This was stated by the police in Nordland in a press release on Thursday.
From 2022 to 2023, the number of reported cases increased from 10,051 to 10,678. Cases related to sexual crimes increased by up to 44 percent, and according to Police Chief Heidi Klokstad, this area is largely the reason for the increase in the number of reports.
– The increase in sexual crimes can be largely explained by a large-scale assault case being investigated in the police district, where in December 2023 there were more than 250 victims, explains Klokstad.
Nordland Police District has children and young people experiencing sexual abuse as a priority area.
– In recent years, we have been working purposefully to uncover cases of children being sexually abused online. After we created a separate, dedicated team in 2020, the number of cases increased dramatically, and this team uncovered a large-scale case of abuse that is now being investigated,” explains Klokstad.
anxiety
What concerns the police district most is the connection with children and young people and the negative development in cases of youth crime. Youth cases increased from 493 cases in 2022 to 642 cases in 2023.
If you look at the numbers over several years, the increase is not significant, but cases involving violence and drugs are particularly on the rise, Klokstad says.
– Cases of violence increased by 71 percent compared to 2022, and this is the largest number of cases of violence that the police district has witnessed in the past five years. She says this development is worrying and the police district will work to achieve this goal in 2024.
The police chief stresses that even if the police direct their efforts towards young people, the police alone cannot solve the challenges. Preventive work for young people requires multidisciplinary measures.
– A large number of these young people face complex challenges and underlying causes that require youth-related forces such as the municipality, health, homes and police to work together to find solutions adapted to individual challenges, concludes Klokstad.
“Explorer. Unapologetic entrepreneur. Alcohol fanatic. Certified writer. Wannabe tv evangelist. Twitter fanatic. Student. Web scholar. Travel buff.”
