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Juvenile Delinquency in Switzerland Over 50 Years: Assessing Trends beyond Statistics

Killias, Martin ; Lucia, Sonia ; Lamon, Philippe ; Mathieu, Simonin

In: European Journal on Criminal Policy and Research, 2004, vol. 10, no. 2-3, p. 111-122

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    Titre
    • Juvenile Delinquency in Switzerland Over 50 Years: Assessing Trends beyond Statistics
    Auteur
    • Killias, Martin. University of Lausanne Ecole des Sciences Criminelles Institut de Criminologie et de Droit Pénal 1015, Lausanne, Switzerland
    • Lucia, Sonia. University of Lausanne Ecole des Sciences Criminelles Institut de Criminologie et de Droit Pénal 1015, Lausanne, Switzerland
    • Lamon, Philippe. University of Lausanne Ecole des Sciences Criminelles Institut de Criminologie et de Droit Pénal 1015, Lausanne, Switzerland
    • Mathieu, Simonin. University of Lausanne Ecole des Sciences Criminelles Institut de Criminologie et de Droit Pénal 1015, Lausanne, Switzerland
    Type de document
    • Postprint
    Langue
    • Anglais
    Publié dans
    • European Journal on Criminal Policy and Research, 2004, vol. 10, no. 2-3, p. 111-122. Kluwer Academic Publishers
    Autre version électronique
    Identifiant OAI-PMH
    • oai:doc.rero.ch:314688
    Summary
    The general public seems to be convinced that juvenile delinquency has massively increased over the last decades. However, this assumption is much less popular among academics and some media where doubts about the reality of this trend are often expressed. In the present paper, trends are followed using conviction statistics over 50 years, police and victimization data since the 1980s, and self-report data collected since 1992. All sources consistently point to a massive increase of offending among juveniles, particularly for violent offences during the 1990s. Given that trends were similar in most European countries, explanations should be sought at the European rather than the national level. The available evidence points to possible effects of increased opportunities for property offences since 1950, and although causality remains hard to prove, effects of increased exposure to extreme media violence since 1985