A psychosocial profile of children referred to Sterkfontein hospital for assessment of criminal responsibility in terms of the child justice act (75 of 2008)

Abstract

Background The problem of juvenile delinquency is a serious one worldwide. Research indicates that the commencement of a criminal career in early childhood increases the individual’s risk of becoming a serious, violent, and chronic offender by at least two to three times. In South Africa the Child Justice Act 75 of 2008 (“Act”) highlights processes which must be followed when dealing with children aged 10 to 14 years old, who come into conflict with the law. Methodology In this study, retrospective file reviews of all the assessments for criminal capacity conducted at Sterkfontein Hospital, during the period from June 2010 up to December 2015, in terms of the Child Justice Act were performed. The aim was to evaluate the demographics, perinatal complications, environment of origin, and the occurrence of psychiatric diagnosis and intellectual functioning of these individuals. Results The sample size was 38. The mean age of the children was 13 years. They were all male and the majority of them were black (79%). Rape was the predominant charge (58%) and only 5% had a previous criminal history. Even though 68% were cognitively impaired, most of them were attending mainstream schools. With regards to their assessment for criminal capacity, 60% were assessed as being criminally responsible, 34% were found to lack criminal capacity and for 5% of the children – an assessment for criminal capacity could not be concluded due to the fact that the assessment had occurred at least 2 years after the commission of the offence.