Are judges being too lenient with violent youngsters?
D.J.: Yes, there seems to be a general tendency to do so. I brought a motion in parliament to find out why judges are not using the full extent of the law for sentencing youngsters something that is also happening with adult offenders. Surprisingly there were 177 votes in favour and just two against. So there is a general mistrust of the justice system. You can interpret the mild sentencing as a refusal of the judges to implement the wishes of the lawmakers. If a judge doesn’t want to impose stricter sentencing, there is no point to the legislation, and this cannot be the case.swissinfo.ch: So we don’t need tougher laws and harder sentencing? D.J.: No. There is no point in revising laws if judges don’t make full use of them. Only for specific offences should the sentencing be hardened. This is what parliament is doing now for cases of rape.swissinfo.ch: Can society protect itself from excessive acts of violence by youngsters? D.J.: We need to improve communication between schools, pare
