The vast majority of youngsters who commit crimes suffer from mental disorders.
A recent study by the prison services and social reintegration authority (DGRSP) found that 90% of Portugal’s young offenders have some sort of mental problem.
It is a discovery which the sub-director of DGRSP, Licínio Lima, considers “worrying” as it suggests that police and law enforcement are “powerless” to change the picture.
Lima says the health sector “is much more effective in fighting crime” among youngsters “than any police officer” and thus their intervention in these cases is “essential”.
