The killing of children by children as a symptom of national crisis

Abstract

In this article, we describe and analyse the public and political responses to two notorious cases of the killing of children by children, one in Merseyside, England and one in Kobe, Japan. We discuss the ways in which the cases were presented as symptomatic of wider social problems, and how in both Britain and Japan they acted as a catalyst for changes in the juvenile criminal justice system. The article describes and attempts to explain both similarities and differences in the reactions to the killings in Britain and Japan, arguing that while the differences may be more obvious the similarities may be more instructive, and setting the description in the context of penological arguments about globalization and the emergence of a postmodern penality. We conclude that neither country is as unique in its responses to juvenile crime as is sometimes claimed, and that despite `postmodern' anxieties and scepticism in both countries, a `modernist' welfare approach to the reintegration of the killers remained feasible in both Britain and Japan.

The Lens of Victim Contests and Youth Crime Stat Wars

“…More broadly, constructionist analyses could also address how social problems formulations are changing given the new risk-based actuarial paradigms of late modernity, whereby calculations of risk often engage statistics and probabilities that act to constitute and manage deviant people-types (e.g., Feeley and Simon 1992). While relatively isolated incidents of youth violence, including school shootings (Spencer 2005), the Jeremy Bulger killing in the UK (Haydon and Scraton 2000), or Jun Hase in Japan (Smith and Sueda 2008), may incite moral panics, victim contests over social problems such as youth crime remain unresolved for extended periods of time beyond the emotional currents of specific events (McRobbie and Thornton 1995). The expectation that youth crime poses an ongoing risk has led to actuarial assessments and management techniques to respond to this threat (Garland 1997).…”

Reintegrative Shaming and Juvenile Delinquency in Japan

“…This can be highlighted by completely different responses in Japan and Great Britain to the offenders' future rehabilitation after serving their prison sentence and being released into the community. In Japan, parents of victims in a double-murder case accepted the offender's letters of apology and wished that he would be rehabilitated (Smith and Sueda 2008). In Great Britain, the victims' parents exhibited vengeful responses when they publicly stated that they would do whatever they can to "hunt him down" (Smith and Sueda 2008: 14).…”

Factores de Riesgo Asociados a la Conducta Homicida de un Niño hacia un Par

“…Homicidal minor Child offenders Early offensive activity Casos de niños menores de 14 años que hayan cometido homicidio son poco frecuentes (Dawson y Langan, 1994), pero tienen un gran impacto a nivel social y legislativo. Por ejemplo, el asesinato de James Bulger, un niño de 2 años, ocurrido en 1993 a manos de dos niños de 10, fue el punto de partida para cambios en la ley británica acerca de cómo establecer la duración de una sentencia de por vida y si el tratamiento de asesinos juveniles debe diferir del de adultos (Smith y Sueda, 2008). El mismo estudio señala el caso de Jun Hase (11 años) y Ayaka Yamashita (10 años), niños asesinados por un menor de 14 años en Japón en 1997, lo que significó el cuestionamiento de los fundamentos del código penal juvenil, y como consecuencia se disminuyó la edad de responsabilidad criminal de 16 a 14 años.…”