Minister Tanson reacted to recent news stories about violence in schools and prisons, stating that the ministry is taking these events “very seriously”. In general, the public prosecutor’s office has noticed an uptick in the number of cases it has to process.
However, Tanson pointed out that this could also be seen as positive since the reason for this might be that more cases are reported to the authorities. The minister explained that it is true that violence has always existed, but it is also true that today’s society is much less accepting of it.
When asked whether culprits should face more severe punishments, the minister argued that violence still exists in countries that still make use of the death penalty, for instance.
At the same time, Tanson made it clear that she is not saying “that you shouldn’t be strict as well”. There are punishments for certain crimes and nobody “is going to abolish punishments altogether”.
However, the ministry is currently working on defining “clear rules” and punishments will be halved for minors. The reason for this is that minors “have not yet reached the end of their development” and minors who commit crimes often had difficult upbringings.
In fact, Tanson explained that this was the case for the prisoners who attacked the prison guards in Schrassig earlier this week. According to the minister, the prisoners in question are young people who arrived in Luxembourg without their parents. Since they have no documents, medical professionals were consulted who estimated their age on a “spectrum” between 17 and 20 years or 16 and 19 years.
Tanson stressed that “by far not every non-accompanied minor is a criminal”. But she also added that new measures are being prepared that will enable prison guards to better defend themselves in the future. They will be granted easier access to tear gas and batons, for instance.
However, the problem is much “broader” and cannot be reduced to simply saying that Luxembourg has a violence problem. Tanson explained that young people must be supported in such a way that they receive all the help they need to not end up in these situations.
According to the minister, this is happening on “many different levels,” including prevention and information. Services like Bee Secure are an example of this, Tanson stated, as well as additional psychologists and educators and police campaigns in schools.
Read also: Brutal video: Was this footage filmed at a Luxembourg school?
The minister also spoke about the youth protection reform and the separation of juvenile penal law and youth protection. She stated that regarding juvenile penal law, the Ministry is trying to put the emphasis on “diversionary measures”.
Before a young person is sent to the Socio-Educational Centre or even the Security Unit (UniSec) in Dreiborn, they will do community work, therapies, or other alternatives. Prison, Tanson stressed, is an alternative “at the very end of the system”.
Video in Luxembourgish:
