CRC/C/GC/10
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94. In addition, specialized services such as probation, counselling or supervision should be
established together with specialized facilities including for example day treatment centres and,
where necessary, facilities for residential care and treatment of child offenders. In this juvenile
justice system, an effective coordination of the activities of all these specialized units, services
and facilities should be promoted in an ongoing manner.
95. It is clear from many States parties’ reports that non-governmental organizations can and
do play an important role not only in the prevention of juvenile delinquency as such, but also in
the administration of juvenile justice. The Committee therefore recommends that States parties
seek the active involvement of these organizations in the development and implementation of
their comprehensive juvenile justice policy and provide them with the necessary resources for
this involvement.
VI. AWARENESS-RAISING AND TRAINING
96. Children who commit offences are often subject to negative publicity in the media, which
contributes to a discriminatory and negative stereotyping of these children and often of children
in general. This negative presentation or criminalization of child offenders is often based on
misrepresentation and/or misunderstanding of the causes of juvenile delinquency, and results
regularly in a call for a tougher approach (e.g. zero-tolerance, three strikes and you are out,
mandatory sentences, trial in adult courts and other primarily punitive measures). To create a
positive environment for a better understanding of the root causes of juvenile delinquency and a
rights-based approach to this social problem, the States parties should conduct, promote and/or
support educational and other campaigns to raise awareness of the need and the obligation to
deal with children alleged of violating the penal law in accordance with the spirit and the letter of
CRC. In this regard, the States parties should seek the active and positive involvement of
members of parliament, NGOs and the media, and support their efforts in the improvement of the
understanding of a rights-based approach to children who have been or are in conflict with the
penal law. It is crucial for children, in particular those who have experience with the juvenile
justice system, to be involved in these awareness-raising efforts.
97. It is essential for the quality of the administration of juvenile justice that all the
professionals involved, inter alia, in law enforcement and the judiciary receive appropriate
training on the content and meaning of the provisions of CRC in general, particularly those
directly relevant to their daily practice. This training should be organized in a systematic and
ongoing manner and should not be limited to information on the relevant national and
international legal provisions. It should include information on, inter alia, the social and other
causes of juvenile delinquency, psychological and other aspects of the development of children,
with special attention to girls and children belonging to minorities or indigenous peoples, the
culture and the trends in the world of young people, the dynamics of group activities, and the
available measures dealing with children in conflict with the penal law, in particular measures
without resorting to judicial proceedings (see chapter IV, section B, above).
VII. DATA COLLECTION, EVALUATION AND RESEARCH
98. The Committee is deeply concerned about the lack of even basic and disaggregated data
on, inter alia, the number and nature of offences committed by children, the use and the average
duration of pretrial detention, the number of children dealt with by resorting to measures other
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