The role of the Juvenile Protection Education Institution since it helps to accurately diagnose the causes of juvenile delinquency in its early stages and provides the right treatment appropriate for the characteristics of individual juveniles.
However, currently there is only 1 the Juvenile Protection Education Institution in South Korea and 6 proxy juvenile detention institutions. Under the circumstance, such institutions are severely overcrowded with juvenile delinquents. As the number of juveniles in such institutions increases continuously with the establishment of competent courts, overcrowding gets more severe, worsening negative aspects such as human rights infringement and learning crimes. Under the current situation, there is a need to analyze the status of the current operation of the The Juvenile Protection Education Institution, its role and function, and examine the measures that the The Juvenile Protection Education Institution needs to take to accurately diagnose juvenile delinquents and to decide on their treatment.
The target of this study is the juveniles under detention at the Seoul The Juvenile Protection Education Institution and at the juvenile detention centers in Busan, Daegu, Gwangju, Daejeon, Chuncheon, and Jeju, the staff members who guide and review these delinquents, and the judges handling juvenile cases.
First, the findings of the survey of juveniles under detention on the changes in their attitude and awareness before and after entering detention institutions show that many of them thought they themselves are responsible for what they did, that they acknowledge their wrongdoings, and that therefore they are under detention. Quite a few of them answered that they are apologetic and feel responsible for their victims, and came to look back upon their parents (custodians). However, they are greatly worried about detention center disposition or the influence of the same on their life in society after they are discharged from detention facilities. With respect to mental state and attitude, they gave positive uations on their awareness about their future, regularity, consideration of others, patience, etc.
The result of staff survey shows that work conditions such as physical work environment (facilities and amenities), work hours, social awareness, and welfare are pointed out as the priority area for improvement. This means that there should be a measure to urgently improve their work conditions. However, the respondents said their job is worth doing, meaning it is of an element that should be maintained continuously. Regarding education works, guidance of life and detention management were surveyed to be very important job. Given those in charge of education works said that the appropriate number of juveniles under detention was around 10 on average, that the current number is too large is a serious problem. Regarding classification review works, monitoring of behavior and attitudes during education, and in-depth interview by classification review officers were turned out to be most helpful in preparing classification review reports. Currently, one classification review officer prepares an average of 20 to 30 classification review reports on a monthly basis but appropriate number of such reports should be some 15, classification review officers responded.
In a comparison survey on the function of the The Juvenile Protection Education Institution perceived by juveniles under detention, staff, and judges taking care of juvenile cases, such judges perceived it as an institution for misconduct prevention and education, those juveniles under detention regarded it as a confinement facility, staff considered it as an agency for classification review and detention. Considering this, rather than being an organ distributing scarce resources with various functions, the The Juvenile Protection Education Institution needs to be an entity that focuses on diagnosing misconducts accurately that cannot be done by other agencies and that carries out prevention education and detention diagnose.
In order to strengthen the role of the The Juvenile Protection Education Institution, it is necessary not only to establish more The Juvenile Protection Education Institutions by the unit of metropolitan city but also to make small the current facilities of the classification review board and to abolish the classification review function of the proxy juvenile detention institutions. Considering negative side effects, classification review of young juveniles through detention should be limited as much as possible. Behavior observation and environment inspection should be the priority for the purpose of specializing classification review. And there is a need to remove transport of delinquents and night duty from the duty list of classification review officers to improve their work environment. They should be given ample office hours to diagnose misconducts and prepare classification review reports. There is also a need to develop specialized education programs to prevent delinquency especially those detained at the institutions in their beginning stage of delinquency.
Second, regarding legislative improvements, there is a need for special budgeting and treatment of those subject to classification review through a separate legislation, for example, of the Act on the The Juvenile Protection Education Institution (temporary name). In addition, for a specialized misconduct diagnose, the minimum number of juvenile delinquents should be detained. To minimize human rights violations, the criteria to extend detention period should be stipulated in related laws, and legal grounds should be prepared to more strictly apply the causes for detention.
Procedural rules to raise objections to classification review processes should be laid down to let delinquents themselves and their parents to make appeals. There should be separate provisions in related laws for treatment of those juveniles in the proxy institutions, aside from treatment for juveniles in average juvenile detention centers.