Juvenile delinquency - Psychiatric care is what youths need

ANY lingering doubts about the underlying causes of juvenile delinquency are well and truly removed by a new report showing that four out of five young people in detention schools suffer from psychiatric problems.

The results make it crystal clear that locking up young offenders, without providing therapies for disorders, is counter-productive and will do little to combat the growing crisis of delinquency and violence in society.

Carried out by two UCD academics, the chilling findings show that one in five boys who offend had suicidal thoughts and attempted to take their lives, while more than half were abusing alcohol and drugs.

When they were children, many delinquents began using cannabis and alcohol when they were only nine years of age. By age 13 they had graduated to cocaine.

Overall, two thirds of all juvenile offenders suffer from conduct disorder conditions. With more than 50% abusing drink and drugs, half were addicted to cocaine and cannabis and the others to alcohol and cannabis.

This shocking picture is revealed at a time when the State is spending €30 million annually funding specialised care for approximately 72 disturbed youths.

Further illustrating the high cost of combating delinquency, the taxpayer also had to foot the 20,000-a-week bill in 2006 for six children sent abroad for treatment not available locally.

As things stand, detention centres for young people are bursting at the seams and judges regularly find there is no room for new arrivals. This problem was highlighted yesterday when a 15-year-old boy awaiting sentence was due back before the Children’s Court because there was no custodial place in Oberstown Boys Centre for him earlier this week.

Compounding the space problem, a new centre, Coovagh House in Co Limerick, failed to reopen as planned last week, the latest in a succession of missed deadlines.

Significantly, many of the findings of the Irish survey are in line with British research which suggested detention centres may cause or exacerbate mental disorders in young boys.

According to the British study, young male offenders in local authority secure units do not get mental health services they need. As a result, potentially serious conditions like depression and anxiety often go untreated.The Irish report urges the development of community based interventions which could be effective in reducing offending problems in local communities.

In a bid to tackle anti-social behaviour, Justice Minister Michael McDowell has introduced controversial British-style antisocial behaviour orders (ASBOs) for both children and adults. To date, five behaviour warnings have been issued to children, and to 21 adults.

The report depicts a depressing picture of the criminalised background of young people in detention centres. Almost all offenders (97%) have at least one family member who has a criminal conviction while 90% have a family member who served time in jail.

In almost every case, behavioural problems first emerged in school where delinquents are characterised by truancy, suspension, and expulsion.

Underlining the inadequacy of the existing approach to delinquency, there are no aftercare plans in place for troubled teenagers when they leave support units. Effectively, this means they are left without any support network once they turn 18.

Intervention and prevention are far preferable to detention. So, it is crucial that young people on the cusp of criminality be identified at an early stage.

When they are first locked up, all young offenders should be screened for mental health problems. However, unless proper access is provided to vital services and therapeutic treatment, most are destined for a life of crime, with all that implies for society.