In 291 arrests of minors for a series of offences, e.gdon’t reach 29, proceeded the Police in the first nine months of 2024 in the Region of Western Greece, formed 350 case files for 30 crimes, with the result that the total number of juvenile offenders reached 641, according to the data of EL.AS, which presents the Athenian – Macedonian News Agency.

In particular, the arrests made in the Region of Western Greece, from January to September 2024, are the following:

*98 for violations of the C.O.K.

*36 for theft

*35 for violating the law on addictive substances

*18 for bodily harm

*12 for complicity in theft

*12 for aggravated theft

*8 for complicity in attempted theft

*8 for dangerous bodily harm

*8 for wear and tear of foreign property

*7 for threat

*6 for profanity

*5 for attempted theft

*4 for criminal organization/gang

*4 for harming weak people

*3 for robbery

*3 for forgery

*3 for kidnapping minors

*3 for disturbing the peace

*3 for child pornography

*3 weapons law violation

*2 for accepting and disposing of proceeds of crime

*2 for violence against employees

*2 for reluctance

*1 for engagement

*1 for unlawful violence

*1 for rape

*1 for sexual indecency

*1 for attempted robbery

*1 for complicity in robbery

According to the data presented by the Athens Agency, most of the arrests were made for violations of the Code of Criminal Procedure, for thefts and aggravated thefts, for violations of the law on addictive substances, for physical and dangerous injuries, for damage to foreign property and for threat.

As for the perpetrators:

*599 are Greeks

*42 are foreigners

*608 are boys

*33 are girls

*113 are 8 to 14 years old

*528 are 15 to 18 years old

It should be noted that in the age group of 8 to 14 years, most perpetrators are accused of theft and aggravated theft, for damage to foreign property, for violations of the Code of Criminal Procedure. and for bodily harm.

According to the Police, the statistics focus on the number of offences-crimes and not on the number of offenders (eg if a juvenile offender commits more than one offence, then he is recorded as an offender in each of the offenses concerning him) .

“Youth delinquency requires a deeper and more multidimensional approach”

In the meantime, as the general regional police director of Western Greece, Lieutenant General Andreas Tsapikounis, emphasized in his speech at the opening of the theme park, with the name, “We are building a wall against juvenile delinquency”, “juvenile delinquency is not a problem that can be can only be solved by law enforcement or repressive measures, but requires a deeper and more multidimensional approach, combining education, prevention and the strengthening of personal and social responsibility”.

He also pointed out that “the Police, in the context of its actions for the prevention of delinquency and the formation of moral values, is not only a helper but a co-creator in initiatives that promote social responsibility and the positive development of young people”.

“Tackling juvenile delinquency must aim mainly at prevention”

For his part, the head of the Patras Prosecutor’s Office, Nikos Nikolaou, during his intervention at the opening of the theme park, “We are building a wall against juvenile delinquency”, made special reference to law 4689/2020, which, among other things, concerned the incorporation into the Greek legal order of Directive 2016/800 of the European Parliament and of the Council of May 11 of 2016, on procedural guarantees for children who are suspects or accused in criminal proceedings.

As Nikos Nikolaou, who was the chairman of the law-making committee at the time, which was established by the Minister of Justice, pointed out, “this law was supposed to find a very wide scope of application” and added: “Unfortunately, the phenomenon of juvenile delinquency not only continues to exist, but it now appears in forms that were unknown to the older ones, since in addition to the classic forms of delinquency, minors now participate in almost all forms of digital delinquency”.

“I remember,” he continued, “when in the past I was involved as a district attorney in juvenile courts, the main offenses, which were allegedly committed by juveniles, were traffic violations, the main one being driving a motorcycle without a license. Of course, there were also the most serious crimes, such as rape, but on a small scale.”

As he added, “the court, in the case of minor juvenile delinquency, basically operated in a pedagogical way, because the purpose was not to impose any form of punishment, but to make the minor realize his mistake and not repeat it.”

But, as he noted, “as much as any court tries to dictate, this will be done after the fact” and he added:

“The minor will have broken the law, prevention in the first phase will have failed and we will have reached the point of repression.”

At this point, Nikos Nikolaou pointed out that “my opinion is that the treatment of juvenile delinquency should mainly aim at prevention”, adding that “to achieve the goal two are the pillars, which should bear the main burden of this of the great mission, that is, family and school, parents and teachers”.

“Only they,” he continued, “can shape the necessary supportive environment for children, so that they acquire empathy and responsibility.”

As he characteristically mentioned at this point, “it is a difficult mission, but perhaps the most important for the development and well-being of our society, because today’s children, who thanks to their parents and teachers acquire the gifts I mentioned above, will be the tomorrow’s adults, who will be able to effectively contribute to a society that will be better for everyone, both for themselves and for their fellow citizens and of course for their own children”.