Minors under the age of criminal responsibility in conflict with the law commit relapses. Most of the times, law enforcement expect them to reach age of 14, the age of criminal liability. Minors get in prison. Then, released to freedom, shortly, they get behind the barbed wire again.

Children in conflict with the law often come from poor families, being left on their own, or from families where parents work abroad. Lack of education, frivolous lifestyle are factors that adversely affect minors who are easily manipulated. Up to 14 years they commit a string of illegalities without carrying any responsibility, then they wake up in the prison cell and wonder how did they get there.

His mother was sold

Dumitru and Alexander are in VIIth grade. Financial condition of the families of origin is different, but the situation of both of them, in fact, is the same. Alexander doesn’t know what means lack of the money, unlike Dumitru, who is raised by grandparents and relatives. The latter has never met his father, and his mother disappeared when he was only one year. “I don’t remember her. One woman said she would find work for her and sold her abroad. For 12 years I have not heard from her, says Dumitru, who does not even know what his mother looked like in the past. “No photo was kept. She did not like taking pictures, “says the boy.

After the disappearance of his mother, Dumitru remained in the care of his grandparents and relatives. He says he does not feel alone, because he always has around his cousins ​​and uncles. At the same time, he takes care of the household. “We have birds, nutria. I love taking care of them, “confesses Dumitru. However, the lack of parental love has left its mark on the young character who is hyperactive, as well as having aggressive impulses. Psychologist Marin Tataru, who knows the situation of the young, explains this behavior by the fact that “Dumitru was brought up by one relative, then by another and no one had a fixed attitude, that would guide him. Although he has a leadership spirit, he also has a violent behavior, “says psychologist.

He can not control aggression

Alexander’s situation is different. “My dad helps me with homework, as my mother rarely comes home. She’s mostly gone over to work”, says the boy. The woman, for many years, wander the roads to Romania, where she sells at the market. Thus, most of the time, the child remains in the care of his father or is left of his head. “Ever since I can remember myself, my mother is traveling there and back,” says Alexander. Lack of attention from parents made ​​him aggressive. To not get in the future, among minors in prison, social assistance turned to a psychologist to help him overcome these moments.

Tataru Marin sees the problem in “libertine lifestyle. In the evening he meets his father. He practically never sees his mother. He leaves early in the morning, returns late in the evening,” explains psychologist. Although calmer than Dumitru, when he explodes, Alexander can not control his aggression.«Accumulates a lot and externalizes everything in five minutes,” says Marin Tataru. The youngsters, although having behavioral problems can be helped. They have not yet reached the age of criminal responsibility and social workers and psychologists now do everything possible not to follow the path of other minors who, once they reach the age of criminal responsibility (14 years), go to prisons.

Environment influences child behavior

However, minors under the age of criminal responsibility are aware that they can commit any crime and will not get punished, and when they reach the age of 14, suddenly find themselves behind bars. One solution would be “an obligation to participate in psychosocial program”, says Marin Tataru. Although multidisciplinary team goes to various localities to identify the problem underlying the inappropriate behavior and trying to find solutions, the problem is not removed, because the child needs sustainable help. “He opens. Tells about his problems. Says things that maybe he never said before. But it is momentary. We go out and it all ends. Therefore, we must work not only with children, but especially with teachers and parents, who are always together”, explains psychologist.

The same opinion has also Frauke de Kort, Chief Child Protection Program, UNICEF Moldova. “State services should focus more on the causes of child antisocial behavior and his entourage. Practice shows that, in most cases, children who come into conflict with the law are from vulnerable families, have left school or were once, on there turn, victims of violence or abuse. These causes must be considered in parallel when talking about the reintegration of children in conflict with the law and preventing relapse among them”, says Frauke de Kort.

«Big Brother»

Larisa Bubnov, senior assistant in the Directorate of Social Assistance and Family Protection from Ungheni, also considers that a big role, for minors in conflict with the law, play the parents. “In most cases, these children come from poor families. We must find the way to the heart of these children. We must not stigmatize, isolate them from the rest of society, because in this way they will never become part of society and will not contribute to its development. Even if he is a runaway or has a delinquent behavior, he still remains a child, “explains social worker. She remembers a case of a child who, from the age of nine, had committed a number of irregularities, including theft. “Everyone was saying he had no future, to wait till he gets 14 years, after that follows prison and goodbye,” recalls Larisa Bubnov.

Eventually, the boy was placed in a family home. “I tried and the test was a success. For three years, the child is in the care of professional parental assistant. He is very hardworking. He loves the feeling of responsibility, of trust. It makes him feel useful”, thinks social worker. Larisa Bubnov has found another way to help juveniles in conflict with law, the “Big Brother” (“elder brother”), which showed positive results abroad. It is a social service involving a number of men who have a basic job, their own family, but once or several times a week will be visited by children in conflict with the law, whom they will help, will communicate with them and gain their trust. These men must have legal training, to be able to provide a consultation to minors.

Courses for parents of children in conflict with law

On the other hand, the social worker noted the importance of training for parents of children with issues. “I know that neither for the parent is not easy in such situations. If they do not know how to deal with such children, they remove them and, finally, give up. It’s about some basic training: what to do in one situation or another, where to turn, etc..”,  Believes Bubnov. Peter Langa, head of social assistance and family protection from Ungheni, argues that most often, problems have the roots in the family. “It’s very hard when you have no one to work with from the close ones. I do not focus on correctional institutions. It comes from the family. If a child sees a correct behavior in the family, he is less at risk of getting on the list of minors in conflict with the law”, says head of social assistance.

Multidisciplinary teams would be a solution, opines Peter Langa. Here the prosecution gets involved, police inspectorate, psycho-pedagogic service, social worker, nurse, etc.. However, here there is a problem too. “Each member contributes to some extent, but there is no continuity. The social worker looks strict in his segment, the policeman – in his segment. Prosecutor made a decision and further may not even be interested in the fate of that child. We need continuity, a kind of case manager who knows exactly what follows. If parents were helped financially, to pursue education level, relationship in the family, etc.. “, believes Victor Zaharia, Director of the Institute for Penal Reform.

Prison is not a solution

However, “for a minor, boundary between immoral and generally accepted rules is not so visible. In this case, the fact that he has committed a crime may not be noticed immediately by the minor”, explains Victor Zaharia. Code of Criminal Procedure provides that the interests of minors in a criminal case necessarily have to be represented by a lawyer. This, however, in the opinion of Lilian Darii, executive director of the National Legal Aid Council of State”, <<should make maximum effort to achieve a different result than conviction, as long as such an outcome is possible>>. Natalia Moloşag, lawyer, also believes that “government should think of other measures, because minors, being in prison conditions, do not rehabilitate. They relapse, which is not good at all “, says lawyer.

However, rehabilitation should begin before the child reaches the age of criminal liability. “If the prosecutor finds that parents have an attribution: do not educate or neglect him, the prosecutor may take action against the parents, measures of art. 63 of the Administrative Code”, says Moloşag. In this regard, UNICEF Representative in Moldova pinpoints that “a punitive approach could have, in long term, the opposite effect desired: rebellion, contact with other criminals, marginalization or social isolation. Detention, being it  in prison or in an educational institution, is not welcome and will be applied only as a last resort”, says Frauke de Kort.

Olga Bulat