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Description
“Waiting outside” is a project aimed at 65 young people (ages 13 to 18) with educational guardianship measures applied judicially in a closed, semi-open regime or the community. The psychotherapeutic methodology of psychodrama is intended to promote the social change of values and conceptions of the “I” in the community to reduce behaviours leading to criminal recidivism. It also intends to create a dynamic of sponsorship of the youths, with the objective of supporting their process of social, educational and professional reintegration of young people during and after serving their sentence.
Summary of project results
The project aimed to address the issue of criminal recidivism among young people aged 13 to 17 who were serving educational tutelary measures in educational centers, semi-open regimes, or within the community (juvenile justice). In Portugal, one-third of youths under 16 years old reoffended criminally (DGRSP, 2019), representing one of the highest juvenile recidivism rates in Europe. Nationally, 3,173 educational tutelary measures were being executed for crimes committed by youths (DGRSP, 2020). In the Porto Metropolitan Area, 38 youths were detained in educational centers, with an additional 86 youths serving semi-open or community-based measures (DGRSP, 2020). This social problem had significant quantitative and qualitative impacts, negatively affecting both individuals and the community.
These youths had reintegration plans, but they lacked therapeutic components aimed at change and proximal support in building life projects to prevent recidivism. Additionally, the high flow of tutelary processes strained the available human resources of the DGRSP, highlighting the need for projects that closely intervene with youths to reinforce public policies on social reintegration and recidivism prevention.
The social problem of recidivism is severe, affecting not only the youths but also their entire family ecosystems. In the medium term, it could worsen due to the transgenerational nature of criminal recidivism (from parents to children). Moreover, it was a neglected issue, as existing interventions did not include an integrated therapeutic approach with systemic and proximal life project support. Therefore, an intervention focused on youths with juvenile criminal backgrounds (primary target group), extended to their proximal family ecosystems (secondary target group), and complemented by capacity-building for juvenile justice system teams (secondary target group) was considered relevant to ensure the sustainability of therapeutic actions over time.
The project implemented a series of activities aimed at addressing juvenile criminal recidivism. Mentoring activities were developed to strengthen the relationship between the project worker and the youth beneficiaries. This informal support aimed to establish co-responsibility for the youth''s social reintegration and the prevention of criminal recidivism. Various occupational and therapeutic practices were also developed, including child psychiatry consultations, musical occupation activities (such as creating a percussion band), and other activities based on the youths'' preferences identified during mentoring sessions. These activities included gym visits, movie outings, outdoor excursions, bike rides, educational board games, participation in sports tournaments, and attending theater and music concerts.
The project also conducted capacity-building actions in response to the organisation´s needs Assessment and Action Plan - Improved Version, designed to meet the organization''s needs. Three capacity-building actions were developed: training in value creation and impact assessment, training in organization, strategy, and marketing, and training in financial management and information management. These actions were positively received, involving the project coordinator and other organization members.
In terms of results the proposed objectives were met, and several effects of the interventions were observable, such as the absence of criminal recidivism after the completion of the educational tutelary measures, the acquisition of social values, and the youths'' awareness of being integral parts of a community. In the geographic area where the project was implemented, the DGRSP noted a decrease in the number of requests received by the Technical Advisory for Judicial Decision-Making, with the northern region being the only area where this occurred, as other regions saw an increase.
As of December 31, 2023, 1139 educational tutelary measures were being executed, a decrease from the 3173 measures at the project''s starting point. Of these, 380 (33.36%) resulted in Educational Monitoring, and 128 (11.24%) in placement in Educational Centers. These measures were most frequently referred to the project, aligning with the DGRSP report indicating a significant increase in preference for these responses.
Following decreases in 2020 and 2021 due to the pandemic, 2022 and 2023 saw a rise in requests for measure execution. However, in 2023, only the northern teams observed a decrease in requests for measure execution, down 4.74% from 2022. The project involved 57 beneficiaries, 40 family members, and 27 trained workers.