Logo UAB

Juvenile Crime

Code: 100469 ECTS Credits: 6
2025/2026
Degree Type Year
Criminology OB 3

Contact

Name:
Albert Pedrosa Bou
Email:
albert.pedrosa@uab.cat

Teachers

Judit Xufre Calafell

Teaching groups languages

You can view this information at the end of this document.


Prerequisites

It is advisable to have a previous knowledge on criminological theories

The course will be taught considering the perspective of the Sustainable Development Goals.

The theoretical classes, as well as seminars 11 and 12, will be taught in Catalan.

Seminar 13 will be taught in Spanish.


Objectives and Contextualisation

The course will address the phenomenon of juvenile delinquency from its various dimensions: Its causes, its evaluation, the Juvenile Justice System, and the means of prevention and intervention with young offenders. At the end of the course, the student will be able to identify the factors related to juvenile delinquency, assess the risk and needs of young offenders, and propose intervention and prevention measures with young people.


Competences

  • Ability to analyse and summarise.
  • Accessing and interpreting sources of crime data.
  • Analysing the conflict and criminology by using the criminological theories and their psychological and sociological foundations.
  • Designing a criminological research and identifying the appropriate methodological strategy to the proposed goals.
  • Drawing up an academic text.
  • Formulating research hypothesis in the criminological field.
  • Identifying existing social resources to intervene in the conflict and criminality.
  • Respectfully interacting with other people.
  • Students must demonstrate a comprehension of the best crime prevention and intervention models for each specific problem.
  • Students must demonstrate they comprehend the criminological theories.
  • Students must demonstrate they know a variety of criminal policies in order to face criminality and its different foundations.
  • Using the evaluation techniques of criminogenic risk and needs of a person in order to decide an intervention proposal.
  • Verbally transmitting ideas to an audience.
  • Working autonomously.
  • Working in teams and networking.

Learning Outcomes

  1. Ability to analyse and summarise.
  2. Accurately applying the prevention models in specific crime situations.
  3. Analysing with scientific criteria the information obtained in criminological databases.
  4. Applying the criminological theories.
  5. Applying the scientific criminological knowledge to the delinquency analysis.
  6. Appropriately choosing the social resource for each professional intervention case.
  7. Correctly drawing up every part of a criminological research project.
  8. Drawing up an academic text.
  9. Efficiently applying the foundations of the different crime policies in the professional activity.
  10. Inferring the intervention models in accordance with a previous needs assessment.
  11. Respectfully interacting with other people.
  12. Using the appropriate research methodology in accordance with the suggested criminological research.
  13. Verbally transmitting ideas to an audience.
  14. Working autonomously.
  15. Working in teams and networking.

Content

Content

Topic 1: Background and contextualization of juvenile delinquency.

Topic 2: Development, maturity and crime.

Topic 3: Causes and theories of juvenile delinquency.

Topic 4: Risk assessment in juvenile delinquency. Risk and protective factors.

Topic 5: The Juvenile Justice Systems: protection and reform.

Topic 6: Prevention and intervention strategies on juvenile delinquency.


Activities and Methodology

Title Hours ECTS Learning Outcomes
Type: Directed      
Exam 0 0 3, 2, 9, 5, 4, 6, 10, 7, 1, 14, 12
Lectures 19.5 0.78 3, 4, 10, 11, 13
Seminar 19.5 0.78 3, 4, 10, 8, 11, 1, 13, 14, 15
Type: Autonomous      
Personal work 106 4.24 3, 4, 10, 8, 11, 1, 13, 15

A) Lectures

During the lectures, activities will be carried out to promote reflection and debate.

B) Seminars

Students will have to prepare a paper or perform another activity to prepare for the seminar. During the seminar, students will have the opportunity to listen to different opinions of the rest of the classmates and professors, resolve doubts, discuss the main ideas and consequently, increase their learning about juvenile delinquency. The topic of the seminars will be posted on the virtual campus at the beginning of the course.

Annotation: Within the schedule set by the centre or degree programme, 15 minutes of one class will be reserved for students to evaluate their lecturers and their courses or modules through questionnaires.


Assessment

Continous Assessment Activities

Title Weighting Hours ECTS Learning Outcomes
Exam 25% 2 0.08 9, 5, 4, 8
Exam 25% 2 0.08 9, 4, 8, 1, 14
Individual essays (Seminars) 30% 0 0 3, 2, 9, 5, 4, 6, 10, 8, 1, 13, 14, 12
Oral Presentation 10% 1 0.04 3, 2, 4, 8, 1, 14
Participation 10% 0 0 3, 2, 9, 5, 4, 6, 10, 7, 11, 1, 13, 15

Continuous Assessment

The subject's assessment system is continuous assessment, which is detailed below:

Conditions for being assessed and passing the subject

Students will only be able to pass the subject if they attend a minimum of 80% of the lectures and seminars.

Absences can only be justified for reasons of serious illness or other reasons of force majeure duly justified and authorized by the teaching staff.

To pass the subject, a minimum average of 5 must be obtained in the exams, and the final average for the subject must reach 5.

Students will be assessed if they have carried out a set of activities whose weight is equivalent to a minimum of 2/3 of the total grade for the subject. If the value of the activities carried out does not reach this threshold, the subject teacher may consider the student as "non-assessable".

Assessment items

a) Seminar work (50%).

    i) Individual presentation (10%).

    ii) Individual essays (30%).

    iii) Participation (10%)

b) Two exams (50% in total).

Retakes

In the event of not passing a continuous assessment activity or the exam, it may be retaken, if they have been submitted.

Other important aspects of the assessment

No late assignments will be accepted; students will receive a 0 for that assignment without the possibility of recovery.

Fraudulent conduct

Students who copy or attempt to copy in an exam will receive a 0 for the subject and will lose the right to reassessment. A student who presents an assignment in which there are signs of plagiarism or who cannot justify the arguments for their assignment will receive a 0 and will receive a warning. In the event of a repeat of conduct, the student will fail the subject (0) and will lose the rightto recover.

Punctuality and behavior in the classroom

Classes begin and end on time. Entry to the classroom after its beginning or exit before its end is not permitted, except with reasonable justification.

All students are required to have a respectful attitude towards the rest of the students. No offensive or discriminatory behavior (due to birth, race, sex, religion, opinion, or any other personal or social circumstance) will be tolerated during classes.

Review of grades

The review of the final grade follows the same procedure for both continuous and single assessment.

Single Assessment

In this case, students who meet the requirements established in the UAB regulations will be assessed based on a final test, in which the student must demonstrate that they have acquired the set of skills of the subject:

1. Risk assessment in juvenile delinquency. The student must solve an exercise aimed at assessing the risk of a case using the SAVRY Model. - 45 min. - 20%

2. Oral presentation:students must reflectand answer the teacher's questions on a set of proposed topics (mandatory essays). - 20 min. - 30%

3. Final synthesis exam: students must answer the questions posed in the final exam of the subject (theoretical lessons). - 90 min. - 50%. To prepare this part, it is highly recommended to read the following handbook: Cardenal-Montraveta, S. (2022). La responsabilidad penal de los menores. Tirant lo Blanch

In the event of not passing the first single assessment, students will have the right to retake.


Bibliography

Mandatory readings

Andrés-Pueyo, A. & Echeburúa, E. (2010). Valoración del riesgo de violencia: instrumentos disponibles e indicaciones de aplicación. Psicothema, 22 (3), 403-409.

Bravo, A. & Santos-González, I. (2017). Menores extranjeros no acompañados en España: necesidades y modelos de intervención. Psychosocial Intervention, 26(1), 55-62. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psi.2015.12.001

Díaz, M.J.J. (2015). Algunas reflexiones sobre la responsabilidad penal de los menores. Revista Electrónica de Ciencia Penal y Criminología, 17, 19.

Fernández-Molina, E. (2024). ¿Son ahora los jóvenes españoles más violentos? Un análisis de los datos oficiales sobre homicidios y agresiones sexuales. InDret, (1), 279-301.

Fernández-Molina, E. (2025). Jóvenes en el sistema penal: ¿una oportunidad de socialización legal?. InDret, (2), 232-261. 

Hoge, R. D., Vincent, G., Guy, L. & Redondo-Illescas, S. (2015). Serie especial: La transición desde la delincuencia juvenil a la delincuencia adulta IV. Revista Española de Investigación Criminológica, 13, 1–40. https://doi.org/10.46381/reic.v13i.131

García-España, E., Carvalho da Silva, J., Casado-Patricio, E, & Prado-Manrique, B. (2021). Adolescentes marroquíes en calle: desprotección, delincuencia y victimización. Revista Española de Investigación Criminológica, 19(1), 1–41. https://doi.org/10.46381/reic.v19i1.567 

Tamarit-Sumalla, J.M. (2024). Menores contra menores: ¿justicia para víctimas e infractores?. Revista General de Derecho Penal, 42.

 

Students must also work with material provided to prepare de seminars.

Recommended readings

Agnew, R. & Brezina, T. (2005). Juvenile delinquency: Causes and control. Oxford Universty Press.

Blanch, M., Capdevila, M., Ferrer, M., Framis, B., Ruíz, U., Mora, J., Batlle, A. & López, B. (2017). La Reincidència en la justícia de menors. Centre d’Estudis Jurídics i de Formació Especialitzada. http://cejfe.gencat.cat/ca/recerca/cataleg/crono/2017/reincidencia-jj/

Cardenal-Montraveta, S. (2022). La responsabilidad penal de los menores. Tirant lo Blanch.

Farrington, D. P. (2019). Factores de riesgo y de protección en la infancia para los que desisten de manera temprana, tardía y para los delincuentes persistentes. Revista Española de Investigación Criminológica, 17, 1–33. https://doi.org/10.46381/reic.v17i.225

Fernández-Molina, E. & Bartolomé, R. (2019). Delincuencia y justicia juvenil en España ¿qué sabemos?. Tirant lo Blanch

Fernández-Molina, E. & Bernuz,M. J. (2018). Justiciade menores. Síntesis. 

Heilbrum, K., Sevin-Goldstein, N. & Reeding, R. (Eds.) (2005). Juvenile delinquency: Prevention, assessment and intervention. Oxford University Press.

Ibabe, I., & Jaureguizar, J.(2011). El perfil psicológico de los menores denunciados por violencia filio-parental. Revista Española de Investigación Criminológica, 9, 1-19. https://doi.org/10.46381/reic.v9i0.63 

Martín-González, A.P. & Gimeno, C. (2023). Las niñas y adolescentes migrantes no acompañadas: un reto para el Sistema de Protección de Menores. Repositorio de la Universidad de Zaragoza

Montero, T. & de Vicente, R. (2016). Justicia juvenil. Tirant lo Blanch.

Olweus, D. (1993). Bullying at school. What we know,and what we can do [trad espanyola: Conductas de acoso y amenaza entre escolares. Morata, 1998]

Perry, A., McDougall, C. & Farrington, D., (Eds.) (2006). Reducing crime: The effectiveness of criminal justice intervention. Willey & Sons, Ltd.

Rechea, C. & Cuervo, A. L. (2010). Menores agresores en el ámbito familiar: Un estudio de casos. Revista de Derecho Penal y Criminología, 3, 353-375.

Vázquez González, C. (2019). Delincuencia juvenil. Dykinson S.L. 


Software

No specific program is required in this course.


Groups and Languages

Please note that this information is provisional until 30 November 2025. You can check it through this link. To consult the language you will need to enter the CODE of the subject.

Name Group Language Semester Turn
(SEM30) Seminaris (30 estudiants per grup) 11 Catalan first semester morning-mixed
(SEM30) Seminaris (30 estudiants per grup) 12 Catalan first semester morning-mixed
(SEM30) Seminaris (30 estudiants per grup) 13 Spanish first semester morning-mixed
(TE) Theory 1 Catalan first semester morning-mixed