The case in summary: Young people at St. Svithun upper secondary school in Stavanger express frustration at being labeled as criminals, and believe that the image of youth crime in the media is exaggerated. Criminologist and researcher Stian Lid believes that we must use more sources than just the police register statistics to get a clear picture of youth crime, which he believes is not as serious as it is portrayed. Figures from the criminal case register show that youth crime has decreased since last year, but there has been an increase in more serious offenses among 10-17-year-olds. The youth survey from Ungdata for 2024 shows that nine out of ten young people say they are doing well and are satisfied with their lives, and there has been a decrease in loneliness among young people. Elliot Kim Jørpeland, coordinator for SLT in Stavanger, believes that politicians’ measures based on the media image characterized by police statistics can lead us down wild paths. Jørpeland sees a negative development among young people who commit repeated crimes, with younger offenders involved in several serious criminal acts. The summary is made by an AI service from OpenAI. The content is quality assured by news’s journalists before publication. – Our parents worry more than they need to, says Henrik Vikane Landsverk. He and his classmates Bård Astad and Kjæran Haugland-Grov at St. Svithun high school in Stavanger have become bored. They are tired of adults thinking so negatively about the generation when it comes to youth crime. – Young people today have less credibility because of the bad environments and increased drug abuse around them. It is not good to think that it applies to everyone, says Kjæran. The other two nod in unison. – In our environment, youth crime is not high, Bård interjects. – It is exaggerated in the media, Henrik continues. The three boys agree that young people are losing credibility today because so much is being written about the increase in youth crime. Photo: Simon Elias Bogen / news Because it’s not like we’ve heard little about youth crime in the media: I think we’re too negative The coverage is large, among other things, because of the police’s statistics, which only contain offenses that have been reported. According to very recent figures from the criminal case register, youth crime has decreased since last year. However, the figures show a large increase for the more serious offenses in the 10-17 age group. In 2023, 21,800 criminal offenses committed by young people under the age of 18 were reported. This is an increase of 28 percent from the previous year. But according to criminologist and researcher at the City and Regional Research Institute NIBR at Oslo Met, Stian Lid, we need to use more sources than just the police register statistics to give a clear picture of youth crime. – The situation is not as bleak as it may seem, he says. Fewer accused, but more young offenders The diagram shows that accused persons between the ages of 15 and 17 have decreased if you look back a few years, according to figures from Statistics Norway. There are also 632 fewer accused in this age group if you compare 2023 with 2019. At the same time, there has been an increase in accused between the ages of 5 and 14. If you look at the total figures for both age groups, the level last year was lower than it was in 2010. Lower threshold than before The researcher believes there are several explanations for why we see an increase in the number of reports in the police statistics. Stian Lid – One explanation could be that we now report the violence committed by children and young people to a greater extent than before. – There could be a change in the understanding of violence, and that there is less acceptance of violence. – Especially schools and other institutions documents and registers problem behavior and incidents of violence to a greater extent than previously. Lid is skeptical of the uncritical use of police statistics and the descriptions of a development that is spiraling out of control. – The development appears to be far more serious than there is perhaps reason to believe, he says. Nine out of ten young people are doing well If we look at reported offenses for all age groups, the level is almost as high as it has been in the past: The youth survey from Ungdata for 2024 shows that nine out of ten young people say they are doing well and are satisfied with his life. The survey also shows a decrease in loneliness among young people. The increase seen in recent years in mental health problems has leveled off, and in some age groups it has also decreased. – The quality of life for Norwegian youth is generally very good. Many have good relationships with their parents, with friends and they thrive at school, says NOVA researcher Anders Bakken, who is behind the survey. I think many people have the wrong image of young people – The few young people who commit youth crime tend to do more serious things, and then we other young people get a stamp on us, says Victor Stevens. He is also a student at the upper secondary school in Stavanger. For Stevens, it seems that it has been decided that the media only covers the negative things that young people do. Victor Stevens believes that all young people are cut across the board when it comes to youth crime. – The rest of us get a stamp on us, he says. Photo: Simon Elias Bogen / news – Crime among young people is put much more to the fore than if an adult had done something similar. Precisely because it is more unusual for young people to do so, he says. – You often find what you are looking for, he continues. Fellow student Hayden Sewell Nordland believes many people have the wrong image of young people today. – If there are a few who do a lot of one thing, people will naturally form prejudices and thoughts about the whole group. It’s stupid that it happens, but it’s natural, he says. Classmates Hayden Sewell Nordland, Victor Stevens and Daniel Knudsen think we should rather focus on the positive numbers – for example, that nine out of ten young people say they are doing well. Photo: Simon Elias Bogen / news I think the numbers can lead us down wild paths Elliot Kim Jørpeland is coordinator for the coordination of local drug and crime prevention measures (SLT) in Stavanger. – Things that are going in the right direction among young people are positive for them to hear about, he says. He is keen to tell about positive changes in youth culture. – If politicians base their measures on the media image that is characterized by police statistics, it can lead us down wild paths, he says. Elliot Kim Jørpeland works in Stavanger municipality where his job is to prevent crime and drug addiction. He says it is important to remember that the vast majority of young people do not commit crime. Photo: Private Jørpeland says that society in general looks at, for example, fights among young people differently than it did in the past. – An increased willingness to report can result in a large increase in cases with the police, without the actual scope having increased. At the same time, Jørpeland says that he sees a negative development among young people who commit repeated crimes. – They have become younger and many are involved in several serious criminal acts. We must take this seriously, he concludes. Do you have something on your mind? Use the comment field below: Hello! Welcome to dialogue at news. Since you are logged in to other news services, you don’t have to log in again here, but we need your consent to our terms of use for online dialogue Hello, you! Do you have any thoughts that you are stuck with after reading this case? Or perhaps you have tips for something else I can write about? Feel free to get in touch! 👇 Published 13.11.2024, at 20.22
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