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Increase in juvenile delinquency in Oslo

Coicane Drug Crime juvenile delinquencyCocaine, Drug Crime. Photo: Pixabay.com

Sharp increase in juvenile delinquency in the Oslo area

The number of offenses committed by young people, under the age of 18, in Oslo, Asker and Bærum increased by 25.3 percent in 2017 compared to the year before. After several years of dropping juvenile delinquency, it is now on the rise again. 

 

In total, 3,404 criminal offenses were recorded in this age group, according to the crime statistics for the Oslo Police District. We have to go back to 2010 to find comparable figures, Aftenposten writes.

The increase was highest in the age group 15 to 17, with 29.2 percent. In the age group 10 to 14 years, the increase was 22 percent.

– We are seeing this especially in the districs of Grønland and Tøyen. There is an increase in young people who have been apprehended for drug crimes. In many cases, they are being used by people that are older than them, says Head of the Oslo Centre Unit,  Tore Soldal, to the newspaper.

Soldal says they know little about why the increase occurs, but that it can relate to social problems.

– We are therefore dependent on collaborating with other bodies such as schools, child welfare and parents, Soldal says.

Some areas in Oslo, such as Groruddalen and Holmlia, have also seen a rise in violence among young people. All of these areas have a lot of non-ethnic Norwegians.

– We see that there is more violence and that there is rougher violence than before. It  is not a good trend, says  Head of the Unit for Crime Prevention in the Oslo Police District, Janne Stømner.

Stømner has no any clear answer to why this happens either, but says to Aftenposten that filming and publishing of fights on social media can be a contributing factor.

 

© NTB Scanpix / Norway Today