Juvenile crime and early prevention:
Promising preventive practice from Estonia
Anna Markina,
University of Tartu, Estonia
Presentation is prepared in project «Keeping Youth Away from Crime: Searching for Best European
Practices». Project is implemented with financial support from the Fundamental Rights and Citizenship
Programme of the European Union.
Juvenile offenders registered by police rate per 10,000 of
the same age population
324
280
299
290
2009
2010
304
301
2011
2012
289
255
2006
2007
2008
2013
Children referred to juvenile
committees in 2012
One or several of the following
sanctions may be imposed on a minor:
• warning;
• sanctions concerning organisation of study;
• referral to a psychologist, addiction specialist, social worker
or other specialist for consultation;
• conciliation;
• an obligation to live with a parent, foster-parent, guardian
or in a family with a caregiver or in a children’s home;
• community service;
• surety;
• participation in youth or social programs or rehabilitation
service or medical treatment programs;
• sending to schools for students with special needs.
Getting to the service and being at the service
• Juvenile committee decision: rehabilitation service as a sanction
• Juvenile commission sends the resolution to the local social welfare office.
• The social welfare office sends a letter of referral to the home of the family
within 10 days
• The juvenile’s legal guardian telephones the proper rehabilitation
establishment within 21 days of receiving the letter of referral
• The rehabilitation establishment asks for data and schedules the first
meeting
• Meetings with juvenile + legal guardian + rehabilitation team are held in
order to form a rehabilitation plan
• The juvenile and the family take part in counseling
• Joint evaluation of the effectiveness of the service and termination of
service
• Feedback to juvenile committee that refferred to the service