Young offenders in Ireland often face social problems and unmet needs that can contribute to criminal behavior. Many have undiagnosed mental health issues or come from families with histories of crime and difficulties in education. Studies find high rates of mental health disorders among juvenile offenders, yet they frequently experience delays in receiving necessary treatment. Addressing the vulnerabilities and complex needs of young offenders through early intervention and adequate social services may help prevent crime and support rehabilitation.

1. IRELANDSYOUNG
OFFENDERS
“
FINDINGS
Every person has needs which we aim to fulfil through a variety of channels, e.g. relationships with family and friends, social interactions with peers and adults, sports, education, jobs,
etc. If a young person’s needs are not being met, they will often seek out alternative channels that are easily accessible to them. This can result in the young person getting involved in
anti-social or criminal behaviour in an effort to satisfy their needs.”(Kelly, Ní Lao and Long, 2012) Unfortunately, young offenders are often faced with social problems such as stigma
attached to their family name, exclusion, special educational needs and ill mental health, prior, during and post their conviction or custodial sentence. Children who become involved in a
life of crime are often crying out for help, possibly due to deprivation or an undiagnosed mental health illness, and are turning to crime as a coping mechanism to deal with issues that are
unaddressed in their personal lives. Many offenders may have been exposed to a life of crime from a young age, through no fault of their own, and have grown up with the opinion that
their criminal behaviour is not an issue, in fact they may believe that they are conforming to the norm of their society. Unfortunately, the majority of “Young people detained by the Irish
state present with complex and debilitating psychological difficulties across a number of different domains” (Hayes and O'Reilly, 2007). A study conducted by the National Centre for Mental
Health and Juvenile Justice indicates that over 80% of detained females and nearly 70% of detained males have a mental health disorder in some shape or form. (Shufelt and Cocozza, 2006)
The results of this study (Chart 1) indicates that:-
 Youngsters who are in conflict with the law are experiencing high rates of mental health disorders or substance abuse or dependency.
 Although we have come a long way with dealing with many issues inside juvenile detention centres’, when young offenders are released, they often find themselves waiting an
unreasonable length of time for follow up or a referrals to relevant services.
 Mental health disorders are often dismissed when it comes to young offenders. People tend to have the attitude that it’s just a phase and the young offender will grow out of it.
 Sadly, you can't grow out of many mental health disorders. Likewise, parents often feel that they are doing something wrong if their child suffers from depression, perhaps they feel
that they have failed their child in not making their life happy and in this sense parents need to be taught that depression and other mental illness are not always caused by a difficult
up-bringing and there is no shame in seeking help for your child.
 The delay in receiving necessary treatment for ill-mental health or special educational needs has proved to be detrimental to their mental health which in turn can lead to a young offender
facing further social problems and having further conflict with the law due to his lack of self-confidence, self-worth, respect for authority and trust.
 More often than not, lack of self-confidence and self-worth trigger substance abuse or substance dependency.
The evidence and statistics displayed in Chart Two clearly indicates that:-
 Young offenders also tend to come from families that have a history of offending behaviours and difficulties within their educational institutions.
 The Chief Executive of Barnado’s, Anne Marie Carrie has stated that “Young people who offend are among the most vulnerable in society; a quarter have special
educational needs and almost a fifth have depression, yet children as young as 13 are sent back to families who can't cope and end up without a safe place to live.” (Hill, 2011)
 The correlation between disruptive behaviour in school and young offender’s crime rate seems evident.
 Those who are unable to conform to the norm within their educational institutions are more likely to engage in a life of crime.
 Respect for authority begins during the early developmental stage, where children learn to respect their parents, family members and teachers.
 Lack of respect for those in charge at a young age can and most likely will lead to failure to respect those who are of higher status again, for example people involved with the law.
INTRODUCTION
This research aims to examine the social determinants of youth offending.
What is a young offender? A young offender is a youthful guilty party who has been sentenced, or advised around, a criminal offense. A youthful guilty party can be male or female between the age of 12 to 18. Criminal equity frameworks will regularly manage
youthful guilty parties diversely to grown-up wrongdoers. (Children and the criminal justice system)
Why are Irish youths offending?
An investigation which was carried out found that poverty had an increased and direct impact on youngsters probability to offend. Youngsters who were living in a family where the head of the family unit was not working or in low status manual business and the
individuals who were experiencing childhood in groups with large amounts of hardships were fundamentally more inclined to take part in crime. (The Link Between Poverty & Crime, 2016).
Is Ireland’s childhood equity framework coming up short for young offenders? Near one out of 10 of all wrongdoings announced in Ireland are conferred by youths, with under-18s in charge of the greater part of all auto and bike burglaries, trespass offenses, fire
related crime, unlawful accumulations, firecrackers offenses, and thefts from the individual (McCarthaigh, 2016)
In a current garda open demeanor study in the republic of Ireland, respondants appraised juvenille wrongdoing as a noteworthy national issue (76%). Discoveries with respect to youthful guilty parties in Ireland will be examined. Minors have individual needs and
improvement needs which both should be met with a specific end goal to guarantee the minor the most obvious opportunity throughout everyday life.With regards to youthful guilty parties there are sure hazard factors that can help counteract and lessen
wrongdoing among youngsters.Hazard factors don't cause wrongdoing nor do they pardon wrongdoing yet with specific dangers targeted it can massively affect a youngster offending. Defenseless youthful guilty parties are in danger of genuine and long haul issues
on the grounds that the young equity framework is neglecting to help their requirements, as indicated by child welfare charities and campaign groups (Hara, 2013).
In this poster we will center around Ireland's youthful wrongdoers.
We will analyze and compare our findings regarding young offenders in Ireland.
BIBLIOGAPHY
Background to Youth Justice Reforms. (n.d.). Retrieved April 05, 2018,
from Department of Children and Youth Affairs:
https://www.dcya.gov.ie/docs/Background_to_Youth_Justice_Reforms/
161.htm
Hara, M. O. (2013, February 15). Youth justice system is 'failing
vulnerable young offenders'. Retrieved March 23, 2018, 20, from The
Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/society/2013/feb/05/youth-
justice-failing-young-offenders
Hayes, D. and O'Reilly, D. (2007). Mental Health and Juvenile
Delinquency. [online] Drugsandalcohol.ie. Available at:
https://www.drugsandalcohol.ie/6264/1/Emotional_intelligence.pdf
[Accessed 4 Apr. 2018].
Hill, A. (2011). Young offenders leaving custody for life of homelessness
and reoffending. [online] the Guardian. Available at:
https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/society/2011/f
eb/28/young-offenders-released-homelessness-crime
Kelly, E., Ní Lao, M. and Long, R. (2012). Working with young people
involved in the Juvenile Justice System. [online] Youth.ie. Available at:
http://www.youth.ie/sites/youth.ie/files/Chapter%208%20-
%20working%20with%20young%20people%20involved%20in%20the%2
0Juvenile%20Justice%20System%20-%20all%20Ireland_0.pdf [Accessed
7 Apr. 2018].
McCarthaigh, S. (2016, July 11). Children commit 9% of all recorded
crimes in Ireland. Retrieved March 15, 2018, from Irish Examiner:
https://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/children-commit-9-of-all-
recorded-crimes-in-ireland-409542.html
Shufelt, J. and Cocozza, J. (2006). Youth with Mental Health Disorders in
the Juvenile Justice System: Results from a Multi-State Prevalence Stud.
[ebook] National Center for Mental Health and Juvenile Justice, p.4.
Available at: https://www.ncmhjj.com/wp-
content/uploads/2015/02/2006_Youth_with_Mental_Health_Disorders
_in_the_Juvenile_Justice_System.pdf [Accessed 11 Apr. 2018].
The Link Between Poverty & Crime. (2016, January 22). Retrieved April
01, 2018, from Criminal Law & Justice Weekly:
https://www.criminallawandjustice.co.uk/features/Link-Between-
Poverty-and-Crime.
Children and the criminal justice system. (n.d.). Retrieved April 12, 2018,
from Citizens Information:
http://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/justice/children_and_young_offe
nders/children_and_the_criminal_justice_system_in_ireland.html
“The most basic of all human needs is the need to understand and be
understood. The best way to understand people is to listen to them. They
may forget what you said, but they will never forget how you made
them feel.” - Aristotle (384-322 BC) Greek philosopher
Any Disorder Anxiety Disorder Disruptive Disorder Substance Abuse
0.00%
10.00%
20.00%
30.00%
40.00%
50.00%
60.00%
70.00%
80.00%
90.00%
Chart 1: Mental Health Disorders Amongst
Juvenile Offenders Both Male and Female
Male Female
Family Member With A Conviction Family Member Who Served a Jail
Sentence
Suspended From School Received Additional Help In School
0.00%
10.00%
20.00%
30.00%
40.00%
50.00%
60.00%
70.00%
80.00%
90.00%
100.00%
Chart 2: Characteristics of Juvenile Offenders
(Shufelt and Cocozza, 2006) (Hayes and O'Reilly, 2007)
Authors: Shauna Minnock & Shannen O’Connell
Method:- For the purpose of creating this poster, the internet was used to locate several research articles and documentation that allowed us to gain a
thorough understanding of the social problems that young offenders face. The following key-terms were used during our research:
• Young Offenders in Ireland
• Social Issues Faced by Young Offenders
• Juvenile Delinquency
• Ill-Mental Health and Young Offenders
• Youth Crime in Ireland