minors

H.L. at 15 he broke the law and without realizing it he found himself in the dock, facing the consequences of his act. The sentence imposed on him was 50 hours of community service, translated into providing gardening services to the Municipality of Kalamata.

After some time, having already served his sentence and seeing one of the plants he planted growing, he said to Angeliki Roumeliotousocial worker and juvenile supervisor of the Kalamata Court: “Do you see this? I planted it myself and it didn’t go bad. It seems to be the first thing I caught and didn’t destroy…”.

“No one has said ‘well done’ to them”

Speaking to “Vima”, the person responsible for the 15-year-old – at the time – offender decodes the seemingly simple phrase that, as she says, she will remember forever.

“Many times, some children tell us that no one from their environment has said a ‘well done’ for something they had made. They grew up as black sheep, without childishness” he explains and refers with emotion to a few more children he supervised.

“They were two 17-year-olds, P. and K. After we completed the hours of community service that had been imposed on them, they confessed to me that during their “sentence” for the first time they cooperated with someone else, listened to his opinion, failed but persisted, without giving up. That, I think, says a lot about the kids who end up with us.”.

For his part, Dimitris, 19 years old today, remembers that a few years ago, still a minor, he too found himself in the position of the accused. Cause, a wallet he stole. Identifying him in the country town where he lives was an easy task and so he quickly found himself in the local department and then in court.

“In court I promised to be correct. They made me double the hours, 100, but I didn’t complain. I made a bet with myself” – Dimitris, 19 years old

“I was involved in other nonsense back then” he tells and narrates his own path to imprisonment: “Almost after two years the court was held. They gave me 50 hours of community service. The supervisor had told me that there was a possibility for me to work at the Municipality for some hours, really, but I thought it was fairer to get a reprimand, let’s face it, six months of supervision… It didn’t sit well with me. The curator explained to me, but I didn’t want to. But I didn’t tell her anything”.

Work began over the summer, with Dimitris steadfastly reluctant to show consistency and avoid further entanglements. “I started in the middle of July. I started… Let’s say I started. I was late, I didn’t go, I left earlier. I thought that in the summer everything is relaxed. Who would see if I was gone? But it wasn’t like that”. His repeated absences worried the curator who called him repeatedly as her responsibility is to supervise the faithful implementation of the schedule and also to resolve any issues.

“On the one hand, he irritated me, on the other hand, again, he showed interest in me. It was the first time I did community service. By and large, I was done but I knew I wasn’t right to her and not right to the boss in the Municipality, who was fine with me and never turned me down. Of course, she had her complaints too. The positive thing was that I learned to wake up early” continues.

“I knew I raised them”

Dimitris “relapsed” soon. This time, however, realizing it was his last chance, he agreed to community service from the start. “In court I promised to be correct. They made me double the hours, 100, but I didn’t complain. I made a bet with myself».

This time he had to provide his services to a nursery. “The supervisor was strict but fair. He made it clear to me that if I did what we agreed, everything would be fine.”. Indeed, gradually, forced labor turned into a pleasant daily routine.

“I liked the little plants in the nursery. Every day they got bigger and bigger and we changed their pots. Later I saw some of them in some planters and I knew that I grew them” he remembers. Relations with his superior evolved from formal to friendly, while time passed “without him realizing it”.

“All the workers had started to consider me one of their own. In the last few days I even asked if I could get a job there, but it was not possible. On the last day the supervisor told the supervisor to send kids like me back to him. He thanked me and told me that I can come whenever I want”.

“Some children tell us that no one from their environment has said a ‘well done’ for something they had made. They grew up as black sheep, without childishness” – Angeliki Roumeliotou, social worker

Somehow, Dimitris managed to stay away from the “nonsense”. “I felt I could. I found a job and later another one, which I went to as a supplement, whenever I was needed. From September I say I will continue school and maybe at the second high school of EPAL I will take the specialty of plant production technician” concludes the 19-year-old.

Referring to the cases of children like Dimitris, who lost their compass during the – difficult anyway – adolescence, wandering in the pits of mild delinquency, Angeliki Roumeliotou emphasizes that the saddest thing is that they forget to dream.

“Children’s dreams give us the raw material to rebuild with them what went wrong in their childhood – with delinquent behavior as a symptom”.

When and how it is applied

For juvenile offenders who have committed serious crimes, the measure of providing community service is indicated as the last option available to the institutions of the penal system before imposing their admission to a “Juvenile Institution”.

It is set as a continuation of a court decision after the end of the hearing procedure which takes place behind closed doors and concerns minors over 15 years of age and young people up to 25 years of age. The implementation of the community service is supervised by the competent supervisor who conducts a social investigation in order to decide on the most appropriate criminal treatment of the offender, taking into account the particular characteristics of the minor, his skills and interests, as well as the nature of his delinquent act.

Finally, the version of the final proposal includes the employment agency, the type of work provided and the total number of hours, “which should not exceed 150, as the maximum limit for misdemeanor acts, and 180 as the maximum limit for felonies” explains in “Vima” o George Karvelassocial worker and curator of the Juvenile Probation Service and Social Assistance of Chalkida.

Minors are employed in city and coastal cleaning services, gardening, forest firefighting or reforestation, while they can provide services to institutions for the deaf, blind or people with special needs. Bodies to which they can also offer their services are the OTAs but also other services of the state and non-profit public benefit legal entities under private law.

“It is extremely helpful for a probation officer to implement the reformative measure of community service with a juvenile with interests and goals. I distinctly remember a child who did an apprenticeship in the municipal workshop and continued in the same subject with community service as part of his practical training” emphasizes the experienced social worker and juvenile probation officer.

Community service in Greece

(Applies to minors over 15 and young people aged 18-25)

Community service hours:

• Upper limit for misdemeanors: 150 hours
• Upper limit for felonies: 180 hours

Services:

• Cleaning Services
• Gardening work
• Forest fire fighting or reforestation
• Subscription to institutions for the deaf, blind or disabled

Employment agencies:

• Hellenic Red Cross
• General Secretariat of the New Generation
• National Welfare Organization
• Municipalities
• Local Government Organizations
• Public Legal Entities
• Non-Profit Public Beneficial Legal Entities of Private Law