The issue of juvenile crime in interwar Poland in the periodical Przegląd Więziennictwa Polskiego

Abstract

After the regained independence in 1918, Polish society faced many tasks. One of them was rebuilding of the penitentiary system. Aside from adult prisons, there was a need for a system guarding the juvenile against social maladjustment. The debate on perfecting juvenile educational institutions continued during the entire interwar period. A progressive system was introduced to adult prisons, and juvenile educational institutions were becoming less and less repressive. The Polish model of neglected youth support, created in the interwar period, as well as legal solutions reached therat, demonstrate that the effort of Polish prison reformers proved successful. This article is an attempt at reconstruction of the interwar debate on the juvenile, based on the contemporary periodical Przegląd Więziennictwa Polskiego.