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Juvenile assistance in criminal proceedings


The youth welfare service in criminal proceedings supports and assists juveniles and adolescents in proceedings, but also supervises them with regard to instructions and tasks and acts as an advisor to the court.

The Youth Welfare Office performs the following tasks in its function as youth welfare in criminal proceedings:

  • Checking at an early stage whether youth welfare services can be considered for the accused (and, if applicable, his or her family) (Section 52 (2) Sentence 1 Social Code Book VIII).
  • Supervision of the juvenile or adolescent throughout the entire proceedings, if possible by the same staff member (Section 52 (3) Social Code Book VIII)
  • Right and duty to refer instructions and conditions (Section 38 (2) Sentence 5 Juvenile Courts Act)
  • Support for the young person during detention and the juvenile sentence (section 38 (2) sentence 9 Juvenile Courts Act) and subsequent reintegration support (section 38 (2) sentence 9 Juvenile Courts Act)

Requirements

Existing suspicion of a criminal offense against a juvenile (14 to 17 years of age at the time of the offense) or an adolescent (18 to 20 years of age at the time of the offense).