Police hunt church arsonists, aged just six and nine

from the article by Tammy Hughes in the Mail:

A devastating arson attack carried out on a church was committed by two schoolchildren aged just six and nine. 

Religious books, a valuable alter cloth, carpets and fittings were all destroyed in the blaze amounting to £10,000 worth of damage.

It is thought that four small fires were started as an act of vandalism and that the children didn't expect for the blaze to get out of hand.

Jun 21, 2012 Juvenile, Country:England&Wales, Practice, Community, Religion, Region: Europe

• Read More

Not adding up: Criminal reconciliation in Chinese juvenile justice

from the article in Dui Hua's Human Rights Journal:

Recent amendments to China’s Criminal Procedure Law involve special procedures for handling cases involving juvenile defendants and resolving cases through criminal reconciliation. Although the law does not explicitly link the two, criminal reconciliation has been a key feature in the development of China’s juvenile justice system under the principle of “education first, punishment second.”

Dui Hua welcomes criminal reconciliation as a means to restorative justice and reduced juvenile incarceration, but research suggests that the relatively new measure is experiencing some growing pains in China. Jiang Jue (姜珏), a PhD candidate in the School of Law at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, has done extensive research on criminal reconciliation in China and has seen how the process works in many juvenile cases. Her research indicates that current implementation of criminal reconciliation falls short of juvenile justice principles by alienating youth and stifling attempts at education.

Jun 20, 2012 Juvenile, Court, Practice, Country:China, Region: Asia, Judge, Prosecutor

• Read More