The assessment of recidivism risk within the juvenile justice services

Abstract

In the assessment of young people entering the Juvenile Justice Systems an important aspect is given by the recidivism risk, as a criterion orienting institutional interventions.A correct assessment of risk factors is important to consider in order to provide effective treatments.While data on young people entering the Juvenile Justice System are available,in terms of number and type of offences committed clustered by age and Country of origin,data on the outcome of the interventions provided within the penal system are more difficult to obtain. The present research involved a sample of 103 male young people aged 14 to 18,clustered in Italians, gypsies and foreigners, prosecuted for a penal offence within Milan Juvenile Justice Services. The young people were assessed by the staff while entering the Services (i.e. First detention centre, Social Services, Detention centre) with the use of a risk assessment form, developed in cooperation with the staff. The results show that 54.1% of the young people displayed a high recidivism risk, 25.1% displayed a medium recidivism risk and 20.8% displayed a low recidivism risk. The initial assessment was compared with follow up data on recidivism rates. Two years after the intervention, 32% of the sample had another prosecution.The percentage increases up to  44% if young people previously assessed as at “high risk” are considered; mostly nomads or highly problematical Italians. The recidivism risk assessment form was adequate in preventing the actual recidivism rate and the decisions of the bench seem overall appropriate in relation to the risk level assessed.The percentages of recidivism risk assessed appear particularly low, in comparison to international data and more similar to the outcomes underlined by the best practices. However, there are high percentages of recidivism amongst young people in probation communities.