Oslo police are having to arrest far fewer local teenagers than in earlier years. New statistics show a marked decline in the numbers of Norwegians under the age of 18 who face criminal charges, and police are crediting a mix of local initiatives and better cooperation with juvenile authorities.
“We are working more closely together and respect each other’s areas,” Geir Tveit of Oslo’s Grønland police station told newspaper Aftenposten on Wednesday. “Barnevernet (the state children’s protective agency) relies on the police and the police rely on Barnevernet.”
Despite a rash of incidents at Oslo’s central train station, the overall crime rate among youth fell by nearly 30 percent last year. The 97 incidents registered in 2014 were down from 120 the year before and amounted to the lowest since 2006, when the city’s so-called Salto program was launched to fight crime and drug addiction among children and youth in Oslo.
newsinenglish.no staff
