Parents of young offenders ‘complicit’

YOUNG offenders involved with probation projects typically have “ineffective” or “violent” parents, according to an internal Government review.

Half of the projects said they dealt with situations where the parents or other family members of the youth were actively complicit in the offending behaviour.

The internal review of 14 community projects was conducted by the Young Persons Probation, part of the Probation Service and the Irish Youth Justice Service. Detailed interviews with the staff of these projects found that: