Bill containing regulations on children dragged into crime accepted by the TBMM Justice Commission: Here are the details

With the proposal, a new article is being introduced to the Law on Firearms and Knives and Other Instruments. Accordingly, a person who causes a firearm to be seized by a child by failing to store it in accordance with the duty of care and attention will be punished with imprisonment from 1 year to 3 years, provided that the act does not constitute another crime requiring a more severe penalty.

With the amendment made to the Turkish Penal Code, those who have completed the age of 12 but have not completed the age of 15 at the time of committing the act will not have criminal liability if they cannot perceive the legal meaning and consequences of the act or if their ability to direct their behavior has not developed sufficiently; however, security measures specific to children will be ordered for these individuals. In the event that the ability to perceive the legal meaning and consequences of the act and to direct their behavior regarding this act exists, these individuals will be sentenced to 13 to 18 years of imprisonment if the crime requires an aggravated life sentence, and 10 to 12 years of imprisonment if it requires a life sentence. Half of other penalties will be reduced, and in this case, the prison sentence to be given for each act cannot exceed 9 years.

For individuals who have completed the age of 15 but have not completed the age of 18 at the time of committing the act, a prison sentence of 19 to 27 years will be imposed if the crime requires an aggravated life sentence, and 15 to 18 years if it requires a life sentence. One-third of other penalties will be reduced, and in this case, the prison sentence to be given for each act cannot exceed 15 years.

With the new provision added to the Turkish Penal Code, the judge is granted discretion to decide not to apply age reduction for children in the 15-18 age group who commit the crimes of intentional killing and injury resulting in aggravated consequences, or to apply the penalty regime of the older age group to children in the 12-15 age group, by taking into account one or more of the following: the severity of the fault based on intent in the concrete case, the purpose and motive pursued, the manner in which the crime was committed, and whether they have previously been convicted of an intentional crime.

With the amendment made to the "Recidivism and specially dangerous criminals" provision of the Law, the age exception in the application of recidivism provisions is lowered from 18 to 15. Accordingly, recidivism provisions will not be applied for crimes committed by persons who have not completed the age of 15 at the time of committing the crime.

With the proposal, it is aimed to protect the institution of the family and especially children by increasing the penalties for crimes included in the "Violation of obligations arising from family law" provision of the Law. Accordingly, the "up to 1 year" prison sentence foreseen upon complaint for a person who does not fulfill the obligation of care, education, or support arising from family law is regulated as "from 3 months to 2 years." The limit of the 3-month to 1-year prison sentence foreseen for a person who abandons their spouse, whom they know to be pregnant, or an unmarried woman with whom they live continuously and whom they know to be pregnant by them, in a helpless state, will be increased to 6 months to 2 years. If the child commits the crime of intentional killing or injury resulting in aggravated consequences due to these acts, the penalty to be given to the perpetrator according to the provision will be increased by up to twice the amount, without the need for a complaint.

Even if custody rights have been revoked, the limit of the prison sentence foreseen for a mother or father who severely endangers the morality, safety, and health of their children due to habitual drunkenness, the use of drugs or stimulants, or a lack of material and moral care resulting from dishonorable attitudes and behaviors will be 1 to 3 years instead of "3 months to 1 year."

1 day spent by the convict in the penal institution until they complete the age of 15 will be considered as 2 days

With the regulation made in the Criminal Procedure Code, it will be decided to return the indictment to the Chief Public Prosecutor's Office if it is prepared without a social investigation for children under the age of 15, after all documents regarding the investigation phase are examined within 15 days from the date the indictment and investigation documents are submitted by the court, and missing or erroneous points are specified.

With the amendment made to the Law on the Execution of Penalties and Security Measures, it is stipulated that instead of starting the execution of prison sentences of child convicts directly in child education houses, the execution will begin in closed child penal institutions and they will be transferred to education houses if it is determined that they are of good conduct.

The regulation ensures that the types of crimes are also taken into account in the housing of children in the 12-18 age group in closed child penal institutions. Accordingly, children in the 12-18 age group will be housed in separate sections of closed child penal institutions, taking into account their crime types, gender, and physical development status.

The decision on whether child convicts will be transferred from a closed child penal institution to a child education house will be made as a result of an evaluation conducted at least every 3 months by the administration and observation board with the participation of at least one expert official such as a psychologist, pedagogue, child development specialist, social worker, psychological counselor, guidance specialist, and teacher. The period for re-evaluation of child convicts whose attitudes and behaviors are evaluated negatively regarding transfer to a child education house will not exceed 6 months.

Except for terror crimes, crimes of establishing, managing, or being a member of an organization, and crimes committed within the scope of organizational activities, sentences given to child convicts who are sentenced to a total of 3 years or less for intentional crimes and a total of 5 years or less for negligent crimes will be served directly in child education houses.

Child convicts in these institutions, including those taken directly to a child education house, who escape or for whom an arrest warrant is issued for another act, will be sent to closed child penal institutions by the decision of the administration and observation board, or those who receive a disciplinary punishment of being sent back to a closed penal institution or being locked in a room and whose punishment has become final, or those whose actions pose a danger in terms of institutional order or personal safety even if the disciplinary punishment has become final, will be sent to closed child penal institutions by the decision of the administration and observation board.

The procedures and principles regarding whether child convicts will be transferred to child education houses according to the types of crimes and penalties, the time they will spend in child education houses, their transfer to closed child penal institutions, their direct admission to child education houses, the transfer of those admitted directly to child education houses to closed child penal institutions, and other matters will be shown in the regulation.

With the regulation made in the Law, except for the crimes of intentional killing, crimes against sexual immunity, the crime of manufacturing and trading drugs or stimulants, and the crime of establishing an organization for the purpose of committing crimes under the Turkish Penal Code, 1 day spent by the convict in the penal institution until they complete the age of 15 will be considered as 2 days in the calculation of the conditional release period.

News Source: 12punto