Media review finds 225% rise in violent crime cases involving children under 15

Violence cases involving children aged 10 to 14 have risen by 225% in a decade, according to a review by Berlingske covering the years 2014 to 2024. The findings focus on children below Denmark’s criminal age of 15, a group not covered by publicly available youth-crime statistics.

To examine the trend, the newspaper reviewed internal documents prepared for the government’s Crime Prevention Commission and obtained court documents from selected criminal cases. It also monitored social media using fake youth profiles and asked authorities and municipalities to analyze and assess the material.

Copenhagen, Aarhus and Odense municipalities expressed concern about the number of young people involved in crime, including boys under 15. On that basis, Berlingske concluded that the number of such cases had increased.

The review also found that 35% of the 10- to 14-year-olds involved were children with a non-Western background. That group accounts for about 12% of all children in the same age range in Denmark. Berlingske said violent offenses had become more serious and that social media had amplified the effect.