Colombia: Crime and Punishment, a dilemma for youth crime

There is a growing trend in crime rates and arrests of youth in the world (United Nations 2003) makes this issue one of great importance to national and international policy. Colombia is no exception unfortunately. In fact, it is believed that new criminal gangs are increasingly involved young children to carry out many of their crimes. A case reported and quite scary enough for my point of view is the fact that the alleged perpetrator of place and activate the load on the attack in Bogota Fernando Londoño this summer is young only 16 years old.

Today I want to share two recent studies on the subject Colombia. The first is related to the possible impact caused by changes in legislation that have been taking place in the region. Countries like Brazil, Peru, Colombia, Chile, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Bolivia, Paraguay, Ecuador, Dominican Republic, Uruguay, Venezuela, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Panama and others (Beloff 2006) have amended their penal systems to incorporate the principles set out in the International Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) adopted in 1989. Read Article