Violence, drugs and theft. These are the words the police use when describing a new group of young people in Bodø. – This is a group of between five and ten people who are well known by the police for various forms of crime, says section leader Alf Gunnar Holm at Bodø police station. The hard core is around seven young people aged from 13 to 17 years. Crime involves the sale of drugs and violence against others of the same age. – Drugs are traded and that naturally means that they have money. The police are just one of the agencies in Bodø that work closely together to try to stop the negative development. The main problem may seem to be that the young people themselves do not see that they need help. The child welfare service says they do not have an offer that appears attractive to young people. Occurred during the pandemic According to the police, the “gang” gained a foothold during the corona pandemic. It has been around for about two years. – The group has also felt this exclusion we are currently experiencing in society. That they fall outside arenas where other young people may experience mastery and succeed. Then they find belonging in each other. What has the pandemic meant here? – We see a connection there. As a result of the closure of society, there are a number who have dropped out of activities that they have normally been doing. Everything from sports to what it should be. During the pandemic, there were also fewer adults present to catch things. – The usual social mechanisms that are able to capture an unfortunate development, were in many ways gone these two years. – They have status in the youth environment The child welfare service in Bodø is one of the agencies the police have close contact with about the youth gang. They have an overview of around 10 young people, all of whom are under 18 years of age. They try to get follow-up of each individual youth and they go in and help in the home. Crime involves the sale of drugs and violence against others of the same age. But it is challenging because they themselves may not see that they have a problem. – They have money, they have status in the environment and do not see that we or others can come in and help them with anything. Because they have it the way they want it, as they themselves express it, says Mabel Angell Olsen, subject leader in child welfare. Mabel Angell Olsen, head of the youth section in child welfare Photo: Barbro Andersen / news – We do not have an offer that is particularly attractive to them, says child welfare leader Arne Rolandsen. Angell Olsen explains that other young people in a way look up to them. Because they have money, which they have obtained by selling drugs. – So there is little we can come and offer that surpasses it. And they do not want out of it. They are comfortable with the status and situation they themselves are in. Worrying about the contagion effect According to the child welfare service, very few people in this youth environment are very intoxicated themselves. Many of them go to school, there are also some who drop out. – We see that it is difficult to help these young people. And we see that they are getting younger and younger, it is very problematic. Child welfare leader Arve Rolandsen and his colleagues are concerned about the negative youth environment. Photo: Barbro Andersen / news The Child Welfare Service in Bodø has also mentioned the negative youth environment in its annual report. – We are very concerned about the contagion effect, because there are many who are recruited into this environment. There are young people who feel alienated and who get a sense of belonging and group feeling from being part of this gang. Overcrowding is also a concept in this setting, says Rolandsen. – They also meet like-minded people, others who take pity on them and then they feel a sense of belonging. And they feel that they get status themselves in the group. The Child Welfare Service believes it is necessary to work with prevention right down to the intermediate stage. So far, no one has managed to stop the youth gang in Bodø. It has existed for two years, according to the police, and those who are part of it come from several districts (the person in the picture has no connection to the case). Photo: Barbro Andersen / news Recruited by adult men The police also confirm that those who are recruited into the environment have not yet started upper secondary school. – We know that there are some who have initially been associated with this grouping and who have dropped out. They have seen that this is not something they want to be a part of. It should be well-adult men who have recruited the young people to sell drugs. – A good part of them are recruited by older well-established men that the police are aware of. Who is the young people abusing? Alf Gunnar Holm, section leader at the section for intelligence, prevention and investigation at Bodø police station Photo: Barbro Andersen / news – It can be internal, in relation to the justice within the group, but also towards others who for some reason get a strained compared to, preferably young people of their own age. And adds: – In general, I would say that young people are not afraid of them. But it is clear that they perform many in teams and it is their own to create fear. He emphasizes that the vast majority of young people in Bodø behave properly and have nothing to do with the police. Must want to bring about a change itself Why do not the police and all other agencies manage to stop this environment? – Yes, it is an incredibly complex question. And my contention is that a lot is being done and a lot has been prevented. But we still have a way to go. Part of the problem is that the young people themselves think they are okay. – There is something about the fact that in order to stop and change a behavior, there must also be a motivation in each individual, and that motivation has so far not been present. More difficult to stop “own use” The Attorney General recently came up with new guidelines for work with drug cases. It is stated here that drug addicts shall not be stopped, arrested, or searched on the basis of suspicion of their own use. But how should the police know who are drug addicts and who are not? “In the case of evidence that indicates drug addiction, doubt will benefit the suspect,” the Attorney General writes in the letter sent to the police districts. It takes a long time before the problem is discovered Rusinfo, which is a public service about drugs for the whole country, does not know specifically that such environments have occurred in several places during the pandemic. But they do not ignore it. – It often takes a long time from the problem arises until it becomes so serious that it is discovered by those around, or society in general. Violent crime will probably attract attention much faster, says Sturla K. Naas Johansen, section leader in Rusinfo. Which young people have been most vulnerable during the pandemic? Sturla K. Naas Johansen, section leader in Rusinfo Photo: Rusinfo – Definitely young people in dysfunctional families. Much of this is about drugs and psychiatry. They have both lived closer to their family, and have often had less contact with and follow-up from school and the support system. If it is the case that more people have had more serious drug problems during the pandemic, he does not think we will see the extent of this until one to two years from now, or perhaps even further ahead. Rusinfo: – Talk to someone, preferably the support staff Do you have any advice for young people in this type of youth environment? – It must be a piece of advice for young people who are struggling in general, or really everyone who is struggling … It does not get better to try to handle such things alone. Talk to someone, preferably the helpline, but if it seems too big, talk to someone you have good contact with and trust, preferably someone in the family or a friend. What can be done? – We must work systematically with young people from families exposed to living conditions. The measures must affect both the adults in the family and the young people. It does not help with firefighting, but you have to see the young people behind the problems and possibly the crime. This applies to everything from school to leisure. The families must receive enough support to significantly improve the upbringing conditions of the young people, says Sturla K. Naas Johansen, section leader in Rusinfo.
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Young people aged 13 are recruited into the criminal environment in Bodø – the gang was established during the pandemic – news Nordland
