[Legal probation of juvenile offenders after release from penal reformative training]

Over recent years, there has been an increase in adolescent delinquency in Germany and Switzerland. In this context, the episodic character of the majority of adolescent delinquency is usually pointed out; however, numerous studies show high re-offending rates for released adolescents. The goal of this study is to examine the legal probation of juvenile delinquents after release from penal reformative training. In this study, the legal probation of adolescents committed to the AEA Uitikon, in the Canton of Zurich, between 1974 and 1986 was scrutinized by examining extracts from their criminal record as of 2003. The period of catamnesis was thus between 17 and 29 years. Overall, 71% of offenders reoffended, 29% with a violent or sexual offence. Bivariate logistic regression showed that the kind of offence committed had no influence on the probability of recidivism. If commitment to the AEA was due to a single offence (as opposed to serial offences), the risk of recidivism was reduced by 71% (OR=0.29). The results of the study show that young delinquents sentenced and committed to penal reformative training have a high recidivism risk. Furthermore, the results point out the importance of the evaluation of the offense-preventive efficacy of penal measures.