Juvenile delinquency

Karner at priority action: “With all severity”

Interior Minister Gerhard Karner went to one of the hotspots of youth crime in Vienna.(Bild: APA/FLORIAN WIESER)

One day after the knife attack on a 21-year-old man who had rushed to the aid of a woman on Vienna's Reumannplatz, Interior Minister Gerhard Karner went to the scene of the crime to get an idea of the police's focus on combating youth crime. "When youth gangs are up to mischief, the police will intervene with the full force of the law," explained the ÖVP Minister.

"We have recently had incidents where you can't just go back to business as usual. There are now appropriate, robust measures in place," Karner continued. In addition to the task force to combat juvenile delinquency (EJK), which has been carrying out checks in public spaces since this Monday, a ban on weapons and knives is also currently being discussed in order to "disarm these gangs". 

"The aim is to protect children and take violent criminals off the streets. The police measures that have been taken to date in the consistent fight against juvenile delinquency will be bundled in a task force," explained the Minister at the on-site inspection, which was also attended by the Federal Coordinator of the Youth Crime Task Force (EJK), Dieter Csefan.

Interior Minister Gerhard Karner at the briefing in Vienna-Favoriten with Gerhard Winkler from the State Office of Criminal Investigation (left) and Dieter Csefan, head of the task force to combat juvenile delinquency (right)(Bild: APA/FLORIAN WIESER)

In "Zeit im Bild 2", Karner also announced an increase in police personnel. However, he was unable to elicit any concrete figures from presenter Margit Laufer.

Karner wants to discuss the age of criminal responsibility
In addition to the "immediate measures", the age of criminal responsibility for under-14-year-olds is currently a hot topic. Karner is convinced that this age group should also "feel the consequences if they commit crimes". 

According to the ministry, delinquency among minors and young people has risen sharply in recent years. While 4800 ten to 14-year-olds were reported for criminal offenses in 2013, this figure rose to more than 9500 in 2022. The number of 14 to 18-year-olds reported for criminal offenses also increased from 24,800 in 2013 to almost 34,000 in 2022. The most common offenses include theft, damage to property, assault, dangerous threats, burglary, but also drug-related offenses.

Interior Minister Gerhard Karner visited one of the hotspots of youth crime in Vienna.(Bild: APA/FLORIAN WIESER)

Knife attack on helper (21)
An attempted murder investigation is underway following an incident on Sunday evening near the well-known Tichy ice cream store on Reumannplatz. A 21-year-old man was seriously injured by knife wounds. The young man came to the aid of women who were allegedly being harassed by a group of youths, police said on Monday. They reacted extremely aggressively and attacked the 21-year-old. They chased him and one of the group stabbed him.

According to initial findings, the 21-year-old had merely wanted to clarify the situation and confronted the young men. As the spokesman for the Ministry of Defense, Michael Bauer, announced on Monday on X (see above), the victim was a conscript.