7000 offenses per year

Young offenders targeted by new task force

Some "milk faces" do not shy away from violence

(Bild: mauritius images)

Two weeks ago, a new police team was set up in Upper Austria to deal with young offenders. The figures show that there is definitely a need for it, as most crimes committed by young people occur in the provincial capital.

This is a direct consequence of the unrest caused by youth gangs in the Favoriten district of Vienna: Task forces to combat youth crime (EJK) have also been set up in the federal states on behalf of the Minister of the Interior. In Upper Austria, this new unit is active in cooperation with the Group of Youth Contact Officers (JUKOB), which has been in operation since 2005.

Particularly high number of offenses in Linz
"The EJK is based at the State Criminal Police Office. It consists of three officers from the existing task force to combat street crime, who work closely with the seven investigators from the Linz JUKOB. This is also because the crimes committed by young people mainly occur in Linz," says Gottfried Mitterlehner, Head of the Upper Austrian Criminal Police Office.

Over 7000 crimes
There is certainly a need for this here in Upper Austria. In the previous year, ten to 14-year-olds committed 1610 crimes, while the group of 14 to 18-year-olds committed a total of 5750 crimes.