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1

Przestępczość i sprawcy przestępstw z użyciem agresji

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Wójcik D.

Archiwum Kryminologii

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1991

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issue XVII

75-115

EN

The object of the paper is to show the trends of convictions for aggressive offences in Poland in the years 1972-1987 basing on court statistics, and to characterize this type of offences and their perpetrators. Moreover, basing on the findings of several Polish criminological studies, some of the factors have been indicated which may play an important part in the origin of aggressive offences. The main focus here is the problem of such offenders aggressiveness and their drinking habits, as the two factors are rather clearly connected with the discussed type of offences. Offences to be submitted to statistical analysis have been separated according to psychological and criminological criteria and not to the classification adopted in the Polish penal code. Thus only those offences from various chapters of the penal code have been taken into account where the facts of the given cases contained an explicit element of physical aggression against person or object, or of verbal aggression. Naturally, there is a great variety of acts which contain an element of aggression and are numbered among offences: they infringe different human values and interests from as vital as life and health to dignity, honour, or religious feelings. Also different is the seriousness of those acts (both misdemeanours and crimes being found among them), as well as the danger they create to the public weal, and the statutory penalties provided for them. Throughout the analysed period 1972–1987, the total number of convicted persons was relatively stable and amounted to the average of 150–160 thousand a year; it went down in 1977 and 1981–1984, only to increase again to the previous level in the years 1985–1987. Also the crime rate fluctuated similarly, amounting to 65–59 per 10,000, adult population, with the exception of 70.6 in 1972. In some years, the decrease of both the number of convictions and the crime rate can be explained with amnesty laws, while the increased number of convictions, in the years 1985–1987 resulted, among other things, from certain additional though temporary legal regulations introduced in that period (particularly from the Act of 1985 on special criminal responsibility). In the period under analysis, the proportion of persons convicted for aggressive offences amounted to about 40 per cent of the total number of convictions. At the same time, starting from 1975, a certain slight downward trend in the proportion of such convictions can be found, to as low as 35-36 per cent in the years 1979–1980, followed by an increase to the previous level. A certain decrease in the extent of convictions for aggressive offences can be explained partly with demographic changes. In the period under analysis, despite the general increase of the population aged 17 and more (by 12.9 per cent), the number of men aged 17–20 went down by about 35.5 per cent, and the same trend could be found in the case of men aged 21–24. It is a well-known fact that aggressive offences are committed mostly by young persons. Analysing the extent of aggressive offences from the point of view of the offenders’ sex and age, we find somewhat different trends in young adult as compared with adult men and women. Aggressive offences constitute about 60 per cent of all offences committed by young adult men, and 34–40 per cent of those of adult men. In the period under analysis, offences of this type committed by young adult men kept up the above level, fluctuations being greater in the case of adult men. In the structure of female crime, aggressive offences play a less significant role and constitute about 20 per cent in both age groups. There is also, as in the case of men, a distinct trend: stability of proportion of convictions of young adult women for such offences (about 20 per cent), and a distinct decrease in the case of adult women (from 23 to 12.6 per cent). Taking certain groups of offences as well as the separate acts into account, we find a considerable increase in the number of aggressive offences against property. It is determined mainly by the increase in the proportion of convictions for burglary and of particularly audacious larceny, and to a slight extent – for damage to property. Instead, proportions of convictions for robbery are rather stable. In the discussed period, robbery which contains an explicit element of aggression revealed no changes as regards the number of convictions: instead, upward trends could be found mainly in the case of burglary and of particularly audacious larceny where explicit aggressive traits can not always be found. Thus this finding corresponds but to some extent with the world trend. In the discussed period, a downward trend could be found as regards convictions for offences which involved physical and verbal aggression against person. Convictions for offences traditionally regarded as serious and dangerous for the public weal, such as murder or rape, remained at the same level, while those for bodily injury trended downwards. As has been mentioned above, the number of robberies, also included among serious offences, remained stable, the proportion of convictions for offences of this type arnong all convictions for aggressive acts being rathen low (murder, 0.5–07 per cent; rape, 2 per cent; robbery, 6.8 per cent). What should also be stressed is the decrease in convictions for participation in a brawl or battery, particularly in rural districts, and for assault on a public functionary or police officer, starting from 1978. Instead, convictions for physical or moral cruelty towards a family member maintain a rather high level with a slight upward trend. A regular increase it the number of convictions for that offence which dates from 1950s, is related to the trends in prosecuting and sentencing policy in family cases. The influence of the changes in criminal policy and legislation is also distinct in the case of convictions for violation of bodily inviolability, insult, and insult of a police officer which went down to begin with and then started increasing in numbers. The second part of the paper contains a discussion of the problem of conditions of aggressive crime. An attempt was made basing on the findings of criminological studies to answer the question whether most perpetrators of aggressive offences can be characterized as highly aggressive persons and excessive drinkers. The analysis concerned both the fact of repeated perpetration of aggressive offences, and the occurrence of aggressiveness as a permanent personality trait. As may be concluded from the studies of offences committed by different samples of young adults those in whose criminal career was at least one aggressive offence (c.g.) robbery, hooligan act, homicide) were more frequently than others convicted for aggressive offences. Thus the question should be answered whether most of the perpetrators of aggressive acts are characterized by distinct aggressiveness as a permanent personality trait. One can hardly suppose in this connection that a single aggressive offence might constitute a sufficient proof of the offendner’s aggressiveness. If, however one and the same person repeatedly commits aggressive offences, he might be an aggressive individual. A person has been defined as aggressive who reveals aggressive behaviour or a decidedly hostile attitude towards many persons in different situations. It has been found basing on psychological examination with the Buss- Durkee questionnaire and detailed data from interviews (which the authoress used to construct scales of aggressiveness), that most perpetrators of aggressive offences are characterized by a considerable aggressiveness as a relatively stable personality trait. Moreover, aggressiveness measured this way is a significantly less frequent characteristic of young adult offenders against property, and of non-delinquent youth. The above findings contribute but to some extent to the explanation of the nature of aggressive crime, as aggressiveness of offenders should be considered in connection with many other factors which exert a mutual influence on one another and jointly determine a criminal act in a given situation. In studies of various samples of aggressive offenders, their considerable excessive drinking was found. The issues under analysis included, among other things, the role of drinking in the origin of aggressive crime, alcohol’s direct as well as indirect influence on criminal behaviour taken into account. It was arqued that the offender’s intoxication plays a greater part in the origin of aggressive crime than of offences against property. Also the interdependence between aggressiveness and excessive drinking. As shown by the findings (among other things, of studies of young adult perpetrators or robbery and hooligan acts), excessive drinkers revealed intense aggressive behaviour significantly more often than those who did not drink excessively; moreover, such behaviour was found already at school which means that those persons were already aggressive as children, before they developed excessive drinking habits. Theorefore, their subsequent regular drinking could have been related to emotional instability with which also their aggressiveness was connected. They could have seeked relief of their emotional tension in excessive drinking. Also aggressive behaviour served to abreact that tension. To conclude, it should be stated that the perpetrators of aggressive acts, as opposed to those who commit mostly offences against property, are highly aggressive as a rule. Most of them also regularly drink excessively. Though they were not found to be significantly different in this respect from offenders on the whole, nevertheless alcohol no doubt plays an important part in most of their aggressive acts. In a given situation, their excessive drinking habits, intoxication at the moment of the act, or aggressiveness caused or intensified their already existing serious conflicts with the environment, influenced their distorted perception and interpretation of the reality, and facilitated an impulsive reaction to casual misunderstandings, and could therefore contribute to the emergence of aggressive acts qualified as offences.

2

Praca kuratora dla nieletnich w opinii sędziów sądów rodzinnych i kuratorów społecznych

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Wójcik D.

Archiwum Kryminologii

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1988

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issue XV

203-249

EN

The paper contains the results of a questionnaire study carried out on national representative samples of family courts judges (277 persons) and voluntary probation officers (247 persons). The main aim of the study was to obtain the practicians opinion as to the model of probation service existing in Poland and its ideal vision, as well as the conception of the work of a voluntary probation officer with a juvenile delinquent and his milieu and the: effectiveness of such work. comparing the statements of judges and voluntary probation officers, the author intended to find out what opinion the persons who play various parts in the process of resocialization of juveniles have on the educational work of voluntary probation officers: what this work should be and what it actually is. The picture that emerges from the statements of both groups of respondents is not favourable, the appraisals made by family courts judges being more, critical as a rule than those of voluntary probation officers. Some of the respondents statements are declarations and wishes. Over a half of the family courts judges (58 per cent) and about 80 per cent of voluntary probation officers consider the voluntary-cum-professional model of probation service for juvenile delinquents found in our country to be a good one (although only a part of them approve of it fully, with the remaining ones accepting it conditionally and submitting various proposals for its improvement). On the other hand, as many as 42 per cent of judges and about 20 per cent of voluntary probation officers opt for the performance of supervision -by professional probation officers only. To substantiate their standpoint, these persons argue that voluntary probation officers lack qualifications, are insufficiently engaged in educational work with juveniles, and that in their case difficulties arise in executing the proper performance of supervision. Also the enrollment of voluntary probation officers is disapproved of, the examined persons stating that in the face of a small number of applicants for this work, no requirements can be imposed upon them, and many of them are chance persons with no training whatever. As few as 7.6 per cent of family courts judges and as many as 48.6 per cent of voluntary probation officers are of the opinion that probation officers are well prepared to perform their function of resocialization. In the opinion of most respondents, the number of voluntary probation officers is greatly insufficient. The author was also interested in the respondents vision of the voluntary probation officer's work with a juvenile and his milieu, the elements that should prevail in this work: education, care or supervision, and the actual situation in this respect, as well as the real course of this work. Most respondents (78 per cent of judges and 52.2 per cent of probation officers) stresed the educational elements of a voluntary -probation officer's activity. :What is alarming, however, is the fact a considerable group both of family courts' judges (21.3 per cent) and of voluntary probation officers (30 per cent) believe formal supervision to be the most important aspect. Yet as shown by the findings of the study, the actual work of .a voluntary probation. officers departs greatly from the declared ideal model. Voluntary probation officers are burdened with an excessive number of supervised juveniles, with about 30 per .cent of them supervising over 10 persons which is the number set as the maximum. The majority of respondents demand a reduction of the number of juveniles under supervision, which is however difficult to be fulfilled because of the lack of candidates willing to become probation officers. As appears also from the respondents statements, there is no elaborate conception of the voluntary probation officer's work. Too much weight is attached when appraising this work to its formal criteria (e.g. the number of probation officer's contacts with the juvenile). Instead, the quality of his work is inadequately analyzed. Admittedly, both professional probation officers and most of all family courts judges lack sufficient data to carry out such an analysis: namely, the information about a voluntary probation officer's work come from his reports that are frequently faulty as regards quality, contents and promptness; this appears not only from the judge's but also from the voluntary probation officers' own statements. Co-operation between voluntary probation officers on the one hand, and profesional probation officers and family courts' judges on the other hand, is also faulitly organized. The respondents perceive this co-operation as the opportunity to settle definite legal, educational and organizational matters rather, than as a regular influence of the family court towards an improvement of the voluntary probation officers' qualifications and an increase of their educational impact on the juveniles. In resocializing activities, great weight is attached to the educational methods applied by the voluntary probation officer. His basic method is considered to be that of individual therapy which should be accompanied by group and environmental therapy. As appears from the statements of most voluntary probation officers, the forms of their work, and of influencing the juvenile in particular, were rather modest and poorly differentiated, the probation officers revealing litt1e initiative and being either relucant or unable to make the contacts with juvniles supervised by them more diversified. As few as about 20 per cent of the examined voluntary probation officers were in good contact with some of their probationers at any rate, the contact being of a therapeutical character (which was important in so- far as over 40 per cent of probation officers stated that they supervised- juveniles with personality disorders). In resocializing work, the posibilities of influence in a group of young persons are insufficiently used. Moreover, voluntary probation officers meet with many difficulties in co-operating with their probationers families, their contacts with the institutions engaged in crime prevention, education or social assistance being also unsatisfactory. Voluntary probation officers co-operate rather regularly with schools, the police, the Polish Committee for Social Aid and occupational guidance centres only (though naturally the degree of a voluntary probation officer's co-operation with the abovementioned institutions differs). The respondents of both groups expressed their opinions about the effectiveness of the supervision, its conditions and criteria. In general, views of family courts judges and of volunatry probation officers converged to a high degree, the majority of respondents being of the opinion that nothing but the juvenile's complete and positive participation in the social life and proper performance of due social roles testifies to a successful ending of a supervision. Convergences could also be found. between the judges and the probation officers opinions about the conditions of success vs. failure of supervision. Discussing successful supervisions respondents of both groups stressed the importance of good relations between the probation officer and his probationer, co-operation with the juvenile’s parents, their emotional commitment and readiness to act jointly with the probation officer, the probation officer's competence in getting into emotional contact with the juvenile and his family and to win their confidence. According to the respondents, the most important factors that determine a failure of supervision are: the juvenile's considerable demoralization, influence of the negative peer group, a negative family milieu and a lack of co-operation. with the probation officer on the part of the parents. Therefore, respondents of both groups lay a great emphasis on the importance of emotional relations which should link the three parties involved: the juvenile, his parents, and the voluntary probation officer. The necessity of mutual approval, understanding and respect for each other’s rights, was particularly stressed. Mutual good emotional relations linking the above-mentioned persons seams to be the key issue as far as success or failure of super- vision is concerned. If both the juvenile and his parents have a favourable attitude towards the probation officer and trust him, it will be much easier for him to persuade the juvenile of the necessity of regular learning or changing his conduct, and his parents-of the need for co-operation. Therefore the findings point to the fact that the declared shape of the work of a voluntary probation officer is much better than the actual one. The final part of the questionnaire was devoted to the use of educational measures and obligations of juvenile delinquents and their parents resulting from provisions of the Act of Nov. 26, 1982 on the proceedings in cases concerning minors. The Act introduced new educational measures and obligations of juveniles, as well as the possibility of punishing the juvenile's parents with a fine and notifying their workplaces or social organizations they are members of about their failure in parental obligations whenever this failure is caused by the parents fault. About 60-70 per cent of the judges never applied the newly introduced educational measures nor imposed obligations upon juveniles, although over a half of the judges and 60-70 per cent of the voluntary probation officers are convinced that it was right to introduce these new measures. A part of the respondents however (one-fourth of the judges and one-fifth of the probation officers) express their doubts as to the possibilities of the family court's supervision of performance of the obligation imposed upon juveniles. Very few judges applied disciplinary measures towards the juveniles parents in practice, although about 25 per cent of them express an opinion as to the effectiveness of a fine, and about 18 per cent believe that notifying the parents workplace may bring about satisfactory results. As compared with judges, voluntary probation officers expressed their favourable opinion as to the effectiveness of these measures more frequently (44 and 62 per cent respectively). Because of a relatively short period of binding force of the new provisions (which was about one and a half years at the moment of the study), the problem of application of some of the educational measures and obligations in particular, as well as the judges and probation officers opinion as to their pertinence and the possibilities of supervising their execution should be investigated further.

3

Młodociani sprawcy rozboju

100%

Wójcik D.

Archiwum Kryminologii

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1972

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issue V

151-189

EN

The study presents the findings of an inquiry conducted among 60 young adults (male) serving sentences for robbery in a Warsaw prison. These 60 offenders (aged I7 - 20) formed part of a total of 229 young adults convicted of robbery and confined in this Warsaw prison between 1 October, 1966 and 30 November, 1968, with regard to whom details were secured of their criminal records from the age of ten. Of these 229 young persons, whose average age was 18.8, as many as 76 per cent had previous convictions, 58 per cent of them having appeared in juvenile courts and 48 per cent in criminal courts for offenders over 17 years of age. Of those who had appeared in juvenile courts 42 per cent had three or more appearances. The fact that three-quarters of the young adults convicted of robbery in Warsaw are repeated offenders indicates a need to analyze the types of their offences. As regards offences committed as juveniles, these were usually thefts, the proportion of crimes of violence not exceeding 18 per cent. Above the age of seventeen, however, the structure of their offences changes, since 36 per cent involved acts of physical assault and 14 per cent offences with verbal aggression (i.e. slander); offences against property, on the other hand, came to 48 per cent. The young recidivists convicted of robbery differ basically (p < 0.001) from young adults guilty of other offences (previously surveyed by the Department of Criminology) since the majority of the latter (as much as 67 per cent) were offences against property (usually larceny). The above evidence indicates therefore that the problem of aggressiveness requires special attention in studies of robbery offences committed by young adults. A more detailed inquiry was, as has been said, conducted among 60 young adults serving sentences for robbery, of whom 82 per cent had more than one previous conviction. The control group consisted of 43 young recidivists convicted of various offences (chiefly theft) with the exception of robbery. The first point to be made is that the subjects revealed, according to the accounts of their mothers, marked behaviour disorders as early as pre-school age (overactivity and restlessness, stubbornness, etc.). Evidence of such behaviour disorders below the age of seven was found much more frequently among offenders convicted of robbery (61 per cent) than in the control group containing young adult recidivists who had committed other offences (34 per cent). Only 69 per cent of the robbery offenders had completed the seven grades of elementary school, and of these only 12 pet cent had never been kept back a grade, while 24 per cent had fallen back one grade, 39 per cent two grades and 24 per cent three or more grades. This poor progress at school cannot be explained by lower levers of intelligence since 68 per cent of the subjects had normal IQs, 24.5 per cent were dull, 6.2 per cent were on the borderline of mental deficiency and 2 per cent were morons. Among the young robbery offenders (and the young recidivists as well for that matter) there had been frequent cases of truancy (77 per cent) and this had begun at an early age since almost half had got into the habit before the fourth grade. Thefts had been committed by 61 per cent of the subjects below the age of 15. The majority (65 per cent) had no vocational qualifications. Altogether among all the young adult robbery offenders with previous convictions, 16 per, cent had never been gainfully employed, and 49 per cent had jobs for less than half the period they were at liberty after completing their sixteenth year. At the time the robbery was committed, the percentage in employment did not exceed 17 per cent. The subjects spent their time among demoralized peers with whom they drank. The nature of the environment in which they mixed can best be seen from the fact that among the persons who were accomplices to their robberies (almost always young adults or juveniles), as many as 75 per cent had been previously convicted and 60 per cent frequently drank to excess. It should be noted that the young recidivists in the control group convicted of other offences and drawn from persons with a record of theft as juveniles, had made even poorer progress at school than the robbery offenders, had in fewer cases completed elementary school, had more frequently run away from home, had started to steal regularly at an earlier age and had committed many more thefts as juveniles and children. The inquiry found, however, that the robbery offenders had displayed personality disorders at an earlier age and had started to drink younger and done much more drinking at 16 – 17 years of age. The data on the drinking habits of the robbery offenders merit special attention. It was found that only 23 per cent of these young adults drank less frequently than once a week, 55 per cent drank 2-3 times a week, and 22 per cent drank at least four times a week (these figures are certainly not an accurate reflection of the degree of drinking which was undoubtedly even higher). It should be emphasized that 43 per cent of the subjects began to drink wine or spirits at least once a week below the age of 16, and 75 per cent were drinking with the same regularity before their 17th birthday. In the period preceding the robbery a large percentage of the young adults (52 per cent) were drinking large quantities of alcohol at each session (at least 1/4 litre in terms of spirits) 2 - 3 times a week or more. They drank wine or vodka, or both. It should not be forgotten in considering these figures that some 60 per cent of the robbery offenders were only 17-18 years of age. Furthermore 42 per cent of the 17-18 age group had been drinking 2-3 times a week or more for at least two years, and 50 per cent of the 19 -20 age bracket had been doing so for at least three years. A third of the subjects admitted to intoxication at least once or twice a month, and a half recorded that they were inebriated several times a month. A very large majority (c. 80 per cent) were under the influence of alcohol when they committed their robbery. In the psychological inquiries detailed attention was given to the problems of aggression in the case of the young robbery offenders, their level of aggressiveness being determined from the evidence of aggressive behaviour in childhood and later yielded by interviews with both the subjects themselves and their mothers. Ratings of “very aggressive” were scored by 62 per cent of the young robbery offenders. In comparison with the findings of the Department of Criminology study of other samples of juvenile and adult recidivists (not convicted of robbery), it has been found that the robbery offenders do indeed display a greater incidence of aggressive behaviour and score higher in the Buss-Durkee aggression questionnaire. The robbery offenders not qualified as “very aggressive”, (38 per cent) also had occasional acts of aggression in their past career, and 25 per cent of them had even been previously prosecuted for offences containing an element of violence. However, they differed in certain respects from the robbery offenders qualified as “very aggressive”. Among the latter regular drinking was more frequent (p < 0.001) and had begun at an earlier age (p < 0.01), thefts had been more common and the rate of recidivism was greater. Evidence of the presence of such characteristics as overactivity, impulsiveness, etc., in childhood was also more frequent (p < 0.05). In addition they possessed a higher rate of brain damage. Very aggressive robbery offenders more frequently displayed overactivity whereas the non-aggressive offenders tended to have clearly passive personalities (p < 0.02) inclined to let others take the lead. Attention should finally be drawn to the more frequent occurence among the “very aggressive” offenders (in comparison with the remaining young adults convicted of robbery) of certain adverse conditions in their home background. There were many more cases of among these subjects of defective emotional relationships between parents and son (p < 0.01) and more frequent employment of brutal corporal punishment (p < 0.02). These are factors found by various inquiries to be conducive to the development of aggressive attitudes. However, as regards such environmental factors as alcoholic or criminal parents and siblings, no significant differences were found between the backgrounds of the aggressive and non-aggressive robbery offenders. In analysing the problem of aggressiveness the question of brain damage should not be overlooked. In the case of as many as 29 of the sample (49 per cent) there was evidence pointing to such a condition with a high degree of probability. These subjects displayed, it was found, more frequent symptoms of behaviour disorders and social maladjustment such as frequent stealing (p < 0.001), early excessive drinking (p < 0.02), considerable violence (p < 0.001) and more frequent self-aggression (p < 0.02). This multiplication of behaviour disorders among offenders suffering from brain damage points to greater adaptation difficulties further compounded by their home circumstances. Among the whole sample of young robbery offenders there were only 16 per cent who were not found to be subject either to brain damage or decidedly adverse influences at home. The homes of the young robbery offenders present as negative a picture as those of the previously studied recidivists convicted of other offences. Only 57 per cent of the former spent their childhood in unbroken homes. As many as 65 per cent of their fathers regularly drank to excess, and at least 27 per cent of them can be qualified as alcoholics. The percentage of fathers with a criminal record was less than 23 per cent and the majority of these were not persistent offenders. Most of their offences were of a drunk-and-disorderly nature. The subjects’ fathers were by and large persons with a low standard of education and vocational qualifications: only 28 per cent had advanced beyond elementary school, usually to vocational school. Almost all the subjects came from the homes of unskilled or low-skilled labourers. Only a third of their homes were relatively well off. Among a large majority of the fathers (71 per cent) and as much as 45 per cent of the mothers there was evidence of their emotional relationship with their children being inadequate. In the case of 61 per cent of the fathers there was very frequent employment of excessively severe corporal punishment of the subjects. The inquiry also revealed the typical fact that 51 per cent of the brothers of the young adults serving sentences for robbery had (by the time they had completed their tenth birthday) been before the courts and that the same percentage were heavy drinkers. Only in 28 per cent of the homes was there no evidence of frequent excessive drinking and criminal offences by brothers. A comparison of the home environments of the young recidivists convicted of robbery and those convicted of other offences revealed no differences as regards such factors as family structure or alcoholic and criminal parents and siblings (except that the brothers of the robbery offenders had committed more offences of an aggressive nature than the brothers of the persons in the control group). However, marked differences were found in the emotional relationship of parents to children and the practice of severe corporal punishment which was much more frequent in the case of the fathers of the robbery offenders. These are factors which various inquiries have found to be conducive to the formation of aggressive attitudes.

4

Probacja – rozwiązania prawne w niektórych krajach europejskich

100%

Wójcik D.

Archiwum Kryminologii

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2000

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issue XXV

29-79

EN

The article discusses the legal solutions of probation as well as regulations pertaining to organization of probation services and to functions of probation officers in criminal proceedings of adults and juveniles in some European countries. Discussed has been probation in England, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Greece, Lithuania, Slovenia, Spain, and Sweden. The introduction focuses on the definition of probation; also, the role of international organizations in promoting probation has been characterized together with the importance of recommendations as to the principles and practice, issued by such organizations, for introduction of probation into criminal justice. Considering the future shape of probation, one might ask to what extent we can use those experiences. We believe that some foreign solutions of probation might be added to the Polish legislation in the course of the Polish probation reform which has been going on for several years now. The following problems should in our opinion be reconsidered and possibly regulated in a manner other than the present one. The major and basic issue is the decision as to probation's position with respect to the criminal justice system. The problem is regulated differently in different countries; decisions as to the Polish solutions should be carefully considered. The Commission for Probation Reform, appointed several years ago, suggested that the probation system remain part of the criminal justice system but acquire the status of an autonomous department, an associate and partner of courts. Related to this is the postulate that the work of probation officers be evaluated as to the merits by a competent superior officer and not by the judge as it is today. Also solved should be the problem of a possible separate regulation of juvenile vs. adult probation (as it is the case in many European countries). In such countries, there is also the trend to remove proceedings in cases of offences from juvenile courts and to deal with them within administrative procedure. As regards the measures applied to juveniles, their execution is more and more often handed over to social services. The system for assisting and educating juveniles who break the legal norms or find it otherwise difficult to become integrated with society thus becomes ever more consistent; the competent services cooperate with one another ever more closely and coordination of their work is improved, which enhances the effectiveness of their efforts. What is important for the proper effects of educational work is cooperation of probation services with local government agencies and local communities. Although the road towards this kind of transformation of probation is difficult in Poland and various obstacles may be encountered, it is nevertheless a worth-while effort to use the experience of other countries and to introduce modern legal solutions that have been tested elsewhere.

5

Karalność uczniów nieprzystosowanych społecznie

63%

Ostrihanska Z., Wójcik D.

Archiwum Kryminologii

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1984

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issue XI

143-166

EN

1. The study discussed in the present paper is a continuation of the research on extent and determinants of social maladjustment among schoolchildren in Warsaw elementary schools, which was conducted in the years 1976-1979. Over 600 classes (grade III-VIII) were then examined, which makes the total numer of 17,662 children aged 9-16. Teachers indicated children who revealed symptoms of social maladjustment (such as regular truancy, many-hours loitering around the streets without control, running away from home, stealing, frequenting company of demoralized colleagues, drinking alcohol, sexual demoralization, vandalism and frequent aggressive behaviour). 885 boys (which makes 10 per cent of all schoolboys included in the study) and 220 girls (2.7 per cent of all girls) were found to reveal these children, which included information as to the child’s family environment, school situation, school failures, behaviour, health, and symptoms of social maladjustment. From this general popuration of 885 schoolboys who revealed symptoms of social maladjustment, a group of 262 boys was separated whose symptoms were particularly intense and cumulated. This group then underwent a detailed individual examination. As a control group to match this group of 262 boys whose symptoms of social maladjustment were cumulated and intense, 151 boys were drawn by lot from among those of all schoolboys who had not been mentioned by the teachers as children who reveal symptoms of social maladjustment, and who were classmates of the socially maladjusted boys. The control group underwent the same individual examination. 2. At the stage of the study presented in the present paper the aim was to answer the following questions: - how many of the schoolchildren indicated by the teachers because of various symptoms of social maladjustment had cases in court before they were included in the study. – how many of them had cases in court during the five years of follow-up study. – what was the total number of children who had ever had cases in court and what was the intensity of their criminal careers. –is there any difference between the socially maladjusted schoolchildren who had cases in court and those with a clean record, as regards any features of their family environment or the kind of symptoms of social maladjustment, which caused them to be included in the study. Is there any difference between them as regards their school failure or the results of psychological examination. In order to answer these questions, in mid 1982 it was checked if the children indicated as socially maladjusted had cases in court as juveniles or as young adults (aged 17 and over). The examined persons were then aged 15-23. The cases of persons concerning whom it was impossible to obtain data, as to their criminal record were excluded from the analysis therefore, finally the examined population consisted of 859 boys and 220 girls. 3. At the moment when the examined schoolchildren were indicated by the teachers as revealing symptoms of social maladjustment, 6.9 per cent of the socially maladjusted boys and 3.7 pet cent of the girls had criminal cases in family courts. A considerable majority of these children (5.1 per cent of the boys and all girls, 3.7 per cent) had only one case in court. The cases occurred generally at the age 14-16. The number of children who had had cases of care and protection during anamnesis is comparatively large: 5.5 per cent of boys and as many as 16.3 per cent of girls. The examination of the schoolchildren's further criminal careers during the following 5 years produced the following results: - 20.9 per cent of boy were convicted by courts within that period (10.2 per cent had cases in family courts, 5.7 per cent- in ordinary courts, 5 per cent- both in family and in ordinary courts). - 4 per cent of girls were convicted (3.6 per cent by family courts, 0.4 per cent by ordinary courts). It should be added that on account of the age, only 629 boys and 178 girls could have had cases in ordinary courts. Among them, 14.8 per cent of boys and one girl were convicted. The percentage is high, as part of those who „could have had cases" were only 17 years old, the probability of their conviction being thus minimal. 25.7 per cent of boys convicted by ordinary court committed aggressive acts, while 70.7 per cent were convicted only for offences against property. When the entire examined period (anamnesis and follow-up period) is discussed together, it appears that every fourth boy (23.4 per cent) and every thirteenth girl among all socially maladjusted children were delinquent. This result certifies to the generally known difference between the extents of delinquency of boys and girls. However, the represented proportion changes diametrically if one takes into account not only criminal cases, but also those of care and protection. 12.2 per cent of boys and as many as 25.4 per cent of girls had cases of care and protection in family courts. There were 26.4 per cent of socially maladjusted boys and 28.6 per cent of girls who had cases in family courts (criminal and care and protection together). The high percentage of girls who had cases of care and protection may be connected to their worse family situation which demanded intervention, as well as with the fact, that girls revealed symptoms of sexual demoralization more frequently than boys (as many as 1/5 of socially maladjusted girls in grade VIII); these symptoms awoke concern of the adult and may induce them to seek intervention of a court. Such symptoms, not being offences, may only be a reason for instituting tutelar proceedings. Another problem was also examined, that is of the features of the examined persons and of their family environment (as revealed by the questionnaires filled in by the teachers) which would differentiate the delinquent boys from those who had never been convicted. The delinquent boys were found to live in worse family backgrounds, in which criminality of parents or siblings or alcoholism of the father occurred more frequently. Instead, the delinquent boys were not found to live more frequently in broken homes or separately from their parents. The delinquent boys were more socially maladjusted than those never convicted: they revealed a greater numer of symptoms of social maladjustment, their teachers informed more frequently of threir thefts, drinking, contacts with demoralized colleagues, and truancy. Instead, the delinquent boys were not described by the teachers as fighting with their schoolmates „often” and „very often” more frequently than those never convicted. It may be that such a description of a child by the teacher was unreliable; the boy's aggressive behaviour may have been a temporary phenomenon, resulting from actual social situation; aggressiveness revealed at school may have been separate from the entire syndrome of social maladjustment. However, at the present stage of the study we are not in a position to take up any attitude towards these possible explanations. Neither the many-hours loitering around the streets was found to significantly differentiate the delinquent boys from those never convicted. This results from the fact that loitering is a typical way of spending time of the considerable majority of socially maladjusted boys, therefore it does not differentiate those who were convicted from the others. 4. In the group of 262 individually examined boys who revealed intense and cumulated symptoms of social maladjustment, the extent of delinquency appeared to be larger than in the entire population of 885 socially maladjusted schoolboys from which this group has been selected. During anamnesis, 32 per cent of boys had criminal cases in family courts; 78.9 per cent of them had only one case, 18.3 per cent had two cases, and 2.8 per cent -three or more cases. During the follow-up period, 28.2 per cent of the examined boys had cases in court, including 14.1 per cent who had cases in family courts only, 7.6 per cent who had cases in ordinary courts only, and 6.5 per cent who had cases both in family and in ordinary courts. Within the whole of the examined period (both anamnesis and follow-up period), nearly half of the examined boys were convicted: 29.4 per cent had cases in family courts only, 5.3 per cent- in ordinary courts only, and 14.1 per cent-both in family and in ordinary courts. Therefore, every second boy from the group with intense and cumulated symptoms of social maladjustment had cases in court within the examined period, while every fourth one from the entire population had been convicted. Poor material and housing conditions of the family, insufficient care of children, broken home and bad conjugal life of the parents were not found to be significantly connected with the delinquency of the examined boys. Instead, a correlation of statistical significance was found between delinquency and excessive drinking of the fathers, their own criminal records and periods of imprisonment, as well as between the sons' delinquency and the lack of elementary education of the parents. On the other hand, no difference was found between delinquents and non-delinquents as regards the teachers' estimation of their intelligence level and learning difficulties pointed out by their mothers and themselves. None of the biopsychical variables taken into account in the study was found to differentiate both groups: lowered level of intelligence, eyesight defect, hearing defect, disturbances of speech, dyslexia, probable past lesions of the central nervous system, troubles with concentration, very slow rate of working. Persisting neurotic symptoms. Indeed, these factors were present rather more frequently among the non-delinquent boys, distinctly connected with their learning problems and school failures. On the other hand, delinquents actually repeated classes more frequently than non-delinquents, got bad marks in various subjects, and their learning progress was estimated as worse by the teachers. Delinquent boys more frequently behaved badly at school beginning from the lowest standards, they played truant from various lessons, were disobedient and disturbed the course of the lessons, had lower marks for behaviour and stated that they did not like school. The socially maladjusted delinquents used to spend time in company of friends older than themselves more often than the non-delinquent boys; they themselves described those friends as badly behaved and drinking alcohol. They were also substantially more often connected with groups of juvenile delinquents according to the teachers' opinion. They revealed a considerably larger intensity of symptoms of social maladjustment. Among these symptoms, only the frequency of aggressive behaviour failed to differentiate the delinquent and non-delinquent boys, which means that as regards the individually examined group, the result concerning the entire population was confirmed. Therefore, the delinquency of the examined persons was related to the greater intensity of their social maladjustment, to their negative family environment and their school situation connected not only with objective learning difficulties but also with the child's reluctant attitude towards school and teachers, and with the teachers' disfavourable opinion of his learning progress and behaviour. It is also worth mentioning that in the control group of 151 schoolboys who were not indicated by the teachers as revealing symptoms of social maladjustment, only one person was found who had been convicted by court during the entire examined period.

6

Młodzież nie przystosowana społecznie (badania katamnestyczne)

63%

Ostrihanska Z., Wójcik D.

Archiwum Kryminologii

|

1989

|

issue XVI

141-188

EN

The paper presents further fates of socially maladjusted children from Warsaw elementary schools in the period from 1976-1978 (when they were examined for the first time) till 1985 (when they were interviewed again and their criminal records were checked). The children to be included in the study had been indicated by their teachers due to intense and cumulated symptoms of social maladjustment (though nor necessarily offences). The following acts were found to be symptoms of maladjustment: regular truancy, loitering, running away from home; contacts with demoralized peers; thefts; drinking of alcohol; sexual depravation; vandalism; aggressive behaviour. Further fates of those examined persons were compared with the fates of their non-maladjusted classmates whose fathers, socio-professional status was the same as in the basic group. Four to six years passed from the initial interview till the catamnesis. Criminal records were checked for a period of about seven years. During the first study, boys from both groups were aged 10-16; accordingly, they were aged 16-24 during the follow-up period. The second study included 243 maladjusted boys, with the control group of 139, while 262 and 151 boys respectively had been examined during the first study. Longitudinal studies of social maladjustment are very important, as they render it possible to appraise the initial symptoms of social maladjustment and to define their prognostic value. Such studies also make a discrimination possible between transitory difficulties which are frequently related to a definite stage of the child’s development, and behavior that requires specialistic treatment . Moreover, basing of such studies, the quality and results of interventions taken towards the socially maladjusted youth can be appraised. The follow-up study was aimed at answering the following questions: a) What - if any were the changes of family situation of boys from both groups ? b)What were the further fates of the socially maladjusted boys as compared with member of the control group? In particular, did they finish elementary school, did they continue their education, what secondary school did they choose and did they finish that school? c) Do those out of school work? What profession are they in? Are they satisfied with that profession and the work they perform? d) What are the leisure habits of the examined boys? e) What are the drinking habits, delinquency, and criminal records of the socially maladjusted boys as compared with their peers from the control group ? In both groups, the examined persons family situation underwent various changes during the catamnesis, and so did the relations between them and their parents. The changes consisted mainly in 42.8 per cent of the maladjusted boys staying temporarily away from which frequently resulted from the court's or educational authorities decisions to send them to educational or correctional institutions. Boys from the control group usually spent the entire follow-up period at home. The two groups differed as regards their family environments, those of the socially maladjusted boys being much less favourable. These differences grew during the follow-up period as regards many factors (broken home, the fathers irregular employment or lack of permanent job, excessive drinking). Also the school situations clearly differentiated the two-groups both in the first study and during the follow-up period. At the moment of the second examination, only one boy from the control group was still going to elementary school, while there were as many as 40 (16.5 per cent) of such boys among those socially maladjusted. This proportion seems very large the fact considered we deal here with young persons whose intellectual development is normal, and with the educational level necessary for the individual’s future professional activities and participation in the country’s social and cultural life . (The fact should also be stressed here that in the first study, nearly half of the socially maladjusted boys were in standard VII at the very least, and thus not far from finishing school). As shown by our study, the chances for learning and finishing elementary school later in life are extremely poor. All members of the control group and two-thirds of the socially maladjusted boys learned on after finishing elementary school. It appeared that those from the basic group not only continued education less frequently (this fact being related to their educational backwardness), but also changed and left schools (35.1 per cent) much more frequently than boys from the control group (21.1 per cent). It seems, however, that changing and leaving school takes place very often in the control group, too. This testifies to learning difficulties of elementary school graduates and to their frequent mistakes in choosing the line and type of education. It is worth mentioning here that, in the light of the examined persons statements, the institutions assigned to render professional guidance to young persons influenced their decisions to a minimal degree only. At the moment of follow-up interviews, as many as 162 socially maladjusted boys and only 35 members of the control group were already out of school. Less than a half (46.9 per cent) of the former finished elementary school, while nearly all (97.6 per cent) of those from the control group who were not learning anymore managed to reach that educational level. The secondary schools which the socially maladjusted boys who were not learning anymore finished were frequently (in 35.5 per cent of case) shortened courses. The examined persons often left elementary school defeated and hostile towards it; they had no professional aspirations and acceptable leisure habits. Our findings seem to demonstrate that elementary school and the associated institutions frequently fail confronted with difficult children from negative families. An appraisal of the examined persons, employment is difficult due to their different life situations and ages. Among those employed from the control group there was a greater number of apprentices as compared with the socially maladjusted group (where apprentices constituted 5-per cent only of those employed). Nearly half of those from the basic group (46.4 per cent) were skilled workers, and 44.3 per cent performed manual work that required no professional qualifications. Thus in nearly half of the cases, when starting on their professional careers, socially maladjusted boys had no chance to train in a profession. The two groups also differ greatly as regards professional aspirations and their fulfillment. The socially maladjusted boys had no particular professional plans in a greater proportion of cases (27 per cent) than members of the control group (7 per cent). Asked whether the professional plans they hand on finishing elementary school ever came true , nearly half (48 per cent) of the socially maladjusted answered in the negative, and just 20 per cent-in the affirmative. The respective proportions were reversed In the control group: 53 per cent of affirmative and 30.7 per cent of negative answers. Generally speaking, those employed are not pleased with their earnings. Asked about the wages which which satisfy them, they frequently mentioned sums several times higher than what they were paid. The fact is worthy of notice that those who finished a secondary school are not at all those who earn most. As shown by the analysis of the examined persons, leisure habits, the socially maladjusted are more passive in this respect, their leisure activities being less diversified and restricted to having fun and social contacts only. The leisure habits they follow create frequent opportunities to drink alcohol, and some of their activities (like a game of billiards or cards) make it necessary for them always to have money which they would spend on such games. The following conclusions can be drawn from the analysis of the examined persons drinking habits: during catamnesis, 43.1 per cent of the socially maladjusted and 25.1 per cent of members of the control group drank alcohol (vodka or wine) at least once a week and or drank larger amounts on one occasion (i. e. more than 200 cl. Vodka or 600 cl. wine). the respective proportions of teetotalers (according to their own and their mothers statements) were 15.7 and 19.6 per cent. The boys who had drunk repeatedly in the first study were also found to drink regularly during the follow-up period, while a considerable proportion of those who had abstained from alcohol before drank only seldom and small amounts later on, too. An opinion is thus justified that repeated drinking by children and young persons, if it stars at a young age (and particularly if it accompanied by other symptoms of social maladjustment), is not a transistory phenomenon but develops into a relatively persistent lifestyle and leisure habit with time, those affected following that habit in the company of similarly oriented peers. In the first study, repeated drinking coexisted with other symptoms of social maladjustment, such as truancy, running away from home, stealing etc. As shown by the analysis of such persons further life situation, their attitude towards and extent of drinking does not change with time as a rule, instead, their drinking habits grow more excessive and are related, like before, to disturbed socialization. Moreover, regular drinking is related to other negative factors as well. Excessive drinkers among those socially maladjusted frequently failed to finish school; is they succeeded after all, it was usually a year or more later than their peers. This fact negatively influenced their chances to learn on and to train in a profession. Among such boys there was also a greater proportion of those who neither learned nor worked during the catamnesis (p<0.05). Stealing was also more frequent among them (p<0.001), and so were contacts with peers who committed thefts (p<0.01) and who drank regularly (p<0.02), as well as drug abuse (p<0.05) and self-mutilations (p<0.02), committed more frequently as compared with the remaining socially maladjusted boys. Also in the control group, boys who drank during the fallow-up period stole (p<0.01), belonged to regularly drinking peer groups (p<0.001), and stayed out of school and work (p<0.01) more frequently than others from that group. Therefore, regular drinking renders difficult such examined persons proper start into adult life. As regards criminal records, the group of socially maladjusted proved to be differentiated. This concerns both the initial stage of our study when one-third of those boys had already had cases at family courts, and the follow-up period when the percentage of those with criminal records went up to 55.8. As many as 30 per cent of the examined persons had cases at criminal courts after the age of 17, and every fourth of those who had cases at courts (both family and common courts) had been convicted at least four times. Despite the differentiation, the data concerning criminal records are rather alarming, the extent of delinquency gradually becoming higher during the seven years of catamnesis. If we compare socially maladjusted boys who never had any cases at court with those previously convicted, the number of convictions taken into account, these two groups prove to differ not only as regards their respective careers in this regards. It appears that various negative factors found both in the examined persons themselves and in their families and peer groups are more frequent in those previously convicted and repeatedly convicted as compared with those. who have no criminal record. Fathers of the former have their own criminal records more frequently, and the boys themselves more often have stealing and drinking friends. They also reveal a greater number of various symptoms of social maladjustment; during the follow-up period, more of them neither learned nor worked, and more failed to finish elementary school or only finished it behind time. As follows from our study social maladjustment when going to elementary school does not necessarily determine such young persons' further demoralization. The group of socially maladjusted boys is highly diversified in many respects. At the same time, it also differs greatly from the control group, being much worse: those socially maladjusted reach a lower educational level and wages, are more displeased with their own lives, and more excessive in their drinking habits, and also commit offences and have cases at court more frequently. The extent of maladjustment found in that group seems rather large which manifests among others the small range and poor effectiveness of preventive actions taken towards the examined persons by the competent educational institutions.

7

Sytuacja dzieci i młodzieży w Polsce

63%

Ostrihanska Z., Wójcik D.

Archiwum Kryminologii

|

1985

|

issue XII

69-78

8

Zezwolenia na czasowe opuszczenie zakładu karnego

51%

Szumski J., Siemaszko A., Wójcik D.

Archiwum Kryminologii

|

1998

|

issue XXIII-XXIV

115-165

EN

The article is composed of four basic parts. The first one is historical: it discusses the evolution of legal regulation of various forms of permits to temporarily leave prison (except interruption of execution of the penalty of imprisonment) and the practice of granting such permits in the period preceding the adoption of the new punishment execution code [PEC]. Concerned here were: permit granted by way of reward to leave prison for up to 5 days (Art. 55 § 3 PEC); so-called compassionate permit to stay away from prison for up to 5 days (Art. 59 PEC); so called reward permit for 24 hours (§ 62.1 of Instruction on the execution of the penalty of imprisonment before its amendment of 1995); and regulation permit also granted for 24 hours (abolished by the abvementioned amendment of the Instruction). Hence the discussion contained in the first part of the paper proceeds on two different planes. On the one hand, we discuss the legal shape of the permits undergoing legislative changes and at the same time submitted them to critical dogmatic analysis. On the other hand, we strive to demonstrate the functioning of those legal solutions in penitentiary practice basing on the findings of few earlier empirical surveys and on statistical materials gathered by the prison administration since 1985. Our main focus is the practice of the 1990s when systemic transformation and the related humanization of the process of imprisonment led to considerable growth in the number of granted permits to temporarily leave prison, and the relevant legal transformations the effected, that is amendment of PEC and the Instruction on the execution of the penalty of imprisonment. The issue of permits was then broadly covered by the media which - not always competently and objectively - criticized the authorities for too many such permits granted; this led to an animated discussion in the doctrine. Critics considered this policy of penitentiary authorities too liberal; they argued it led to a growth in crime caused by prisoners released on permit thus reducing citizens’ feeling of safety, and also made it possible for prisoners to escape or to stay away from prison longer than permitted. It has not been possible to appraise the discussed policy basing on statistical data only due first of all to the fact that the material we based on contained merely data on the number of permits granted and said nothing about the grantees and their characteristics. From statistical analysis it followed merely that from 1985 till 1993, the number of permits granted went up nine times only to become reduced by 40% during the next two years. Also on a regular decrease (from 6.3 to 2.4 percent) in that period were cases of so-called ,,failure to return” - a category which, for obscure reasons, in the statistics includes both the actual failures to return to the institution and cases of late-coming; the proportions were calculated from the total of permits granted. The number of offenses committed by prisoners while on permit was rather small and ranged from 200 to 600 a year. Part two of the article discusses international penitentiary standards relating to inmates’ contacts with the outer world and contained in the UN Standard Minimum Rules of Treatment of Prisoners of 1955 and European Prison Rules of 1987. Also discussed have been provisions regulating the permits to temporarily leave prison in selected European countries: Germany, France, Belgium, Sweden, Finland, Norway, Denmark, Spain, Holland, Austria, Portugal, Italy, Bulgaria and Hungary. It could be stated basing on the analysis that the Polish regulations of the discussed sphere (even those valid before the adoption of the new punishment execution code) were consistent with international standards and by no means inferior to foreign provisions. The next part of the study discusses the findings of the authors' own research conducted on 15-31 August 1995 (that is, before the above-mentioned of PEC and rules of imprisonment) in 12 prisons and remand prisons. The tool was a questionnaire developed by the Law Enforcement Institute. Examined were the files of all prisoners who in the period from 1 January 1994 till 30 June 1995 applied for a permit to temporarily leave prison, or in whose case the application was field by prison administration, whether the permit was actually granted or refused. The sample was composed of 1,043 persons, and the number of applications was 7,336. The total of 6,524 permits were granted to 970 persons. It was found that a vast majority of permits applied for were actually granted which is to some extent accounted for by the fact that most applications were field by prison administration who subsequently supported them. Permits were granted to 93% of the sample which made as many as 6.7 permits per person on the average. What is more significant though, was that over one-fifth or the sample (22.6%) were granted 10 or more permits within a relatively short period of time which manifests the existence of a privileged group among prisoners. That same conclusion can also be drawn from the fact that, the mean length of time spent away from prison being 43 hours, 11% of the sample were on permit for 1 to 2 months, and 1.5% - for over 2 months. As regards return from permit, the proportion of prisoners who never returned was 8.4%, and over one-fourth of them were on the police wanted list during the survey. This phenomenon is the more dangerous as nearly a half of the sample (49.5% a failed to return in due time on at least one occasion. Instead, the number of offenses committed by the sample while on permit seems relatively small, the proportion of offenders being 4.3%. Offenses committed most often were burglary and robbery. Considering, however, the extremely small detectability rate in Poland, the proportion may well depart greatly from the reality. Even the above findings justify the statement as to a dubious value of appraisals of the correctness of permit granting policy basing on statistical material only. They also confirm the need for inclusion is those materials of data on the number not only of permits granted but also of grantees. Leaving aside a number of formal transgressions found in the course of research, the findings generally justify a conclusion that many permits were granted automatically, so to say. It was difficult as a rule to identify any objective criteria for granting or refusing permits; this means that the permit policy violated the principle of individualized treatment of prisoners. The article ends with general conclusions from the practice followed so far and with postulates de lege ferenda formulated on the grounds of amendments introduced by the new PEC of 6 June 1997. Not going into details of those amendments, it has to be stated that they trend towards extension of the legal possibilities of granting permits and of the length of leave thus granted. In the authors’ opinion, most of the amendments deserve to be praised which is of course not to say that none of them raise any reservations. It has to be stressed, though, that the appraisals are not too categorical as the new provisions (which enter into force on 1 September 1998) leave a considerable freedom of interpretation. The practice of their application should therefore be monitored closely to begin with; the findings will then help to verify pertinence of statutory regulations of the granting of permits to temporarily leave prison.

9

Ofiary włamań mieszkaniowych (wyniki międzynarodowych badań porównawczych)

45%

Ostrihanska Z., Wójcik D., Mawby R. J., Walklate S., Görgenyi I.

Archiwum Kryminologii

|

1998

|

issue XXIII-XXIV

75-113

EN

Burglary is a serious offense which particularly affects the victim. It often has more one victim, and its effects react on ihe entire family and broader community. For the victim, its important element is not only the loss of and possibly damage to property, but also violation of privacy and of the related feeling of safety. The survey discussed in the paper was conducted in 6 cities in the following countries: Germany - Monchengladbach; Poland - Warsaw and Lublin; Hungary - Miskolc; and United Kingdom - Plynouth and Salford. Discussed here will be mainly the findings obtained in Warsaw and Lublin, and data from the rest of the sample will be referred to on some issues only. The survey focused on the following issuess: 1/ circumstances of the offense and losses suffered by the victims; 2/ respondents’ attitudes to the police and appraisal of police work in their case; 3/ assistance received, self-organization, steps undertaken by the victims to prevent further burglaries; 4/ respondents’ feelings, their reactions to the offense and persistence of those reactions. The survey based on data from interviews with victims of burglary and on information obtained from the police (the questionnaire was developed by the designer and head of the project, Prof. R.I. Mawby and contained some questions from the British Crime Survey Questionnaire of 1984, 1988, and l992). Sampled in each city selected for the project were 400 reported cases of burglary; interviews were conducted in a half of those cases (200 burglaries) on two occassions, that is at least 6 to 8 weeks and 16 to 18 weeks after the date burglary was reported. As was shown by comparison of data on the socio-demographic situation of victims of burglary in different countries, variables such as age, structure of family, or material or housing situation significantly differentiate individual national samples (e.g. persons living alone were much fewer in Poland as compared to Hungary and the United Kingdom). The circumstances of burglary, losses suffered and anti-burglary protection measures shape differently in different countries. In the United Kingdom, the number of burglaries committed during the night while the victims were at home and asleep was twice as big as in Poland and Germany. On some points, however, no differences were found. About a half of respondents in all countries said that some of the objects stolen during the burglary were to them of sentimental value. Besides, property stolen most often throughout the sample was electronic equipment. Polish respondents were below the average as regards special protective measures. For example, a slight proportion only had alarm devices installed, and a mere one-third had taken out an insuranie policy. Due to high costs of insurance in Poland, the insurance sum was low as a rule and seldom corresponded with the actual value of equipment. As a result, Polish respondents could not get compensation from the insurance company; when compensation was paid, the loss actually suffered was hardly made up for. Interestingly, though, the taking out of insurance was related neither to respondent's level of education nor to his self-appraised material situation. Polish respondents' attitude to the police and opinion on police work tended to be more critical compared to the rest of the sample. Criticized were many aspects of police work in cases of burglary. Polish respondents stated more often that the police had arrived too late, ignored their suggestions as to possibly identity of the burglars, and failed to interrogate persons they indicated. A vast majority of Polish respondents believe that the police failed to inform them properly about the state of investigation. Fewer Polish victims of burglary are also satisfied with the way in which the police conducted the investigation in their case (about 20% compared to about 75% of British and Hungarian respondents). Policemen enjoy a lower prestige among Polish victims. Social perception of the police depends on their treatment of the victim but also on the national tradition, previous experiences with police forces being used by the authorities to perform political tasks, the image of the force created by the media etc. In view of the more critical opinion on the police found among Polish respondents, it is inieresting to find out whether such opinion has any objective grounds, that is whether the proportion of offenders detected in Polish cases was lower compared to the rest of the sample. The answer is no. In cases of burglary, detectability rate was low throughout the sample and Poland was by no means inferior in this respect. Polish victims' tendency to be the most critical of all towards police work may have a number of reasons. It may be related to actually greater shortages of the force (e.g. inferior equipment); to a greater pain involved in losses suffered by Polish victims; or to society’s critical attitude towards the police fixed under the past regime. On the grounds of our data, it would be difficult to select any of the above three explanations. Considering the reasons of Polish respondents' critical attitude towards the police, one can hardly ignore the fact that with a growth in both crime and thę social sense of threat in the country, also society's expectations and demands of the police have gone up. As we know, burglary causes not only material losses but also psychological effects which tend to persist for a long time in many victims. Inquired about in the survey were respondents' first reactions to burglary; the persistence of those reactions; reactions of their family members; and the aspect the victims considered the worst of all in their experience of burglary. As follows from the findings, the psychological effects of burglary suffered by the victims are similar in all countries in the sample. Most respondents felt depressed, and this frame of mind persisted in onefourth of the sample. The worst experience mentioned most often was material loss (which frequently amounted a loss of possessions that had taken a person's lifetime to amass); worsening of the living conditions; and in many cases the accompanying sense of harm and injustice. Another worst experience mentioned was invasion of privacy, a loss of trust in one's fellow men, and helplessness. Persons who consider themselves the most ,,affected” by burglary among Polish respondents are those calling themselves not too well-off, the not insured, and women rather than men. Compared to the rest of the sample, British respondents feel less affected by burglary; however, burglary was found to affect victims in a similar way irrespective of the country. Interestingly, the frequency of victims' psychological reactions followed the same pattern throughout the sample. Anger ranked first, followed by shock, anxiety, sleep disorders, and crying. Burglaries examined within the Polish sample affected a greater number of persons compared to those committed in the remaining countries: Polish households that were burgled were bigger. We also strove to find out whether respondents felt threatened with crime. Such sense of threat was more intense in Polish compared to Hungarian and British respondents. The system of assistance to victims was the best in terms of organization and functioning in United Kingdom followed by Germany, Hungary and Poland. The situation of Polish victims of burglary proved the most unfavorable as regards the possibility of getting both compensation for material losses and assistance from competent institutions. As opposed to the rest of the sample, Polish respondents were less often satisfied with the way in which the police handled their case and much more critical towards police work. The findings show that, in Poland in particular, the insurance system has to be reconsidered and differently regulated, and there is an urgent need for a systemic and coordinated program of comprehensive assistance to victims. The more critical opinion on police work found in Polish respondents also suggests that the treatment of victims by the police in Poland requires a thorough analysis.

10

Profesor Zofia Ostrihanska (22.02.1926–24.11.2017)

33%

Buczkowski K., Czarnecka-Dzialuk B., Klaus W., Kossowska A., Rzeplińska I., Szulecka M., Włodarczyk-Madejska J., Wiktorska P., Woźniakowska-Fajst D., Wójcik D.

Archiwum Kryminologii

|

2018

|

issue XL

5-9

11

Profesor Anna Kossowska (7.03.1943–4.06.2019)

33%

Buczkowski K., Czarnecka-Dzialuk B., Klaus W., Rzeplińska I., Szulecka M., Włodarczyk-Madejska J., Wiktorska P., Woźniakowska-Fajst D., Wójcik D., Wzorek D.

Archiwum Kryminologii

|

2019

|

issue XLI/2

7-14

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Przestępczość i sprawcy przestępstw z użyciem agresji

Praca kuratora dla nieletnich w opinii sędziów sądów rodzinnych i kuratorów społecznych

Młodociani sprawcy rozboju

Probacja – rozwiązania prawne w niektórych krajach europejskich

Karalność uczniów nieprzystosowanych społecznie

Młodzież nie przystosowana społecznie (badania katamnestyczne)

Sytuacja dzieci i młodzieży w Polsce

Zezwolenia na czasowe opuszczenie zakładu karnego

Ofiary włamań mieszkaniowych (wyniki międzynarodowych badań porównawczych)

Profesor Zofia Ostrihanska (22.02.1926–24.11.2017)

Profesor Anna Kossowska (7.03.1943–4.06.2019)