More and more children under the age of 15 have been committing violence and breaking narcotics laws in Oslo. They avoid arrest and confinement because of their young age, but now police are calling for creation of youth detention centers where the young criminals could be held in custody.
“We are worried about all their victims who are suffering,” Geir Tveit of the Oslo Police District’s division for prevention of youth crime told newspaper Dagbladet. “It should be a real matter of concern tthat we can’t stop these young offenders.”
Much of their illegal activity is rooted in recruitment to gangs in Oslo. Police are launching a new crackdown, announcing late last week that they’d arrested nine people and seized large quantities of cannibis from smugglers tied to the gangs.
Fully 263 youngsters in Oslo have been reported at least three times each after committing crimes in the past year. Unable to punish the offenders, efforts are being made to improve relations with the children’s parents, but many also feel that can be a technique that’s too “soft,” and comes too late.
newsinenglish.no staff
