Facts
The Limmattal/Albis Youth Prosecutor's Office has been conducting a criminal investigation against the complainant [A.] since December 2020 for brawling, etc. By order dated March 23, 2022, the Youth Prosecutor's Office ordered the lifting of the closed inpatient observation as well as the precautionary placement and precautionary outpatient treatment of [A.] . At the same time, it ordered his admission to a measure center. The appeal filed against this by [A.] was dismissed by the Criminal Chamber III of the Cantonal Court of Zurich with a decision dated May 3, 2022.
Considerations
The Federal Supreme Court states that pursuant to Art. 5 of the Juvenile Criminal Law (JStG), the competent authority may order precautionary juvenile criminal law protective measures under Art. 12-15 JStG during the investigation. These include personal supervision, outpatient treatment, and open and closed placement. Placement in a closed institution may only be ordered pursuant to Art. 15 para. 2 JStG if it is indispensable for the personal protection or treatment of the juvenile's mental disorder or necessary for the protection of third parties from serious risk posed by the juvenile.
The Federal Supreme Court considers the precautionary order for the placement of the complainant within the meaning of Art. 5 in conjunction with Art. 15 para. 1 JStG to be proportionate. It notes that according to the forensic-juvenile psychiatric expert opinion, the complainant is dependent on placement in a highly structured framework with internal training opportunities as well as therapeutic (and pharmacological) treatment. Without adequate professional treatment and if the complainant were to continue to be exposed to strong psychosocial stress factors, there would be a real risk that his symptoms could manifest in the…