Violent juvenile crime in the Czech Republic: concept, causes and trends

Under Section 126 of the Czech Criminal Code, a person under eighteen is regarded as a child, and the same follows from the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, Article 1 of which defines a child as every human being below the age of eighteen unless, under the law applicable to the child, majority is attained earlier. However, under special legislation, namely Act No. 218/2003 Coll., on the Liability of Youth for Unlawful Acts and on Juvenile Justice, as amended, a juvenile is defined in Section 2(1)(c) as "a person who, at the time of committing the offence, has reached the age of fifteen and has not exceeded the age of eighteen". A person can thus be regarded as a juvenile from the day following the day on which he or she reached the age of fifteen. On their fifteenth birthday, a person is still regarded as a child under fifteen and is therefore not criminally liable owing to age. By contrast, on their eighteenth birthday a person is still regarded as a juvenile.(1)

In general, criminality is a narrower concept subordinate to delinquency, because it covers only conduct defined in criminal codes; one can therefore speak of a legal definition of criminality.(2) Criminal behaviour is viewed as behaviour that disrupts the standard and smooth functioning of society, so it can be called socially destructive. Every society protects its values and defends them against antisocial behaviour that threatens them.(3) Violent crime can be described as a general term covering all intentional acts committed against a person rather than against property, with the objective element defined as the use of violence or the threat of violence or other serious harm.(4) This type of crime is part of so-called general crime and is regarded as a certain indicator of how successful the state and society are in controlling crime.(5) In psychological terms, violence can be understood as a pathological way in which an individual or group interacts with their surroundings. This includes all activities by which an individual or group forms and directs relationships with their social environment in a way that can be considered aggressive or manipulative.(6) A more precise definition of violence is given by the World Health Organization, which defines violence as "the intentional use of physical force or power, threatened or actual, against oneself, another person, or against a group or community, that either results in or has a high likelihood of resulting in injury, death, psychological harm, maldevelopment or deprivation".(7) The most common understanding, however, is limited to an attack on a person's physical or mental integrity involving the intentional use or threat of violence against another person.(8)
Violent crime is not a legal concept but a criminological one. The Criminal Code contains no precise definition of violence, with the exception of Section 119: "A criminal offence is also committed by violence if it is committed against a person whom the offender has rendered defenceless by deceit or in a similar manner."(9) The Criminal Code does not list violent crimes as a coherent group. For many crimes, violence is only an alternative or aggravating element of the offence. Examples include violence against a public official under Section 325, violence against a group of inhabitants and against an individual under Section 352, robbery under Section 173 and others. The Criminal Code also contains crimes that are committed by violence, whether directly by the use of violence or under the threat of violence, but where violence is not an element of the offence. These include in particular disorderly conduct under Section 358, prison mutiny under Section 344, abuse of a person in one's care under Section 198 and others.(10) The term violent crime is used mainly by the Police of the Czech Republic, which define it by the crimes they include under it and determine a tactical and statistical classification of crimes defined by sections of the Criminal Code.(11)

Within violent crime, bullying also deserves mention: in relation to juveniles it is one of the most common forms of violent behaviour and its trend can be assessed as rising. Another significant current criminal phenomenon is domestic violence, which is a highly widespread form of violent conduct in society. It has been stated that "the probability of being attacked and injured or killed by family members in the safety of one's home is three times greater than the probability of being attacked on the street, and that one in eight Czech women is beaten by her partner".(12) In terms of frequency and seriousness, domestic violence is the most underestimated form of violent conduct. It is highly latent and poorly monitored. On a global scale, terrorism must be mentioned as another form of violent crime, the essence of which is to spread fear and insecurity, with innocent people as the target group.(13)

The distribution of violent crime in society is uneven and depends on the socio-demographic characteristics of offenders. From the point of view of criminal law, offenders are persons who are criminally liable, i.e. sane persons over the age of 15. Socio-demographic characteristics include sex, age, socio-economic status, level of education, housing and so on.(14) Violent crime is committed more often by members of lower socio-economic classes than by members of the middle and upper classes, by uneducated rather than more educated persons, and by people living in towns rather than in villages.(15)
The most common risk factors for such violent behaviour are the mental health problems of the persons concerned, behavioural disorders, low socio-economic status, school absenteeism, poor school results, dependence on social services, the use of alcohol and drugs at an early age, and having been a victim of violence, abuse or neglect in the family.(16)
These criminogenic factors, which not infrequently trigger violent crime as early as in juveniles, can be divided into two basic and most important groups. The first factor is the influence of the family in which the individual grows up. If the family fails to pass non-violent values on to its children, there is a high probability that the children will choose violent conduct in adulthood, and even before reaching majority among friends or acquaintances. Children's behaviour results mainly from imitation, which is the most basic social learning process. Violent patterns of parental behaviour, characterised above all by frequent and severe corporal punishment, are then transferred to children, who imitate this behaviour in various situations outside the family environment. The second factor is the norms of behaviour prevailing in society, which depend on how society evaluates violence, what prestige it grants it and how it defines it — as legitimate or functional. All this has a great influence on the development of an individual's values.(17) Our society is influenced by culture, politics, contemporary civilisation and the mass media. The significance of aggression and death is levelled out by action films, reports from battlefields and terrorist attacks, computer games and the like, to which children and juveniles have ever greater and freer access. It thus becomes something ordinary, and the ability to empathise with others is lost. We live in ever greater emotional isolation. As a result, the threshold of aggression falls.(18)

A typical feature of juvenile crime is that it is committed in groups. Delinquent conduct by young people occurs in groups usually made up of peers. Peers are important to a young individual, especially in forming relationships and social ties. The peer group thus becomes a reference group for the adolescent, with a great influence on shaping his or her value system. Other characteristic features of juvenile crime are inadequacy of conduct, inability to delay gratification and excessive brutality. Attractiveness and fashion are the main criteria for the young population. However, to keep up with trends they usually lack sufficient money, and since they find it difficult to obtain enough by ordinary means, they resort to deviant ways of getting it. Because juveniles are easily drawn into delinquent conduct driven by a desire for adventure and excitement, they do not realise the consequences their actions may have. Experts cite insufficient preparation and planning as another significant aspect. Typical manifestations include the randomness of the place and time of the act or inappropriately used tools, and related to this, leaving a larger number of traces and poor concealment.(19)

To illustrate the trend in violent juvenile crime in the Czech Republic, a chart was prepared on the basis of statistical data from the website of the Police of the Czech Republic, showing the development of the percentage share of violent crime in total juvenile crime in 2000–2015. As the data show, the share of violent crime has been rising in the long term, which certainly cannot be assessed positively, and the share of violent juvenile crime increased significantly between 2000 and 2015.

(1) Šámal, P., Válková, H., et al., Zákon o soudnictví ve věcech mládeže. Komentář. 2nd edition. Prague: C. H. Beck, 2007, pp. 10–11.
(2) Firstová, Jana, Kriminalita mládeže v sociálních souvislostech, Plzeň: Aleš Čeněk, 2014, pp. 14–15.
(3) Schelleová, I., et al., Právní postavení mladistvých, 1st edition, Prague: EUROLEX BOHEMIA, s.r.o., 2004, p. 21.
(4) Collective of authors, Násilná kriminalita v nejisté době, Prague: Institute of Criminology and Social Prevention, 2015, p. 32.
(5) Novotný, O., Zapletal, J., et al., Kriminologie – 2nd revised edition, Prague: ASPI Publishing, 2004, pp. 282–285.
(6) Spurný, J., Psychologie násilí, 1st edition, Prague: Eurounion, s.r.o., 1996, pp. 1–17.
(7) Collective of authors, Násilná kriminalita v nejisté době, Prague: Institute of Criminology and Social Prevention, 2015, p. 21.
(8) Novotný, O., Zapletal, J., et al., Kriminologie – 2nd revised edition, Prague: ASPI Publishing, 2004, pp. 282–285.
(9) Act No. 40/2009 Coll., the Criminal Code, Section 119
(10) Novotný, O., Zapletal, J., et al., Kriminologie – 2nd revised edition, Prague: ASPI Publishing, 2004, pp. 282–285.
(11) Collective of authors, Násilná kriminalita v nejisté době, Prague: Institute of Criminology and Social Prevention, 2015, p. 18.
(12) Novotný, O., Zapletal, J., et al., Kriminologie – 2nd revised edition, Prague: ASPI Publishing, 2004, pp. 291–292.
(13) Novotný, O., Zapletal, J., et al., Kriminologie – 2nd revised edition, Prague: ASPI Publishing, 2004, pp. 292–293.
(14) Novotný, O., Zapletal, J., et al., Kriminologie – 2nd revised edition, Prague: ASPI Publishing, 2004, pp. 282–285.
(15) Novotný, O., Zapletal, J., et al., Kriminologie – 2nd revised edition, Prague: ASPI Publishing, 2004, pp. 282–285.
(16) Collective of authors, Násilná kriminalita v nejisté době, Prague: Institute of Criminology and Social Prevention, 2015, p. 18.
(17) Novotný, O., Zapletal, J., et al., Kriminologie – 2nd revised edition, Prague: ASPI Publishing, 2004, pp. 294–295.
(18) Collective of authors, Násilná kriminalita v nejisté době, Prague: Institute of Criminology and Social Prevention, 2015, p. 35.
(19) Firstová, Jana, Kriminalita mládeže v sociálních souvislostech, Plzeň: Aleš Čeněk, 2014, pp. 30–32