Youth crime, Oslo | New report: Increase in crime among the youngest in Oslo

On Wednesday, the annual Salto report was presented by the Oslo police district and Oslo municipality. A report they present annually, in which they look at child and youth crime in Oslo.

City Council for Social Services, Julianne Fiskaug (V), is particularly concerned about the figures.

– The figures presented in the report paint a serious picture. We are talking about children, she tells Aftenposten.

– Negative development

The report shows a 31 percent increase in the number of registered reports for violence with perpetrators aged 10 to 17 in 2023.

A total of 712 reports were registered for violence, and of these reports, 175 were threats. At the same time, 129 reports were registered in the category of violence against public servants.

For physical violence, a total of 401 reports were registered with one or more perpetrators aged 10 to 17. This is an increase of 29 percent compared to the average for the years before the pandemic.

– This is a negative development that worries me, and it must be met with concerted and reinforced efforts. This means that the police must get the resources they need to solve and prevent crime, while at the same time we must strengthen the cooperation between the police and the municipality’s preventive efforts, says city councilor Eirik Lae Solberg.

Increase in violence and crime for profit

The report also shows an increase in the number of reports for violence for 10-14-year-olds, and for profit-making offences. Most reports for physical violence are for bodily harm, and the most serious cases of violence make up a small proportion of reports for physical violence.

– When children and young people commit crime, it has major consequences for both the victims, the perpetrators themselves and society. The police prioritize being present to prevent violence and recruitment into criminal networks, says police chief Ida Melbo Øystese in the Oslo police district.

In the category of profit-making offences, 856 reviews were registered in 2023. This was an increase of 26 per cent compared to the years before the pandemic.

Of the 856 reports, 602 were for shoplifting, and shoplifting alone accounted for 22 per cent of all reports in Oslo municipality with suspects in the 10 to 17 age group.

It is still the case that approximately 97 per cent of children and young people aged 10 to 17 are not registered as criminals.