The dimension of juvenile delinquency concerning Kos court of first instance district
KAFASARI A., VLASSIS N.
Coordinator of the Delinquency Prevention Council

This study intents to examine thoroughly the juvenile delinquent behavior, based on the elements given by the Kos Court of First Instance Juvenile Delinquency Service and the archives of Kos Police Subdirection's Security Services.

The goals of the study are:

a) to mark out the juvenile delinquency phenomenon,

b) to record the type of juvenile delinquent behaviors,

c) to treat the delinquents, on behalf of the official forms of social control and especially the types of "measures" enforced on the juvenile delinquents.

Thereby, this study refers to the meaning of delinquency and the meaning of variable behavior. The semantic definition of the meanings of "delinquency", "criminality" and "lawbreaker" is also pointed out and becomes clear, instead of the definition "criminal", provided that the meanings delinquency and delinquent are referred to the minors, so as to be dissociated from the "criminality-criminal" which refers to the adults, aiming to avoid the labeling of the underage.

On the other hand, on the part of the judicature for minors, the study also refers to the new law 3189/2003, which brought many innovations. Among these changes, an age limit increase occurred (from 17 to 18 years old) and so now minors are considered, according to the law 3189/2003, those who are between 13 and 18 years old and are called pubescent, since according to the valid past arrangements, pubescent were between 13 and 17 years old.

Regarding the facts:

a) the study examines the type of offenses-delinquencies performed by the sample's underage (drugs delinquencies, robberies, thefts, illegal carrying weapons, arson, rape, child seduction, physical damage,

b) the study examines the origin of the delinquents (inhabitants of Kos, Leros, Kalymnos, Patmos islands),

c) the study examines the origin (Greeks, foreigners) and their participation percentage.

The probing queries in which the study is called to answer consists in:

a) whether there is a delinquency problem in Kos and in what extent,

b) whether the juveniles participate in serious offenses commitment,

c) whether there is a relapse possibility among the juvenile delinquents and in which percentage,

d) which is the type of the Juvenile Court's adjudication,

e) which are the types of "measures" enforced by the Juvenile Courts and whether these are implemented and achieve the purpose of their enforcement

whether delinquent behaviors exist within the school.

Key words: Aggressiveness, violence, criminality, adolescency.