Following the Linz model

Task force against juvenile delinquency is coming

(Bild: terovesalainen/stock.adobe.com)

The Directorate-General for Public Security has been commissioned to set up a task force to combat juvenile delinquency (EJK), which is to carry out checks in public spaces, among other things. The focus will be on urban areas and potential hotspots, according to Interior Minister Gerhard Karner (ÖVP) on Tuesday. The Youth Police (Jukop) in Linz is one of the role models.

The new task force will cooperate closely with the task force for combating street crime and will also be organizationally affiliated with it. The "EJK" will also work closely with the specialists in the state criminal investigation offices. The nationwide cooperation is the responsibility of Dieter Csefan, Head of the Department for Combating Crime at the Federal Criminal Police Office.

Karner wants to proceed with "available severity"
"The aim is to protect children and take violent offenders off the streets, and to do so with proper vigor and the severity available to the rule of law," emphasized Karner. The police measures that have so far been used to take consistent action against juvenile delinquency would be bundled in the task force.

Crimes committed by under 14-year-olds increased
The number of crimes committed by young people and children under 14 has doubled over the past ten years. At the same time, there has only been a slight increase among young people over 14 and even a decrease among young adults. The main crimes committed by juveniles and minors are theft, damage to property, assault, burglary and dangerous threats.

Change in the age of criminal responsibility could be coming
A panel of experts has already been set up to make suggestions on how parents can be made more responsible, how children's use of social media and cell phones can be improved and how greater differentiation and sharpening can be made for underage migrants in the asylum system. In addition, there will be a focus on the different age limits for criminal responsibility within Europe in order to exchange experiences and draw comparisons. A possible change in the age of criminal responsibility is part of the overall strategy.