Juvenile Homicide in Belgium: A review

• In Event: Types of homicides: A global perspective

Abstract

Limited studies are available on juvenile homicide in Belgium, which is partly attributable to challenges in accessing reliable information. The Belgian justice system for juveniles is centred on a protective model, where individuals below the age of 18 are not held criminally responsible for their crimes. This study outlines some of the concerns related to definitional issues, and the lack of uniformity and coherence across various Belgian databases. Twenty-three cases of homicides committed by youths under 18 years old and extracted from the original study by Gerard et al (2017) are analysed, describing offender, victims and crime-scene characteristics. Prosecution and disposition of juveniles handled in the justice system are discussed.

Author

• F. Jeane Gerard, University of Westminster