“It’s old-fashioned, it’s already in the texts,” says a former president of a children’s court

“The court can already order community service” for people over 16 years old tried for acts when they were 13-16 years old, recalls Jean-Pierre Rosenczveig, former president of the Bobigny children’s court, Wednesday on franceinfo.

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Jean-Pierre Rosenczveig, former president of the Bobigny children's court (Seine-Saint-Denis), August 27, 2018. (DAMIEN GRENON / DAMIEN GRENON)

Work of educational interest for juvenile delinquents under the age of 16, mentioned by the Prime Minister, is “already in the texts, and even behind what is in the texts”, reacts Wednesday January 31 on franceinfo Jean-Pierre Rosenczveig, former president of the Bobigny children’s court (Seine-Saint-Denis). During his general policy declaration, Gabriel Attal mentioned this system on Tuesday, which Minister of Justice Éric Dupond-Moretti then clarified on Wednesday on franceinfo.

If Jean-Pierre Rosenczveig believes that this measure “can be useful” to do “realize” to these minor delinquents “of their behavior”he still judges this device “cheesy”. He mentions in particular the Perben law of 2002 “who already wants the one who messes to repair”. This honorary magistrate explains that this “reparation measure can be ordered by the judge or by a prosecutor after custody”. He also recalls that “the court can already order community service” for people over 16 years old tried for acts when they were 13-16 years old. He therefore sees in the government’s comments “announcement effects”.

Shortage of educators

Jean-Pierre Rosenczveig rather highlights the difficulties of applying the legal arsenal. “We can’t find educators or land”, regrets the former president of the Bobigny children’s court. According to him, we went, for example, from “5 000 works of general interest pronounced 5-6 years ago at 2 000 last year”.

On Franceinfo on Wednesday, the Minister of Justice also put forward the idea of “intervene soldiers, gendarmes, police officers or youth judicial protection educators” among single mothers “outdated” by their child’s behavior. Gold for Jean-Pierre Rosenczveig, “it’s not up to the police” to carry out this work, “but to social workers”. He also denounces the lack of “specialized prevention in 18 departments” French. “If we don’t have social workers to change the course of people’s lives, you can impose all the sentences you want, you can make all the laws you want, it won’t change anything.” adds this former president of the Bobigny children’s court.


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