The report of the Commission for the Integrated Analysis of Juvenile Delinquency and Violent Crime, to which the News Diary had access, shows that group crime is gaining ground, leveraged by social networks.
Crimes are committed at younger ages. Last year alone, there were 64 children under the age of 12 involved in criminal gangs.
Young people reported the existence of firms, which are authentic companies that attract them and offer them housing and food. Security forces recorded more than 18 thousand crimes committed by young people up to the age of 16, which corresponds to an increase of 8.2% compared to 2022.
Group crime, that is, crimes committed by three or more suspects, grew by 15% with almost 7 thousand occurrences.
“It is truly worrying and requires intervention,” the vice-president of the Internal Security Observatory, António Rodrigues, told SIC.
The most violent crimes decreased, but in 2023 there were 56 young people under the age of 18 in prison, the highest number in the decade. Among those serving sentences in prisons, there are reports of physical and psychological torture and gratuitous violence. By the time they are “caught”, the report says, it is already too late.
The Commission calls for earlier and more coordinated intervention, especially because stopping delinquent pathways from an early age involves security forces, schools, courts and commissions for the protection of children and young people.
It was because of the increase in crimes committed by young people that the previous Minister of Internal Administration decided to create this Commission. The diagnosis has been made and it is now in the hands of the new Government to decide.
