M. Chrysochoidis: Increase in juvenile deliquencies - Plans to deal with the phenomenon

"We don't have an outbreak, but a decrease in incidents. However, there is an increase in the arrests of minors, of the order of 50%", the minister specifically emphasized while speaking to SKAI.

Michalis Chrysochoidis: A delinquent child did not suddenly appear - He has a story behind him
Referring to juvenile delinquency and the recent violent incidents, Mr. Chrysochoidis emphasized that it is not a police matter but a social issue and underlined: "We must see the problem in its true dimension, let us all look in the mirror, let the parents look at each other, as well as all of society.

These things do not happen suddenly, a delinquent child did not appear out of nowhere. There is a story behind a delinquent child. There have been complaints at school, there have been complaints in the neighborhood, but unfortunately there is no management, and at some point it will explode."

"Many parents even feel a sense of pride that the child has these... abilities to beat other children. I want to say that all this is connected with a history, with the family, the parents, the tolerance that the parents show for delinquency and so on" he concluded characteristically.

He added, in fact, that in 2023 the Police arrested about 6,150 juvenile offenders, while in 2024 almost 9,000 (8,978), i.e. about a 50% increase, while the incidents are about 20% fewer. He also outlined all the actions that the Police have taken to prevent violent incidents between minors, most recently the creation of the five-digit telephone line 10201.

As he said: "Whenever there is an incident, so there is information about a delinquent child, when an incident is likely to develop, a report can be made to 10201, which is nationwide. It is handled by trained police officers based here in Athens, in the Juvenile Department. Anonymity is protected, the details of the complainant do not concern anyone other than the Police, in the context of the protection of personal data".

"The safeYouth app is coming in a few days"
At the same time, the safeYOUth application, which will be implemented in a few days, is part of the tools available to the Police to deal with juvenile delinquency. As Mr. Chrysochoidis mentioned, this is "a panic button for the children, but also for the parents. The child will enter his mobile phone, with a very simple application, and at that time the application will signal the police and immediately there will be a response."

He then referred to the legal framework for juvenile delinquency, noting: "It seems to me that we need to look again at the penalties under the Penal Code... for parents the penalties must be toughened... When someone is grossly negligent in the custody of a child , I think there should be consequences."