Editorial

PROBATION junior is please to announce the release of its 5th edition. As we've
grown accustomed, we promote and bring forward subjects for discussion
researched by young professionals preoccupied with the field of criminal justice.
This edition focuses merely on juvenile delinquency issue, presenting three
empirical studies on the subject, and two theoretical approaches one from a social
work perspective in the UK, and the other one in regard to the ethology of
juvenile delinquency. The other subjects presented here relate to adaptation to
prison conditions, and the new probation law adopted in 2013 in Romania.
The first paper considers the perennial issue of youth crime, which pervades the
media and public consciousness in the UK. The incoming Coalition government
proposed changes to the Youth Justice System (YJS); but in November 2011
withdrew them leaving the basic structure in place. This approach is predicated on
concepts of risk and actuarial justice, and it is an area of social work in England
and Wales that is theoretically driven.
Continuing with the juvenile delinquency issue, the second paper approaches the
ethology of juvenile delinquency and the prime risk factors that lead to juvenile
delinquency. The material presents the main theories in regards to the juvenile
delinquency, taking into consideration the factors mentioned above. Also, it
explains how the poverty issue, the rise of disadvantaged families and juveniles,
the family violence, the criminal records within a family, a lack of interest for
academics, the school absenteeism, the lack of opportunities for social
confirmation, the influence of peer-group are few of the reasons that can lead to
developing an antisocial behavior.
The two mentioned papers have a theoretical approach of the juvenile
delinquency. We continue presenting the empirical data on this subject. Therefore,
the third article aims to highlight the family risk factors in the development of
delinquent behaviour among young people aged between 14-18, registered at the
Probation Service of Sibiu, Romania. The study was initiated with the main idea
that the family background is very important in the development of a juvenile, this
being reflected in the behaviour of young offenders as well. The main conclusion
of the study was that families constitute a risk factor rather than a protective one,
for these young people.
Continuing with another empirical article, the problem of juvenile delinquency
should be a primary concern for any state that wants welfare, quality of life for
individuals, and pursuing the implementation of programs and long-term actions.
This study includes a quantitative and qualitative analysis run in the Reeducation
Center Trgu Ocna, Romania.
The third empirical study, and the fifth material presented here is, aims to conduct
a comparative analysis in terms of the peer group influence on deviant/delinquent
behaviours among students attending theoretical or technical high schools. As a
conceptual framework, this study is based on the social control theory.

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Changing the general topic advanced in this issue, the penultimate article deals
with the coping strategies used by inmates in prison. The author aims to highlight
the concrete ways in which inmates succeed to adapt to the prison environment
and to identify those resources they use in order to accomplish this. The empirical
data was collected in Jilava prison, Romania.
And the last but not the least, concerns the importance of the subject, analyzes the
new probation law that was adopted in Romania in 2013. After Romania adopted
the new criminal code in 2012, a reboot of the probation system was also needed.
Therefore, the present article is analysing the 252/2013 law, which brought
modifications in regards to organization and functionality of the probation system,
adopting improvements related to the structure, but also regarding the attributions
and the genuine activity of the probation institution in Romania.
Therefore, we bring into attention the 5th Volume, 1st issue and we hope it will
arouse your curiosity to read and online debate.
Thanking you once again for your interest and support, we are wishing you a
pleasant reading!
PROBATION junior Team

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