The trajectories of juvenile deviance

The report “The trajectories of juvenile deviance” is the result of a study carried out by Transcrime, based on data from the Ufficio di Servizio Sociale per i Minorenni (USSM) in Milan, together with the Department of Juvenile and Community Justice (DGMC) of the Italian Ministry of Justice. The growing concern about forms of juvenile delinquency and deviance is prompting researchers and institutions to reflect on the evolution and nature of this phenomenon in order to define effective policies and provide adequate remedies.

The study follows a previous mapping (2022, in Italian) of the so-called juvenile gang phenomenon, in order to identify the most recent trends in juvenile delinquency. In addition to official statistics, we have analysed information on a sample of 100 young people who were in the custody of the Milan USSM for criminal proceedings in the two periods 2015-2016 and 2022-2023.

In order to guarantee the multidisciplinary approach required by the complexity of the phenomenon, the results of the study were also analysed by the Faculty of Psychology of the Università Cattolica. These exploratory results provide the basis for further in-depth studies and for the development of effective and coordinated interventions involving all the actors and levels implicated in the education of young people: institutions, schools, the third sector, families and communities.