
Juvenile Crime
Code: 100469Credits: 6
| Degree programme | Type | Course |
|---|---|---|
| Criminology | OB | 3 |
Contact lecturer
- Name :
- Albert Pedrosa Bou
- Email :
- albert.pedrosa@uab.cat
Teaching staff
- Judit Xufre Calafell
Group languages
You can consult this information at the end of the document.
Prerequisites
It is advisable to have a previous knowledge on criminological theories
The course will be taught considering the perspective of the Sustainable Development Goals.
The theoretical classes, as well as seminars will be taught in Catalan. In case of particular language related needs, Seminar 13 can be taught in Spanish.
Objectives
The course will address the phenomenon of juvenile delinquency from its various dimensions: Its causes, its evaluation, the Juvenile Justice System, and the means of prevention and intervention with young offenders. At the end of the course, the students will be able to identify the factors related to juvenile delinquency, assess the risk and needs of young offenders, and propose intervention and prevention measures with young people.
Learning outcomes
- Working autonomously.
- Working in teams and networking.
- Ability to analyse and summarise.
- Drawing up an academic text.
- Verbally transmitting ideas to an audience.
- Respectfully interacting with other people.
- Applying the criminological theories.
- Analysing with scientific criteria the information obtained in criminological databases.
- Appropriately choosing the social resource for each professional intervention case.
- Using the appropriate research methodology in accordance with the suggested criminological research.
- Inferring the intervention models in accordance with a previous needs assessment.
- Efficiently applying the foundations of the different crime policies in the professional activity.
- Accurately applying the prevention models in specific crime situations.
- Applying the scientific criminological knowledge to the delinquency analysis.
- Correctly drawing up every part of a criminological research project.
Contents
Topic 1: Background and contextualization of juvenile delinquency.
Topic 2: Development, maturity and crime.
Topic 3: Causes and theories of juvenile delinquency.
Topic 4: Risk assessment in juvenile delinquency. Risk and protective factors.
Topic 5: The Juvenile Justice Systems: protection and reform.
Topic 6: Prevention and intervention strategies on juvenile delinquency.
Learning activities and methodology
| Title | Hours | ECTS | Learning outcomes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lectures | 19.5 | 0.78 | 5, 6, 7, 8, 11 |
| Exam | 5 | 0.2 | 1, 3, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15 |
| Personal work | 101 | 4.04 | 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 11 |
| Seminar | 19.5 | 0.78 | 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 11 |
A) Lectures
During the lectures, activities will be carried out to promote reflection and debate.
B) Seminars
Students will have to prepare a paper or perform another activity to prepare for the seminar. During the seminar, students will have the opportunity to listen to different opinions of the rest of the classmates and professors, resolve doubts, discuss the main ideas and consequently, increase their learning about juvenile delinquency. The topic of the seminars will be posted on the virtual campus at the beginning of the course.
Assessment
Continuous assessment activities
| Title | Weight | Hours | ECTS | Learning outcomes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Individual essays (Seminars) | 40% | 0 | 0 | 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15 |
| Exam | 25% | 2 | 0.08 | 4, 7, 12, 14 |
| Exam | 25% | 2 | 0.08 | 1, 3, 4, 7, 12 |
| Oral Presentation | 10% | 1 | 0.04 | 1, 3, 4, 7, 8, 13 |
Continuous Assessment
The subject's assessment system is continuous assessment, which is detailed below:
Conditions for being assessed and passing the subject
Students will only be able to pass the subject if they attend a minimum of 80% of the lectures and seminars.
Absences can only be justified for reasons of serious illness or other reasons of force majeure duly justified and authorized by the teaching staff.
To pass the subject, a minimum average of 5 must be obtained in the exams, and the final average for the subject must reach 5.
Students will be assessed if they have carried out a set of activities whose weight is equivalent to a minimum of 2/3 of the total grade for the subject. If the value of the activities carried out does not reach this threshold, the subject teacher may consider the student as \"non-assessable\".
Assessment items
a) Seminar work (50%).
i) Individual presentation (10%).
ii) Individual essays (40%).
b) Two exams (50% in total).
Retakes
In the event of not passing the exams, they may be retaken.
Other important aspects of the assessment
No late assignments will be accepted; students will receive a 0 for that assignment without the possibility of recovery.
Fraudulent conduct
Students who copy or attempt to copy in an exam will receive a 0 for the subject and will lose the right to reassessment. A student who presents an assignment in which there are signs of plagiarism or who cannot justify the arguments for their assignment will receive a 0 and will receive a warning. In the event of a repeat of conduct, the student will fail the subject (0) and will lose the rightto recover.
Punctuality and behavior in the classroom
Classes begin and end on time. Entry to the classroom after its beginning or exit before its end is not permitted, except with reasonable justification.
All students are required to have a respectful attitude towards the rest of the students. No offensive or discriminatory behavior (due to birth, race, sex, religion, opinion, or any other personal or social circumstance) will be tolerated during classes.
Restricted use of IA
For this course, the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies is not permitted for continuous assessment activities or seminar essays. If AI is permitted for a specific activity, this will be indicated by the lecturer. In such cases, the use of AI technologies must be clearly identified, and a critical reflection on how they influenced the process and final outcome of the activity must be included. Lack of transparency regarding the use of AI in an assessable activity will be considered academic dishonesty and may result in a partial or full penalty on the activity grade, or more severe sanctions in serious cases.
Review of grades
The review of the final grade follows the same procedure for both continuous and single assessment.
Single Assessment
In this case, students who meet the requirements established in the UAB regulations will be assessed based on a final test, in which the student must demonstrate that they have acquired the set of skills of the subject:
1. Risk assessment in juvenile delinquency. The student must solve an exercise aimed at assessing the risk of a case using the SAVRY Model. - 60 min. - 20%
2. Oral presentation:students must reflectand answer the teacher's questions on a set of proposed topics (mandatory essays). - 20 min. - 20%
3. Final synthesis exam: students must answer the questions posed in the final exam of the subject (theoretical lessons). - 90 min. - 60%. To prepare this part, it is highly recommended to read the following handbook: Cardenal-Montraveta, S. (2022). La responsabilidad penal de los menores. Tirant lo Blanch
In the event of not passing the first single assessment, students will have the right to retake.
Bibliography
Mandatory readings
Andrés-Pueyo, A. & Echeburúa, E. (2010). Valoración del riesgo de violencia: instrumentos disponibles e indicaciones de aplicación. Psicothema, 22 (3), 403-409.
Bravo, A. & Santos-González, I. (2017). Menores extranjeros no acompañados en España: necesidades y modelos de intervención. Psychosocial Intervention, 26(1), 55-62. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psi.2015.12.001
Díaz, M.J.J. (2015). Algunas reflexiones sobre la responsabilidad penal de los menores. Revista Electrónica de Ciencia Penal y Criminología, 17, 19.
Fernández-Molina, E. (2024). ¿Son ahora los jóvenes españoles más violentos? Un análisis de los datos oficiales sobre homicidios y agresiones sexuales. InDret, (1), 279-301.
Fernández-Molina, E. (2025). Jóvenes en el sistema penal: ¿una oportunidad de socialización legal?. InDret, (2), 232-261.
Hoge, R. D., Vincent, G., Guy, L. & Redondo-Illescas, S. (2015). Serie especial: La transición desde la delincuencia juvenil a la delincuencia adulta IV. Revista Española de Investigación Criminológica, 13, 1–40. https://doi.org/10.46381/reic.v13i.131
García-España, E., Carvalho da Silva, J., Casado-Patricio, E, & Prado-Manrique, B. (2021). Adolescentes marroquíes en calle: desprotección, delincuencia y victimización. Revista Española de Investigación Criminológica, 19(1), 1–41. https://doi.org/10.46381/reic.v19i1.567
Tamarit-Sumalla, J.M. (2024). Menores contra menores: ¿justicia para víctimas e infractores?. Revista General de Derecho Penal, 42.
*Students must also work with material provided to prepare de seminars.
Recommended readings
Agnew, R. & Brezina, T. (2005). Juvenile delinquency: Causes and control. Oxford Universty Press.
Blanch, M., Capdevila, M., Ferrer, M., Framis, B., Ruíz, U., Mora, J., Batlle, A. & López, B. (2017). La Reincidència en la justícia de menors. Centre d’Estudis Jurídics i de Formació Especialitzada. http://cejfe.gencat.cat/ca/recerca/cataleg/crono/2017/reincidencia-jj/
Cardenal-Montraveta, S. (2022). La responsabilidad penal de los menores. Tirant lo Blanch.
Farrington, D. P. (2019). Factores de riesgo y de protección en la infancia para los que desisten de manera temprana, tardía y para los delincuentes persistentes. Revista Española de Investigación Criminológica, 17, 1–33. https://doi.org/10.46381/reic.v17i.225
Fernández-Molina, E. & Bartolomé, R. (2019). Delincuencia y justicia juvenil en España ¿qué sabemos?. Tirant lo Blanch
Fernández-Molina, E. & Bernuz,M. J. (2018). Justiciade menores. Síntesis.
Heilbrum, K., Sevin-Goldstein, N. & Reeding, R. (Eds.) (2005). Juvenile delinquency: Prevention, assessment and intervention. Oxford University Press.
Ibabe, I., & Jaureguizar, J.(2011). El perfil psicológico de los menores denunciados por violencia filio-parental. Revista Española de Investigación Criminológica, 9, 1-19. https://doi.org/10.46381/reic.v9i0.63
Martín-González, A.P. & Gimeno, C. (2023). Las niñas y adolescentes migrantes no acompañadas: un reto para el Sistema de Protección de Menores. Repositorio de la Universidad de Zaragoza
Montero, T. & de Vicente, R. (2016). Justicia juvenil. Tirant lo Blanch.
Olweus, D. (1993). Bullying at school. What we know,and what we can do [trad espanyola: Conductas de acoso y amenaza entre escolares. Morata, 1998]
Perry, A., McDougall, C. & Farrington, D., (Eds.) (2006). Reducing crime: The effectiveness of criminal justice intervention. Willey & Sons, Ltd.
Rechea, C. & Cuervo, A. L. (2010). Menores agresores en el ámbito familiar: Un estudio de casos. Revista de Derecho Penal y Criminología, 3, 353-375.
Vázquez González, C. (2019). Delincuencia juvenil. Dykinson S.L.
Software
No specific program is required in this course.
Course groups and languages
The information provided is provisional until November 30. After this date, you will be able to consult the language of each group through this link. To access the information, you will need to enter the course CODE
| Type of teaching | Group | Language | Semester | Shift |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| (TE) Theory | 1 | Catalan | first semester | morning-mixed |
| (SEM30) Seminaris (30 estudiants per grup) | 11 | Catalan | first semester | morning-mixed |
| (SEM30) Seminaris (30 estudiants per grup) | 12 | Catalan | first semester | morning-mixed |
| (SEM30) Seminaris (30 estudiants per grup) | 13 | Catalan/Spanish | first semester | morning-mixed |