Crime among young people in Oslo higher than before the pandemic

Crime and justice: – This is a negative development that worries me, and it must be met with a concerted and reinforced effort, says city council leader Eirik Lae Solberg (H) in a press release.

The annual report from Oslo municipality and Oslo police district shows that after a fall in the extent of youth crime in the pandemic years 2020 and 2021, registered youth crime in Oslo is now back at and above old levels.

The report for 2023 also shows that the regulars are once again a growing group. 217 people were registered with four or more conditions. This is more than there has been in recent years. A group of 49 people is registered for ten or more conditions.

Among people aged 10–14, registered crime has increased compared to the years before the pandemic. For those aged 15–17, the number of reviews is on par with 2019.

Violence is the biggest offense category among boys, followed by profiteering. For girls between the ages of 10 and 17, shoplifting accounted for a large proportion of reports in 2023. This was even more evident for girls aged 10 to 14.

– We take the figures presented in the report very seriously. It is particularly the increase in reports of violent and commercial crime among the youngest that is particularly worrying and must be stopped, says city councilor for social services, Julianne Ferskaug (V).

It is still the case that around 97 per cent of children and young people aged 10–17 have not been registered as having committed a crime.

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.

Labor deputy leader and Minister for Employment and Inclusion Tonje Brenna is working on hammering out the Labor Party’s new policy against youth and gang crime in the run-up to the national assembly next year. She tells NTB that “we must be tough on crime and must be even tougher on the causes of crime”.

– Crime will never pay off with us in the driver’s seat. We will adopt all measures that have an effect. We do not accept that the gangs “steal” our children out of school and society. We go straight for the fuel that fuels crime. We will seize all valuables that gang members today use to recruit young people into crime, she says.

There is a significant preponderance of boys who are reported, and especially in the age group from 15 to 17 years.

– The police must get the resources they need to solve and prevent crime, while at the same time we must strengthen cooperation between the police and the municipality’s preventive efforts, says Solberg.