Juvenile justice: more communities and more resources are needed.

Following the recent events involving four Roma children who, while driving a stolen car in Milan, struck and killed Cecilia De Astis , and the seventeen-year-old who committed suicide in the First Reception Center attached to the Juvenile Correctional Institution in Treviso, the National Union of Juvenile Chambers has taken a stand, declaring the urgency of "understanding that resources for the juvenile justice sector, necessarily integrated with the social and health services system, must absolutely be increased and channeled, not only from an emergency perspective but from a structural one ." We spoke with Christian Serpelloni and Ilaria Summa , heads of the penal sector of the National Union of Juvenile Chambers.

How is the Italian juvenile justice system doing?

It's a very complex situation, requiring particular attention, but it can't be described as dramatic. The statistical and comparative analysis of the data compiled by the Department of Juvenile Justice, updated as of June 30, 2025, can greatly help form an unbiased opinion. For example, admissions to CPAs (facilities housing minors under arrest, custody, or in custody) from 2008 to 2013 consistently exceeded 2,000 . In 2014, the figure fell below 2,000 (1,548 to be precise), and the trend continued to decline until 2023, when 852 admissions were recorded, while in 2024, there were actually 1,144 admissions . The trend has been increasing for a couple of years, but fortunately, we're still far from the numbers we were used to just fifteen years ago. We certainly need to work to avoid returning to those figures.

For a couple of years now, the number of admissions to CPAs, the facilities that house minors under arrest, custody or escort, has been increasing again: but we are very far from the numbers we were used to just 15 years ago.

What's behind the recent news stories?

When a crime is committed, when antisocial behavior occurs, the cause often lies in various needs that cannot be addressed. The fact that in Northern Italy, 46-50% of those detained in IPMs are unaccompanied foreign minors is significant.

Why is it significant?

Because these are young men and women who arrive in our country without any point of reference and are unfortunately often sucked into the vortex of crime, which "addresses" the needs of these individuals much faster than the institutions. When these young people are arrested, the lack of adults to support them and the shortage of places in community centers often leads to their placement in prison , with all that this entails, as the juvenile prison system is unfortunately not in good health.

It is essential to quickly address the needs of many minors who engage in deviant behavior and commit crimes. A teenager's perception of time is not that of an adult

What does the absence of community entail?

The lack of communities and resources for minors is a problem that institutions cannot ignore for much longer, or the system will collapse . Many communities have been forced to throw in the towel and give up, both due to the difficulty of finding staff and (and the lack of staff is a consequence of this) the enormous financial difficulties they face on a daily basis. Furthermore , many communities experience a constant staff turnover , which undermines all the efforts made to help minors and prevents them from being effectively taken care of .

We know all too well what the lack of stable, healthy support systems means for adolescents experiencing profound crises. Furthermore, there's the problem of very young people experiencing mental health issues and substance abuse, known as dual diagnoses. Finding communities equipped to address these issues is truly challenging. Child neuropsychiatric placements are also extremely limited, and thus these children risk ending up in psychiatric wards, contrary to all national guidelines—places where adolescents should never be placed.

What do you mean by lack of resources?

In Italy, "financial invariance" reforms have recently become all the rage. In short, they introduce regulations to modify certain sectors, but everything must be managed with existing resources. This spells failure, as the welfare and juvenile justice systems are already deeply affected. As we said before, it is essential to quickly address the needs of many minors who engage in deviant behavior and commit crimes . To do this, it is absolutely essential, for example, to increase the staffing and resources of the Juvenile Social Services Offices (USSM), so that these minors are cared for from the moment they are first registered in the criminal record, and not, as often happens, much later and only close to the hearing. Adolescents' perception of time is not that of adults .

Furthermore, it would be crucial to strengthen child neuropsychiatry systems to ensure effective and rapid intervention in cases of mental distress and distress, which are unfortunately constantly increasing. Furthermore, it would be crucial to increase funding for so-called "street education" programs, which are crucial because they directly address complex situations, providing concrete help to many boys and girls, understanding their needs, and often preventing deviant behavior before it's too late . We need to act seriously, get to the heart of the problems, and stop talking to people's guts by introducing regulations that will have no concrete impact on the problems they were designed to address.

It is necessary to increase funding for "street education", which is very important because it provides concrete help to many boys and girls, understanding their needs and often preventing deviant behavior.

For example?

To think that tightening or generally increasing repression will reduce juvenile delinquency is, as we stated in our press release, shortsighted. The "special preventive" and "general preventive" effects of the laws work poorly with adolescents, who often have never even heard of those laws or, better yet, have never had them explained to them. Certainly, the new tools available to the juvenile justice system, introduced by Legislative Decree 123/23, can be relevant, especially in some areas of Italy where criminality is more complex, but the structural problems plaguing the system must be addressed not only with retributive tools, but with targeted, integrated, and multidisciplinary interventions.

From a criminal perspective, the most worrying factor is not so much the increase in crimes committed by minors, but rather the increased violence with which minors carry out their deviant behavior . It often happens, for example, that predatory crimes committed by adolescents involve the latter being more interested in the violent act against the victim than in the financial gain. On September 30th in Naples, at the De Marsico Library in Castel Capuano, we will present a documentary-interview entitled "Voices of Juvenile Justice," in which seven juvenile prosecutors will discuss the daily challenges they face. The criminal justice problem , however, is just the tip of the iceberg .

The criminal justice problem is just the tip of the iceberg. Behind adolescents are often dysfunctional families, not always and not necessarily without financial resources, as well as institutions unable to fully play their role.

Why is the criminal problem the tip of the iceberg?

Because behind adolescents there are often dysfunctional families, not always and not necessarily lacking in economic resources, as well as institutions unable to fully play their role . Addressing only the criminal aspects and ignoring everything else would be like treating the symptom while ignoring the cause. Therefore, the management and response to these situations cannot be solely criminal if we truly want to address youth distress and reduce recidivism among minors and young adults.

Photo by Haddad Azfa on Unsplash

Tags:
• community
• Young
• Justice
• social work
• Minors