A-Infos (en) Italy, FDCA, Cantiere #44 - Addressing the problem of juvenile delinquency from the perspective of schools as educational communities - Paola Perullo (ca, de, fr, it, pt, tr)[machine translation]

"I know that what happened has shocked many of you. It has raised fears, 
questions, perhaps even discouragement. That's why I say to you: let's 
not let ourselves be overcome by darkness. To my beloved students, don't 
stop, don't give up, study and prepare for your future without fear, but 
with courage alone. This wound must not become a wall, but a bridge: 
towards a more caring school, towards a more united community, towards a 
new way of supporting children, especially those who are struggling the 
most, like perhaps the one who struck me, who perhaps deep down won't 
even know why, just as his parents won't know. If the Lord grants it to 
me, I will return. I will return to the classroom, to the desks, where I 
have always felt I belonged. I will return to teaching, to believing in 
young people, to accompanying them in their difficult journeys. Because, 
despite everything, teaching remains my dream, my calling, my greatest joy."
These words, spoken by Professor Chiara Mocchi, after being stabbed in 
Bergamo by a 13-year-old student, offer us the opportunity to address 
the issue of juvenile delinquency in a serious and appropriate manner, 
without giving in to political manipulation that only serves to 
reinforce the idea that there is a need for increased police security 
measures at school. My position is not to justify the crime, but simply 
to contribute to explaining the problem, with the help of valid 
research, which demonstrates how far the prevention of these incidents 
is from punitive measures, implemented only after the crimes have been 
committed.
Why does a teenager commit a crime? Are criminals born? Should a minor 
who commits a crime be punished, educated, or treated?
If we analyze the main criminological theories developed throughout 
history, many are descriptive, meaning they limit themselves to 
describing the correlation between social factors and delinquent 
behavior. Others focus more on the psychological qualities of the 
offender, while others go so far as to identify biological elements 
typical of the offender. It's clear that there's a gap in thinking in 
analyzing the phenomenon itself, and this can give a sense of the 
uncertainty and vagueness that characterize the scientific landscape on 
the subject. Without judging certain lines of thought, it's important to 
emphasize, in these theories, the lack of exploration into the depths of 
the emotions and human dimensions of those who, in an age of shocking 
change, find themselves in conflict with society and their peers in such 
a violent and destructive way. Can a young person who has fallen prey to 
delinquent behavior be offered a sincere and valid developmental 
opportunity to change their destiny? In this regard, it would be 
interesting to study new theoretical and practical approaches involving 
institutions in the fields of mental health, social support, and even 
juvenile justice, and understand whether they are negatively impacted by 
the lack of understanding of adolescent offenders. Disappointment, or 
the tragedy experienced after losing hope for a better life in 
adolescence, cannot and must not be met with indifference from adults in 
proposing meaningful change.
To date, the necessary condition for a person to be held accountable for 
a crime is that they be criminally responsible, meaning they must be at 
least 14 years of age at the time of the crime and be capable of 
understanding and willing. Anyone under 14 is not punishable, because, 
according to the legislator, they are not yet mature enough to evaluate 
the consequences of their actions. In recent years, especially due to 
the proliferation of so-called "baby gangs," the debate on the criminal 
responsibility of minors under 14, starting at age 12, has been 
reopened. The legal profession, sociologists, psychiatrists, and 
psychologists are questioning not only whether a minor truly has the 
capacity to understand, but above all whether it is beneficial for their 
recovery to include them in the criminal justice system.
In any case, the primary purpose of juvenile proceedings has always been 
rehabilitation rather than punishment, but in 2023, the provisions 
regarding precautionary measures were amended due to the exponential 
increase in crimes committed by minors. With Legislative Decree 123 of 
September 15, 2023, known as the Caivano Decree after the location where 
the gang rape of two thirteen-year-olds occurred that same year, 
juvenile proceedings have taken on characteristics that are somewhat 
closer to those of adult trials. Indeed, in this case, the punitive 
component supersedes the re-educational component, which has been the 
foundation of juvenile proceedings. The additional measures envisaged, 
among others, include the extension of pre-trial detention to minor 
drug-related offenses, and the implementation of the urban DASPO 
(Detention Order), which requires the removal from a specific area other 
than the minor's residence for crimes such as brawling, violence, 
battery, and threats. This measure is enforceable ex officio, meaning it 
can be applied even without reporting the victims. Interestingly, 34 US 
states have no minimum age for arrest, and in others the limit is set at 
10 years of age. In some states, minors can be detained in adult prisons 
if they have committed crimes against the state. In the United States, 
the Supreme Court only declared the death penalty for minors 
unconstitutional in 2005.
What is an alternative approach to the problem of juvenile delinquency? 
As its etymology suggests, deriving from the Latin adolescens, the 
present participle of the verb adolescere (to grow), adolescence is by 
definition the age of change. It is often mistakenly said that the 
adolescent is both a child and an adult. In reality, they are no longer 
a child and not yet an adult. During this transitional phase, they live 
in a true "middle ground," where they venture out in search of autonomy 
and new, more complex social relationships. All of this leads to a 
crisis, which, however, is not a pathological crisis, but a 
physiological instability, necessary for growth and the affirmation of 
one's identity. The term "crisis" derives from the Greek krisis, meaning 
choice, decision. Crisis can therefore become an opportunity to question 
oneself, to ask questions, to seek solutions, to bring about 
transformation. An extremely delicate task for those working with 
adolescents is trying to understand whether we are facing a "normal 
crisis" process that requires only respect and patience, or whether 
behind a certain behavior lies a dimension of destructiveness and 
omnipotence, the expression of serious alterations in the psychological 
and emotional structure of these young people.
Therefore, it is essential to know how to observe, listen, and, above 
all, grasp the meaning conveyed by their risky behaviors, as they can 
often conceal urgent cries for help. Moreover, adolescents rarely 
verbalize their distress, tending to express it more often through 
action and behavior. If we then consider adolescents who commit crimes, 
this issue becomes even more poignant. Indeed, these are young people 
who, in most cases, act without any awareness of their own distress. 
Shifting our attention to the psychological content that drives their 
behavior therefore appears essential to being able to go "beyond" what 
they manifestly present to us: it means analyzing the latent, that is, 
the affects that underlie the psychodynamics of relationships. In the 
culture of guilt, which developed with the advent of Christianity and is 
still very much alive and well, the principle is established that social 
order is guaranteed through prohibitions and bans, the violation of 
which induces (or should induce) feelings of guilt, remorse, and anguish.
But what we, as teachers and staff in schools viewed as educational 
communities, care about is the ability to imagine and then think about 
adolescents, and especially young offenders, in terms of preventing and 
treating their psychological distress, even before they reach a 
courtroom. The adoption of police control measures in schools seems even 
less effective, because when faced with a troubled child who is 
gradually losing his inner beauty, consumed by anger or, worse, hatred, 
it is the adults' job to understand and intervene. Thinking in this way 
about schools as educational communities, it seems clear that the real 
fault today lies in failing to intervene intelligently and sensitively, 
allocating resources to listening and prevention efforts to support 
teachers, provided by qualified professionals throughout the country. 
This, in my opinion, would be more appropriate and effective than 
providing metal detectors to schools.

Bibliography

Laura Castaldo, Pieritalo Pompili, Ilaria Lisai, Young Offenders: 
Delinquents Are Not Born, L'Asino d'oro, Rome, 2025.

https://alternativalibertaria.fdca.it/wpAL/
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