The case in summary: Violence among young people in Norway has increased in 2023, with some police districts reporting up to a 40 percent increase in violent cases involving young people. The government has plans to introduce a fast-track court for young people, but cannot say when this will happen. High court leader Erna Solberg criticizes the progress in the introduction of the fast-track court, and thinks it is going too slowly. Minister of Justice and Emergency Preparedness Emilie Enger Mehl says that the government has introduced several measures, including tougher punishments for young people. In the autumn, the government put forward a bill for a quicker and clearer response to youth offenders. The Oslo district court criticized the proposal because the changes were too small, and proposed a fast-track court where the police and the court have more power. The summary is made by an AI service from OpenAi. The content is quality assured by news’s journalists before publication. In the autumn of 2023, there have been several violent incidents among young people. That worries the police. Some of the police districts report an increase of up to 40 per cent in violent cases involving young people. Senior leader Erna Solberg and Minister of Justice and Emergency Emilie Enger Mehl are the ones who have had the most power and responsibility for new laws and regulations in the country in recent years. The Minister of Justice says the government has come up with many measures. Among other things, they have toughened the juvenile penalty. – It is important that a short time passes from a young person doing something criminal until the reaction comes, says Mehl on Politisk kvarter. The Minister of Justice is not alone in thinking this. There is broad political agreement on swift sentences for young people. A fast-track court for young people is what many people want. Mehl cannot say anything about when such a fast-track court will be introduced. – We are doing it as quickly as possible and are waiting for feedback from the courts. It’s underway. Demonstrators demanded at the weekend that the new ankle shackle rules to protect victims of violence should be introduced now. And why is it taking so long to take measures against increasing youth crime? – On the verge of justifiable In the autumn, the government presented a bill so that young people would get a quicker and clearer reaction. The government wanted young offenders to be sentenced more quickly. – Fast criminal proceedings will be able to help prevent relapse and recruitment into criminal networks, said Minister of Justice and Emergency Situations Emilie Enger Mehl (Sp) at the time. Before Christmas, the Oslo district court criticized the proposal because the changes were too small. They proposed a fast-track court for young people where the police and the court have more power. Erna Solberg believes that the government is too slow to introduce a fast-track court for young people. Photo: Christian Breidlid Before Christmas, the Storting gave the government marching orders to introduce such a fast-track court. – We have been calling for this for quite some time. Now we think it took so long, so we proposed a bill, says Erna Solberg. Solberg says it is the Storting that pressured the Minister of Justice to adopt this. – Exactly that is wrong. The right thought we should do was to adopt legislative changes directly across the table. We thought it was unwise because it didn’t look right, says Mehl: – The investigation work we are doing now has a very short deadline. We can wonder if it is on the border of justifiable when it comes to changes in the Criminal Code. The settlement of a fast-track court should be completed in January. 2023 was a tough year for the police While Erna Solberg herself was prime minister, youth crime increased in Norway. – Do you take self-criticism? – Yes, it went a little better at first, but it also got worse after a while, says the right-wing leader. – My biggest concern right now is that the police do not have enough resources. Erna Solberg (H) and Emilie Enger Mehl (Sp) discussed youth crime at Politisk kvarter. Photo: Christian Breidlid Emilie Enger Mehl says that the world situation in 2023 also affected the police. Price growth, inflation, and a stronger economy there too. – I don’t think Høgre had budgeted for that with a cut of NOK 400 million in the police in their alternative budget. I am very happy that it was not last year’s budget. – Are there enough police officers today? – I would like to have more police officers. Especially when we see that the prices are increasing, the police buy a lot from abroad and the exchange rate makes it much more expensive. House rents go up and electricity prices go up. There will simply be less money to employ people.
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Solberg calls the Minister of Justice slow: – On the border of justifiable, says Mehl
