In Germany, the first House of Juvenile Justice was founded in Stuttgart in 1999. There are now more than 40 such institutions across the country, seven of which are in NRW. Now a House of Juvenile Justice is also to be established in Bielefeld.
In a House of Juvenile Justice, three of the central players in juvenile criminal proceedings will be located in one building: the police's juvenile case processing department, the youth welfare service in criminal proceedings and the public prosecutor's department for juvenile cases.
This innovative approach aims to create structures for stronger networking, which should speed up criminal investigations in particular through improved coordination and shortened information channels, as well as ensure a timely and more precise response to crimes committed by young people and adolescents.
This collaboration takes a holistic approach with the aim of addressing the specific challenges faced by young people and adolescents who have committed crimes and ultimately reducing the number of offences and crimes committed - especially by multiple offenders.
Police Commissioner Dr. Sandra Müller-Steinhauer: "I am concerned about the current trend in youth crime since the end of the coronavirus pandemic. In 2022, for example, there was a significant increase in the number of suspects identified in Bielefeld across all age groups of under 21-year-olds. We must not allow delinquency among young people to become entrenched and for them to become the perpetrators of tomorrow. All of us - police, judiciary and youth welfare office - are united by the common goal of influencing young people and adolescents in such a way that they lead a life without crime in the future. We can only achieve this by pooling our expertise, and we are now coming together under one roof. Alongside the "Kurve kriegen" initiative, the House of Juvenile Justice is another building block for preventing and combating child and juvenile crime in Bielefeld."
Head Senior Public Prosecutor Michaela Feld confirms this: "A certain number of juvenile and adolescent multiple offenders are responsible for a significant proportion of the crimes committed by this age group. They are on the verge of a criminal career, which must be averted through special intervention. Juvenile and adolescent offenders must be identified at an early stage and a prompt response must be made. With close cooperation between the police, public prosecutor's office and youth welfare services under one roof, investigations can be processed more quickly and delinquent behavior can be punished in a consistent and targeted manner."
The Head of Social Affairs and Integration for the City of Bielefeld, Ingo Nürnberger, emphasizes the importance of this project for the city: "From the point of view of the city and the social services department, this closer cooperation between the three authorities is primarily about supporting young people and adolescents who have gone astray by providing quick and unbiased advice and suitable measures - with the aim of preventing and protecting young people from a criminal career."
A working group made up of experts from the three authorities is currently developing a concept for how a House of Juvenile Justice can be implemented in Bielefeld. It is not yet clear when and where the House of Juvenile Justice can be opened in Bielefeld. The findings to date will be presented to the Youth Welfare Committee today, January 10, 2024.