Youth and Justice in Western States, 1815-1950: From Punishment to Welfare

Description

This book explores the treatment of junevile offenders in modern Western history. The last few decades have witnessed major debates over youth justice policies. Juvenile and youth justice legislation has been reviewed in a number of countries. Despite the fact that new perspectives, such as restorative justice, have emerged, the debates have largely focused on issues that bring us back to the inception of juvenile justice: namely whether youth justice ought to be more akin to punitive adult criminal justice, or more sensitive to the welfare of youths. This issue has been at the core of policy choices that have given juvenile justice its orientations since the beginning of the twentieth century. It also gave shape to the evolution that paved the way for the creation of juvenile courts in the nineteenth century. Understanding those early debates is essential if we are to understand current debates, and place them into perspective. Based on primary archival research, this comprehensive study begins by presenting the roots, birth and evolution of juvenile justice, from the nineteenth century up to the beginning of the twenty-first. The second part deals with nineteenth century responses to juvenile delinquency in England and Canada, while the third focuses on the welfare orientation that characterized juvenile courts in the first half of the twentieth century in Switzerland, the Netherlands, Germany and Belgium. Finally, the fourth part focuses on the perspective of the youths and their families in Belgium, France and Canada. Front Matter ....Pages i-xv Introduction (Jean Trépanier, Xavier Rousseaux)....Pages 1-13 Front Matter ....Pages 15-15 The Roots and Development of Juvenile Justice: An International Overview (Jean Trépanier)....Pages 17-69 Front Matter ....Pages 71-71 The Origins of Informal Juvenile Court Practices and of the Juvenile Reformatory in England, 1815–1855 (Peter King)....Pages 73-98 From Punishment to Reform: Boys in Gaol and Reform Institutions, Montreal, 1853–1921 (François Fenchel, Jean Trépanier, Sylvie Ménard)....Pages 99-130 “Endangered” Children and the Montreal Ladies’ Benevolent Society Industrial School, 1883–1921 (Janice Harvey)....Pages 131-160 Front Matter ....Pages 161-161 Between Great Expectations and Hard Times: The First Decade of the Geneva Children’s Penal Court, 1914–1925 (Joëlle Droux, Mariama Kaba)....Pages 163-195 The Practice of the Juvenile Judge in the Netherlands: The Family Supervision Order as a Response to the Sexual Misbehaviour of Minors, 1922–1940 (Ingrid van der Bij, Jeroen J. H. Dekker)....Pages 197-223 A ‘Wayward’ or ‘Incorrigible’ Youth? Juvenile Crime and Correctional Education in Post-war Germany, 1945–1953 (David Meeres)....Pages 225-251 Youth Delinquency Redefined: The Practice of Scientific Observation and Diagnosis Within the Framework of Belgian Child Protection, 1913–1960 (Jenneke Christiaens)....Pages 253-276 Front Matter ....Pages 277-277 Girls’ Journeys to the Juvenile Court, Antwerp, 1912–1933 (Margo De Koster)....Pages 279-310 Juvenile Delinquency in Wartime and Peacetime: The Activity of the Belgian Juvenile Courts, 1912–1950 (Aurore François)....Pages 311-331 The Price of Virtue: Socio-Judicial Regulation of Juvenile Sexuality in France During the First Half of the Twentieth Century (David Niget)....Pages 333-363 Children and Their Families in the Montreal Juvenile Delinquents Court, 1912–1950: Actors or Spectators of Their Own Fate? (Jean Trépanier)....Pages 365-387 Conclusion: Towards a Transnational History of Youth in Justice Systems (Jean Trépanier, Xavier Rousseaux)....Pages 389-418 Back Matter ....Pages 419-433