– I come from the eastern edge and am used to seeing a tough environment. But the environment that we see now is limitless. So says Aksel Hennie, the man behind the critically acclaimed film Uno from 2004. In the cinema success, Hennie plays the young man David who belongs to an organized, criminal bodybuilding milieu on the eastern edge of Oslo. The film poster for the film “Uno”, which came out 20 years ago. Hennie, who is also from Oslo Øst, started writing the script after getting into trouble with the police himself. In 1996, he was sentenced to seven months’ probation and had to pay a six-figure sum to NSB and Oslo Sporveier for tagging. Over 20 years later, the actor believes that a lot has changed when it comes to youth crime and gang violence: – If enormous things are not done against it, then we lose. We are losing young people to crime. We are losing young people to drugs, to violence. Upset Aksel Hennie in news Nyhetsmorgen about gang violence in Oslo: – Boundless He is calling for action from the politicians: – I am very happy in my part of the city, but I feel that it is going in the wrong direction. – What should the politicians do then? – You have to take stronger measures. You have to take care of our children, replies Hennie. Increased juvenile crime Statistics from the police in 2023 confirm a negative development in juvenile crime. The criminals are getting younger and the use of violence is increasing. Oslo sees a particularly high increase, with a 76 per cent increase in crime committed by people under the age of 15. – Generally speaking, there has been an increase in youth crime, says Harald Kanestrøm, a psychologist specialist in the Bureau of Statistics. He is behind a new Norwegian doctoral study which has revealed which factors drive young people into crime, and which shows how this can be prevented through targeted measures. Harald Kanestrøm is a psychologist specialist at Bufetat. He is also part of a research group at RKBU Midt-Norge and NTNU. According to Kanestrøm, there is a complex interaction between individual-specific and environmental risk factors, which increases the likelihood of violent and criminal behaviour: Weak self-regulation and aggression. Extraversion and involvement in a criminal environment Substance use Problematic family relationships Problems at school and lack of positive leisure activities Repeated offenses and experiences of violence Procriminal attitudes – There is not just one risk factor, but the more risk factors one has, the greater the chance of new and more serious offenses and violence, says Kanestrøm. By clarifying each young person on an individual level, it is easier to reduce the risk factors, according to Kanestrøm. He believes that people too often point to certain things as the solution. – You must either have a prison, or build a football field or leisure arena. And then you forget that it is quite complex here. You have to work multi-systemically in all arenas around the young people. Thinks the problems are taken seriously Masud Gharahkhani outside Ringerike prison. Photo: Jorunn Nilsen Parliament President Masud Gharahkhani (Ap) today visited inmates and staff in Ringerike prison. He agrees with what Aksel Hennie says about the need to take strong action: – What is important is clearly that we strengthen the police, so that you can go after these criminal gangs, and especially those who sit at the top. The way they recruit vulnerable people is that they have status, money and then we must have police resources to follow it up. At the same time, he believes that the provision for children and young people must be improved: – A policeman once said to me, Masud, if you are a single mother with three children living in a 50 square meter apartment. Where do you think the children will grow up if they live in the middle of a city centre? It’s out. Who are the role models there? Then we have to make sure that there is a low-threshold provision that captures the children with good leisure facilities, and not the criminal gangs. Correctional services must be part of the picture. – The way you see it, are we going in the wrong direction or are we about to turn it around? – Youth crime has increased. It has become rougher and more violent. And then we also see that these criminal gangs that exist in other countries have gained a foothold in Norway. I feel that political Norway has taken it seriously, but there are many things that must fall into place for us to succeed in this. Published 28.10.2024, at 16.10
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Aksel Hennie believes that youth crime is limitless – news Norway – Overview of news from different parts of the country
