about the offences with his/her supervisor. Based on the young offender's needs, juvenile punishment can also include programmes on substance use, problem solving, social skills, anger management, civics, and traffic behaviour.

Orientation to working life and work

The actual orientation to work is carried out in a specific orientation place. The purpose of the orientation is to support the young offender´s study or career plans. The Probation Service makes a contract with the work orientation place.

The orientation to working life can consist of, for example, finding information about education possibilities, applying for an education place, or going through the rules and customs of working life with the supervisor.

Formulating the enforcement plan of the juvenile punishment

The juvenile punishment process begins when the prosecutor asks the Probation Service to formulate an enforcement plan for the juvenile punishment. The duty of the Probation Service is to assess the practicality of sentencing to juvenile punishment.

The basis for juvenile punishment is the co-operation between different parties. The Probation Service formulates the juvenile punishment enforcement plan together with the young offender, his guardian, and the social welfare officials. The enforcement plan is based on the information received from joint meetings, the young offender's interview, the guardian's hearing, and different authorities.

The decision on sentencing to juvenile punishment is made by the court. The court can also sentence some other sanction instead of juvenile punishment.

Breaching the conditions and regulations of the juvenile punishment

The court approves the juvenile punishment enforcement plan. When the sentence is going to be enforced, the Probation Service specifies the plan and prepares a detailed schedule the young offender must comply with exactly.

The young offender's duties include keeping contact with his supervisor. The police can collect the young offender and bring him to the supervision appointment if he has not attended the previous appointment or some other meeting connected to serving the juvenile punishment.

The young offender must not be under the influence of substances when attending meetings connected to serving the juvenile punishment. The Probation Service controls the young offender's substance use.

The Probation Service may give the young offender an oral or a written warning for breaching the conditions of the enforcement plan or the regulations based on the plan.

A written warning must be given if the young offender does not mend his ways despite previous warnings or he severely breaches the conditions of the enforcement plan or the regulations based on the plan. The Probation Service must bring the case to the court for reassessment if the young offender does not begin the juvenile punishment, complete it or mend his ways despite a previous warning.

Activities in District Offices of the Probation Service in 2007.