New youth criminal law will mean longer jail terms: minister

Youngsters aged 15 to 23 will face criminal charges as either juveniles or adults, under new legislation being drawn up by junior justice minister Fred Teeven.


The minister sent a briefing note to MPs on Saturday outlining his plans for a ‘coherent package of sanctions’ for youngsters, with a focus on tougher sentences for serious crimes.
The maximum juvenile detention centre sentence is to be doubled to four years and serious sexual or violent crimes will always involve jail time, the minister said. Judges will also be able to sentence youngsters to psychiatric prison, once a period in a juvenile psychiatric institution has ended.
‘Age will no longer be important,’ Teeven told the Telegraaf newspaper. ‘We will come down hard on youngsters who are habitual offenders.’
Earlier stories
Dutch prisons have high proportion of juveniles
Juvenile law too focused on punishment: report
Six juvenile prisons to be shut

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