Thore Sebastian Nielsen heads the organization Make A Choice, which works preventively among young people in Sandefjord. He has registered that children as young as third grade at primary school are nagging. Often because they are encouraged to do so by their peers, and in some cases challenged to steal on social media, he says. – I have caught a trend among children as young as eight. They steal everything from chocolate and snacks to bigger things. The candy shelf is popular among the youngest snackers. The elderly like to try energy drinks, says shop manager Jan Ove Johansen. Photo: Nils Fridtjof Skumsvoll / news He has spoken to both shop employees and parents in several places in the city. A surprising number of people recognize themselves, he says. – It is a somewhat frightening development. He finds that the children are reluctant to talk about the topic, and that it is precisely for this reason that it is important to bring it up at the dinner table. – I think it is important that we talk about it. Similar tendencies have also been seen elsewhere in the country. According to an article in KK, 25 percent of the reported shop thefts at Sandvika shopping center in 2021 were carried out by children younger than the criminal minimum age of 15. Starting early At the Joker convenience store in Gjekstad in Sandefjord, they share Nielsen’s concern. The employees feel that there are more thefts and that the naskers have become younger. It is especially sweets, biscuits and energy drinks that disappear into small school bags or jacket pockets. General manager Jan Ove Johansen says that he has to keep a close eye on the shop premises. He has also taken several measures to avoid nagging. Among other things, he has had to move attractive goods to more clear places in the store. Store manager Jan Ove Johansen thinks parents need to keep a better eye on what the children are doing. He keeps catching someone stealing from the store. Photo: Nils Fridtjof Skumsvoll / news He finds that young people often use social media actively in connection with nagging. – They send messages about where it is easy to steal, and about who is at work. Colleagues in the industry talk about the same development, says Johansen. – This is something that happens everywhere. – Breaking some boundaries Nielsen, who is a father himself, believes that many people see nagging as something a little harmless, but warns against attitudes that can set in. – Seen completely in isolation, it is of course also a thing of the past, but if you do it often enough, you break some boundaries. If we don’t make nagging something serious, then there will soon be other things that can become difficult for the children to navigate later on, he believes. If you as parents reveal that there has been nagging going on, Nielsen believes that you should take the children back to the store. – I think that there must be a consequence when you have done something wrong. Recommends contacting parents Helga Margrethe Østebrød, police superintendent in the South-East police district, generally recommends that shop owners contact parents if they catch children stealing. They do not recommend shop owners to report people under the age of 15, as they are under the criminal legal age. – The police want to deal with people under the age of 15 who commit simple offences, as little as possible, she writes in an e-mail to news. Østebrød also reminds that the conflict council can handle such cases. The convenience store at Gjekstad in Sandefjord is one of several that notices that more children are breaking boundaries. Photo: Nils Fridtjof Skumsvoll / news Jan Ove Johansen talks directly to parents about the topic when they shop in his store. He has also experienced parents coming and asking if their children have stolen. – It is usually not their children who are the problem. It is when the parents do not follow what the children are doing that problems can arise, he says.
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