Evaluation of the Pilot Project of Care for Victims of Young Offenders

Abstract

In November 2014, the Directorate-General for Criminal Enforcement in the Community and Juvenile Justice launched the Pilot Project to Care for Victims of Juvenile Offenders with the aim of meeting the eventual needs of victims and to support them, contacting them in a proactive, personalized and individualized way. This study presents the results of the evaluation of this Project during the first years of its application.

The research provides information on the characteristics of the minor victims who were treated between November 2015 and June 2016 and on their assessment of the support received, based on the data collected through questionnaires designed ad hoc for the research and telephone surveys of victims after the intervention. The opinion of the professionals who attend them is also collected.

The study works with information on 1,347 victims, and more specifically with the 935 (69.4%) who were contacted by phone to find out if they needed any intervention. With 329 of them (one in four) they actually had other interventions that are explained in the study.

The study evaluates the effectiveness of these interventions based on the objectives defined in the pilot project and assesses the reduction in the victimization of the person assisted by measuring their level of affect as a result of the crime before the intervention of the professionals and after the intervention. The conclusions obtained will allow resources to be optimized and professional actions to be adjusted in the final project.