The stab at Tjuvholmen and the minimum criminal age: – A one-sided debate

Now more people want to lower the minimum criminal age in Norway. Wrong solution, says the criminal.

On Saturday night, a man in his 20s came to be stabbed at an outdoor restaurant. It happened at Tjuvholmen in Oslo. Another man was subjected to violence. Teenagers aged 14, 15 and two aged 17 have been charged with attempted murder and hate crime. The two men who were attacked, were lovers. The main assumption of the police is that the victims were attacked because of their direction.

The incident has fueled the debate about crime in Oslo and what is needed to stop young criminals. Stian Lid does not like the direction of the debate. He is a criminologist and researcher at Oslo Met.

– The debate about youth crime has become far too one-sided, he says to Aftenposten.

This is what the parties believe

The minimum criminal age is 15 in Norway. People younger than this are not punished when they commit crimes.

But crime among those under the age of 15 increased in 2023. It shows The Somersault Report from the Oslo police district.

If we look at the development in the number of reports of violence by a suspect between 10 and 17 years old, the figures are as follows in Oslo:

Last year, there were therefore 712 reports of violence involving suspects aged 10-17.

Boys make up 85 percent of the cases. The biggest increase is among boys between 10 and 14 years old.

After the knife attack on Tjuvholmen, several politicians have stopped:

• This is written by Oda Oline Omdal Oslo junior right and you reader post for Aftenposten: “If you’re old enough to be a criminal, you’re old enough to be in prison”. She advocates lowering the minimum criminal age to 13.
• Fr It will lower the minimum age of crime from 15 to 14.
• MDG believes that lowering the minimum criminal age does not solve any problems. They would prefer to strengthen protection work and create a more inclusive local community.
• The Labor Party believes that the minimum age for crime should remain 15 years.

What do the subject experts think?

Children’s ombudsman: A political race

– Every time youth crime increases, people call for more police, tougher punishments and a lowering of the minimum criminal age, writes Thov Midtsund Nordbø in an email to Aftenposten.

He is a senior adviser to the Children’s Ombudsman. The ombudsman believes that several governments have failed in their protection work.

Nordbø believes that the authorities must create concrete measures to strengthen this work.

– I would prefer that, rather than a political race being the toughest.

Because it is not accidental whether children commit crimes, wrote Nordbø.

Nordbø believes that a 14-year-old often has problems himself. This can include drug addiction, poverty and domestic violence:

– Lack of help for such challenges in early childhood creates a risk of ending up in criminal environments.

Such measures can be offers of leisure time and outreach services. There can also be special support measures aimed at children with challenges related to drugs or violence.

The criminologist Stian Lid also believes that the age debate is a mistake.

– We need to succeed at an earlier stage. Before they commit a crime, he says.

The researcher says that the most important protection work happens locally. Both with the regions and with voluntary organizations. But he believes that the offer varies greatly between the areas in the capital.

– The prevention work is usually dependent on unstable funding, says Lid.

The cities are also often involved in arrears, he believes.

– Preventive measures are always starting and ending. Then it is difficult to build trust in the youth.