Ask about and discuss juvenile delinquency on the Suomi24 website
Police experts will discuss and answer questions about juvenile delinquency on Thursday 7 March 2024 from 4 pm to 8 pm. The discussion is part of the Well Said project headed by Yle and the TimeOut Foundation. The project aims to develop a culture of Finnish dialogue.
The number of offences suspected of having been committed by minors has increased in Finland especially among persons aged under 15. New means are required to resolve the situation and break the cycle of crime.
Violent offences committed by minors are mainly targeted at other minors. The number of violent offences committed by minors has increased both in urban, densely populated and rural municipalities.
Adult cycles of crime can be broken through coercive measures, such as imprisonment. It is possible for the police to take coercive measures aimed at 15–17-year-olds as a last resort, but for those under the age of 15, the police have no way of breaking the cycle of crime. Once caught, young offenders also often continue to commit crimes.
Many of the minors caught up in the most serious cycles of crime have been placed in child welfare institutions, from where they can easily escape. A child who runs away time and again may both commit new even serious violent crimes and become a victim of a sexual offence, for example.
What can we do about it?
The police also need sufficient tools to investigate crimes committed by persons under the age of 15. The police want to improve the situational picture related to juvenile delinquency by having the same police officers deal with the cases of the most difficult young offenders and by cooperating with child welfare services.
Would the solution be a more closed institution for children caught up in a more serious cycle of crime? What support services could be offered to a young person caught up in a cycle?
The discussion is part of the Well Said project headed by Yle and the TimeOut Foundation which aims to develop a culture of Finnish dialogue.
