Violent crimes by juveniles on rise

The number of violent crime incidents in which the suspect is under 15 years old has grown significantly in recent years, according to a recent study by the police released on Tuesday.

According to the report, violent crimes committed by juveniles have increased both in urban, densely populated and rural municipalities, said a press release.

The growth has been less marked in the Helsinki metropolitan area. The level of crime has increased both among juveniles of foreign and Finnish background.

In terms of numbers, growth has been most significant in suspected basic assault forms. In percentage terms, aggravated robberies, homicides and attempted homicides have increased most.

The study is based mainly on statistics of crimes reported to the police, and crime report data, in addition to which police departments have been asked to provide information on the theme.

“In addition to actual growth in crime numbers, the growth in crimes recorded by the police may be influenced by changes in control by the authorities, recording procedures and readiness to report. According to police estimates, a part of the growth in the number of crime reports can be explained by the fact that incidents are more readily reported to the police,” said Petri Danielsson, Researcher at the National Bureau of Investigation.

The district of Oulu Police Department is one of the districts in which violent crimes committed by juveniles under 18 years of age have increased in rural municipalities since 2017.

Detective Senior Sergeant, head investigator Irmeli Korhonen confirms Danielsson’s opinion that the growth in the number of crime reports can be partly explained by the fact that incidents are more readily reported to the police.

In 2015, the legislation changed so that certain public authorities must always report to the police cases of basic assault or all more serious acts of violence targeted at a minor.

“For example, school personnel do not estimate for example if an assault is a basic or aggravated one, but report all types of assault to the police. Reports are also filed by the guardians of schoolchildren, for example concerning assaults during breaks at school, or on the way to and from school,” said Korhonen.

Reports on school violence are mainly filed in comprehensive schools rather than in upper secondary level educational institutions. In other respects, too, juveniles under 15 years of age appear more frequently in statistics on violent crime than 15–17-year-olds, Korhonen said.

She estimates that young people become wiser with age and learn to better understand the consequences of their actions.

In addition to the crime rate, the report contains observations about the special characteristics of violent crimes committed by juveniles. In recent years, sharp-edged weapons are more often involved in the crimes, and the acts are also photographed, recorded on video and posted on social media to an increasing extent.

Crimes committed by underage juveniles are mainly targeted at other underage persons and often take place in the school setting. In recent years, however, the share of victims over the age of 20 has increased.

“More detailed analysis of violent crimes committed by underage juveniless, targeted at victims over the age of 20, has indicated that crime on the premises of schools, child welfare institutions and other institutions can be identified in the background of the growth seen in recent years. The reports filed reveal that the personnel of these institutions have been subjected to the violent crimes,” said Danielsson.

This is also seen in rural municipalities in the district of Oulu Police Department.

“ For example, several child welfare units in the Oulu region are situated in these areas. For example, there are several placement units in Muhos, and one large unit in Liminka also houses special care departments,” Korhonen said.