In 2020, 410 minors were reported to state prosecutors, so in addition to pending criminal reports from the previous period against 155 minors, proceedings were conducted against 565 minors as perpetrators of criminal acts, according to the data of the State Prosecutor's Office.
Acting on the submitted criminal charges, the state prosecutors issued decisions on the rejection of criminal charges against 172 minors, and preparatory proceedings were initiated against 167 of them.
"The court imposed an educational sentence against 24 juveniles, two juvenile perpetrators were sentenced to prison and the proceedings were suspended against five juvenile perpetrators, while criminal charges against 166 juveniles remained unresolved at the end of the reporting period", according to the annual Report on the work of the Prosecutor's Office advice.
Acting according to orders for preparatory proceedings, it is written in that document, state prosecutors conducted preparatory proceedings against 167 minors in the reporting period.
"According to 17 minors, the proceedings were suspended, and a proposal was submitted for the imposition of criminal sanctions against 197 minors. At the end of the reporting period, the preparatory procedure for 10 minors remained unresolved. In the reporting period, proposals for the imposition of criminal sanctions against 197 minors were pending before the court, so with pending proposals from the previous period against 86 minors, proposals for the imposition of criminal sanctions against 253 minors were pending before the court. For 7 minors, the court pronounced: an educational measure of reprimand, for 67 minors an educational measure of special obligations, for 22 minors an educational measure of increased supervision by a legal representative, for 75 minors increased supervision by a guardianship authority, for one juvenile increased supervision in an institution, according to 13 juveniles were sent to a non-institutional type educational institution, 8 juveniles were sent to an institutional type educational institution, two juveniles were sentenced to juvenile prison, and the procedure was suspended for 5 juveniles. At the end of the reporting period, proposals for the imposition of criminal sanctions against 74 minors remained unresolved with the court," the text reads.
From 14 to 17 years
The report explains that one minor committed two crimes - illegal possession of weapons and explosive substances and failure to comply with health regulations for the prevention of a dangerous infectious disease: "For whom the Expert Service recommended a unique educational order, which was accepted by the state prosecutor for minors (ODT Kolašin)"...
The report of the Expert Service was requested for 15 minors and two younger adults, who committed a total of 18 criminal acts.
"It can be seen that the report of the Expert Service was mainly requested for the commission of criminal offenses with elements of violence, namely for ten minors and two younger adults, while for the criminal offense - aggravated theft and the criminal offense - enabling the consumption of narcotic drugs, a report was requested for one each minors, and for two minors in connection with a criminal offense - serious offenses against the safety of public traffic and for two minors in connection with a criminal offense - failure to comply with health regulations for the suppression of a dangerous infectious disease".
It is stated that the age range of juvenile offenders is from 14 to 17 years, and most juveniles were between the ages of 17 (six) and 15 (five).
Three minors, as it says, are charged with domestic or family violence, violent behavior, and a serious crime against traffic safety...
Two minors are suspected of the criminal offense of criminal association for the purpose of human smuggling (assisting).
In the regular educational process
"It is observed that the majority of minors at the time of the commission of the criminal offense were in the regular educational process (13), namely: 11 minors attend high school, two minors attend the 9th grade of elementary school; and two younger adults are students," the report says.
Only two minors, as stated, were not in the regular education system at the time of the crime - one stopped his education after finishing the sixth grade, and one minor after the ninth grade of elementary school.
Criminal sanctions, by the way, can only be applied to perpetrators who have reached the age of 14 at the time of the commission of the crime.
Persons under the age of 14 are considered children in criminal law and, in case of committing a criminal offense, regardless of their nature and severity, no sanction provided for by law can be imposed on them.
Help more often requested for girls
In 2020, requests for assessment and assistance from the Expert Service related to 42 minor victims and ten minor witnesses.
"In the category - juvenile victims, the finding and assistance of the Expert Service in 2020 was requested more often for girls (30) than for boys (12), and the age range of minors at the time of the commission of a criminal offense to their detriment was from 6 to 17 year", says the Report.
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