Evaluating youth justice legislation - The role of the (youth) public prosecutor

• In Event: Improving Justice for Youth (?): Case Studies from Belgium, Greece, Hungary & UK

Abstract

In 2019, the Flemish government opted with the implementation of the Youth Justice Decree for a new approach to tackle juvenile delinquency. At the same time, the legislator provided for an evidence based evaluation after three years.

In order to enable a more differentiated and effective approach to juvenile delinquency, the possibilities to react to juvenile delinquency at the level of the (youth) prosecutor’s office were expanded. The objective is (1) to have a sufficiently fast response to juvenile delinquency, (2) to maximize restorative justice reactions to these crimes, and (3) to facilitate a possible connection with youth care.

Currently, an evaluation study is looking at the decrees’ objectives with a focus on the role of the prosecutor’s office. The evaluation is based on (1) online questionnaires with prosecutors, youth judges and restorative justice practitioners evaluating the objectives of the prosecutor's office, and (2) the analysis of registration data from the prosecutor's office. Next, these quantitative data are deepened and nuanced through qualitative interviews and focus groups with (youth) prosecutors in Flanders, youth judges and the restorative justice staff.

This presentation includes the insights regarding as well the methodology of evaluation as the concrete evaluation of the decrees’ objectives based on the experiences of the involved actors.

Author

• Johan Put, ISL & LINC, KU Leuven