T. Theodorikakos: When talking about delinquency of young children, there must be the logic of the second opportunity

“When one talks about delinquency of young children, there must always be the logic of the second chance”, said the Minister of Civil Protection, Takis Theodorikakos, answering earlier today in Parliament a topical question of the ND MP George Koumoutsakos about child delinquency and increase, especially during the quarantine period.

The delinquency of minors, often underage schoolchildren, is associated with many factors and therefore tackling the problem should be linked to the utilization of all factors, as noted by the Minister of Civil Protection. He added that family, friends, school, teachers, a child’s relationship with teachers and the development of the internet play an important role. “Crime is often linked to involvement in fan activities, in the sense of hooliganism. Therefore, we are dealing with a complex problem,” he said.

Regarding the extent of the problem, Mr. Theodorikakos said that “in 2019 we had 261 juvenile offenders, in 2020 we had 1,370 and in 2021, the first two months, we have 877. The main offenses for which the “Violent behavior concerns, to a large extent, robberies, thefts, drugs and beatings”, he pointed out and referred to data, according to which the arrests mainly concern foreign minors.

In ELAS there are two sub-directorates, in GADA and in Thessaloniki, which deal specifically with the issue of juvenile delinquency, the minister said and added that throughout Greece there are offices for dealing with juvenile delinquency and the central logic is, in terms of inside schools, mild policing exclusively in collaboration with parents and the educational community. “When it comes to delinquency of young children, there must always be the logic of the second chance,” he said, adding that “one can not crush a child 15, 16, 17 years old, even for delinquent behavior too “There must be a second chance. So the police are working with the government and the school community on issues related to school violence.” As he noted, the teacher, the teacher and the parent have to deal with the issue of bullying in the school and the police should only intervene in extreme cases, because otherwise we will not have results.

Earlier, ND MP George Koumoutsakos had called on the Minister of Citizen Protection to inform Parliament how the ministry sees the phenomenon of outbreak of juvenile delinquency and what measures it plans to address, stressing, however, that it is not an issue alone Ministry of Citizen Protection and other ministries. The ND MP spoke about repeated violent behaviors and criminal acts by juvenile gangs. “Frequent arrests of students involved in gangs, violent clashes, robberies and even involvement in drug trafficking, confirm the outbreak of the phenomenon. This causes concern not only to parents but to society as a whole,” said Mr. Koumoutsakos, citing ministry figures. Civil Protection, according to which, in 2021, 218 minors were beaten and 211 were robbed by members of such groups who have gang behaviors and are unfortunately made up of young children. “These phenomena are near us, they are in the squares, in the streets where our children have fun, meet their friends and spend their school hours. Today, 25 gangs are operating in Attica”, underlined the ND MP, who added that during the quarantine period there was a 10% increase in violent behavior and a 30% increase in juvenile delinquency, compared to 2019.

Mr. Koumoutsakos stated that it is a very delicate case to arrest a minor for the removal of a mobile phone, which is a criminal robbery and tarnishes the criminal record of these children, so a delicate approach is needed, and therefore the role of the teacher is crucial. and family. The ND MP agreed that these children should have a second chance, but noted that the phenomenon must be addressed.

The Minister of Citizen Protection also stressed that social media has a big role to play and informed that the police, in pursuing cybercrime, must monitor and intervene preventively in any case where necessary. He added that in all cases where there were clashes between gangs or groups of minors, ELAS has intervened. In any case, it is useful, he said, to develop dialogue initiatives, with the participation of MPs, teachers, parents, children who have fallen victim and children who have been perpetrators. Mr. Theodorikakos pointed out that the Ministry of Citizen Protection and the Greek Police are ready to participate in such events.

SOURCE: AMPE