Increased crime among children in Oslo – Dagsavisen

After a decline during the pandemic years, the number of reports where the perpetrators are children has increased significantly in the capital in 2023. This is shown by a new report from SaLTo (see fact box at the bottom of the case).

The number of reports involving suspects aged 10 to 17 increased by 56 percent compared to 2022. The increase is so great that it even exceeds the period before the corona pandemic.

Seen in a larger time perspective, however, youth crime in Oslo has decreased:

The increase last year is largely driven by the development in crime for profit and violence. At the same time, the report points out that there are significant hidden figures relating to violence among children and young people.

Within this type of offence, there are several, both internally in the police and among their partners, who point to very degrading forms of violence, which are also often filmed and shared. This overlaps with other challenges linked to social media, such as the sharing of offensive images, bullying and exclusion, the report states.

– 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 to criminal networks, says police chief Ida Melbo Øystese in the Oslo police district.

The findings in the report cause city councilor Eirik Lae Solberg, among others, to react.

– 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, he says in a press release.

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Highly prioritized

Jane Bechmann Dahl, unit manager for prevention in the Oslo police district, says that they take the figures in the report seriously.

– We think it is most worrying that there is an increase in violent and commercial crime among the youngest, in addition to the fact that the number of young people who are registered in ten or more relationships in a calendar year is increasing, she tells Dagsavisen.

Dahl also says that the police give high priority to cases where the perpetrator is under 18 years of age.

– Showing that crime has consequences is an important part of the police’s work, she says.

Prevention of youth crime is also something that the police spend a lot of resources on, according to Dahl.

– Preventive work for children and young people is a main priority for the police. This work is done in good interdisciplinary collaboration. We cannot prevent this crime alone, she says.

– The reasons why these children begin crime are complex. There are several factors that influence them. This means that the measures to prevent youth crime must be diverse. That is why we depend on good cooperation with other agencies, such as the municipality, school and child protection, she adds.

Believes the report may give an incorrect picture

The report was presented at the SaLTo conference on Wednesday, which brought together the police, SaLTo coordinators in the districts and the Welfare Agency, the education sector and others who work with children and young people in Oslo.

Crime researcher Stian Lid is among those who gave a lecture during the conference. Lid is associated with OsloMet and in recent years has participated in several evaluations and research projects on the prevention of youth crime.

He, like the report, emphasizes that it is not necessarily the case that the increase in the number of reports is due to a real increase in crime. He believes it is important to look critically at the police’s statistics and relate to several different sources.

– The report highlights some worrying trends in child and youth crime. At the same time, I believe that we cannot only use police statistics as the only basis for understanding the development of youth crime. If you do that, I think we get the impression that the development is more negative than it really is, especially for the youngest, he says to Dagsavisen.

Among other things, he points out that surveys such as Ungdata do not show the same increase in cases of violence.

Nevertheless, he is clear that, yes, there are many indications that there is an increase in problem behavior among children and young people today, and that this contributes to more crime. There are also certain figures in the report which he believes are good reasons to take seriously.

– What worries me is the development in serious violence and the small proportion of two to three per cent of young people who commit a lot of crime, says Lid.

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Want more preventive work aimed at parents

The crime researcher points out that there are several ways one can work to prevent youth crime and reduce the number of criminal cases.

– We know that it is largely vulnerable young people in families exposed to living conditions who commit crime. Therefore, it is important to tackle these problems in order to combat youth crime. At the same time, one must work well and intensely towards those who are already exhibiting problem behavior with preventive measures. You have to resource them and get them to make other choices than going into crime, he says.

He believes that a lot of good preventive work is already being done today, such as Oslo municipality’s investment in more free leisure activities. At the same time, there are areas that can be improved.

– I think we should focus more on the parents and the parental role. They are the ones who are closest to the children and those who are in the best position to influence them. I think it is an important investment area that we should work much harder on in the future, he says.

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SaLTo

• SaLTo (which stands for “Together we create a safe Oslo”) is Oslo municipality and the Oslo police district’s cooperation model for coordinating and co-ordinating drug and crime prevention work with children and young people.
• The Police Council in Oslo is the overall steering group for the SaLTo collaboration and approves the overall action programme.
• Since 2006, the Oslo police district has prepared annual reports on crime and drug use among children and young people in Oslo municipality. These are knowledge products that are prepared in close collaboration with the SaLTo secretariat in Oslo municipality with representatives from all 15 boroughs and other relevant municipal services.

Sources: Oslo municipality & the police

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