– It can be uncomfortable to walk alone in Kongsberg in the evening. It wasn’t like this before. Amalie Skjolde Helmriksen (15) is a student at Vestsiden secondary school in Kongsberg. She is one of several students who do not like going out alone at night. – People we know have seen violence up close. There are videos out on TikTok where people our own age are threatened with a knife. It shouldn’t be like that. Kongsberg is one of several municipalities in the country that has experienced a large increase in violence among people under the age of 18. DON’T LIKE THE DEVELOPMENT: The young people say that there is a lot of talk at school about all the cases of violence that have taken place in recent weeks. Photo: Karoline Stangenes / news Classmates David Emmertz and Dominykas Vaitkevicius are both in the 10th grade and have caught up with the events of the last few weeks in Kongsberg. Young people as young as 13 have threatened other young people with knives. – It is quite sick. 7th graders and 8th graders walk around with knives. It doesn’t take much before you yourself get mixed up in bad environments, says David. Want greater consequences Young people under the age of 15 who commit offenses are under the criminal minimum age, therefore there will be no criminal proceedings. But you can be followed up in other ways, such as a concern interview or cooperation with child protection. The students think that is too bad. – If we are to see any improvement, then there should be greater consequences for those under 15. Today, they can almost do whatever they want without it having serious consequences, says Amalie. – The police should also talk more with young people than they do today. They should be more visible. It creates more security, says Dominykas. – If you keep quiet about others, you can end up getting beaten up. I don’t like the development we are seeing now. – It is no longer unusual for young people to go outside with knives. It’s terrifying. – If I meet a large group out in the evening, I want to go home quickly. I can feel a discomfort after everything that has happened in the last six months. The students news has spoken to are not part of these environments. New trend across the country Section leader for investigation in Kongsberg, Morten Ole Pedersen, shows what the police seized of knives and weapons from young people in Kongsberg during three weeks in September. There are several knives, knuckle bars, a small ax and a baton. SEIZURE: During three weeks in September, the police seized these knives and weapons from young people in Kongsberg. Photo: Maria Kommandantvold / news – According to our statistics, the number has never been higher than it is now in relation to the number of cases of violence against young people under the age of 18, says Pedersen. The police are worried According to the police and students news has spoken to, young people travel across municipalities and counties to carry out threats and violence. – The way I see it, this is a completely new trend across the country. We have never experienced this before on such a large scale. It is worrying. I hope it doesn’t escalate even more, says Pedersen. The figures were taken from the South-East police district on 15 November from Buskerud, Vestfold and Telemark. The figures show that there have been more cases of violence and reports so far this year than there were in the whole of last year. Figures from the police districts, collected by Nettavisen, show an increase of 40 per cent in reported cases of violence between the ages of 10 and 17 from January 2022 to August 2023. The graphic is made on the basis of figures from the police districts, reproduced in Nettavisen Graphics: news has extra focus on young Pedersen says he would like to have more resources who worked outside and talked to young people. – Today, we have extra focus on young people in view of the increase we have seen in the number of violent cases. I wish we had more people to work with young people, but we are not more people than we are. We do the best we can. POLICE: Pedersen is concerned about the increase in young people carrying knives and assault weapons in the city. Photo: Maria Kommandantvold / news In recent weeks, the police have carried out knife operations at specific times. Here they visit people randomly within certain time periods. This has resulted in the seizure of knives and assault weapons among the young people. – Several people say that they carry a knife to defend themselves. A knife has nothing to do in the city. There can be fatal consequences if the knife is used. He hopes young people and parents get in touch if they are worried. – It is possible to come to the police and remain anonymous. We can talk about the concerns without names being revealed. We are interested in information, and this applies from both young people and parents, says Pedersen.
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Increasing violence among young people creates insecurity – news Oslo og Viken – Local news, TV and radio
