Marieke Liem on juvenile delinquents
A juvenile suspect has been apprehended for the murder of 15-year old Megan from Breda last Monday. A highly unusual situation, according to Marieke Liem, Associate Professor at the Institute of Security and Global Affairs in The Hague. She gave an interview to Dutch newspaper AD.
Marieke Liem is a forensic psychologist who specialises in fatal violence. When a murder is committed by a juvenile it is usually the result of group dynamics in the dating or club scene. Or to do with problems in the family. Liem emphasises that there has not been an increase in fatal cases involving juveniles.
She also responds to a recent petition started by parents of victims to increase the maximum sentence for juveniles. ‘We know that children are not yet able to truly distinguish wrong from right. You simply cannot hold them accountable by the same standards used for adults. I believe it is important to bear this in mind when calling for increased sentences.’