RESOCIALIZATION AND RE-EDUCATIONAL TREATMENT OF JUVENILE OFFENDERS – BETWEEN IDEAL AND REALITY

Abstract

One of the pressing problems of Bosnian and Herzegovinian society is the delinquent behavior of young people, which is becoming a symbol of growing up in a dysfunctional society and a subculture that young people are increasingly accepting. Violent behavior, criminal acts, the need to be in the company of older criminals, drug and alcohol consumption, and dropping out of regular schooling are just some of the accompanying phenomena of delinquent behavior of young people. A disturbed value system and anomic society create ideal conditions for the development of behavioral disorders in children and young people. Juvenile delinquency is a phenomenon that is the result of inadequate socialization, upbringing, and the conditions in which a child grows up. However, when it occurs, it is necessary to apply the most effective educational measures in order to suppress and correct such behavior. In some situations when certain educational and corrective procedures, non-institutional programs and educational measures have not yielded positive results or when serious criminal offenses have been committed, minors are sent to a correctional home and a juvenile prison. In such institutions, the aim is to resocialize minor offenders, i.e. change their criminal attitudes and behavior, build an acceptable value system, complete primary education and vocational training. The aim of this paper is to point out certain shortcomings when it comes to institutional measures imposed on minor offenders, as well as the need to introduce more efficient institutional programs in order to make resocialization more successful.