Alarming juvenile crime: Vienna is struggling with rising numbers!

Alarming juvenile crime: Vienna is struggling with rising numbers!

Youth crime in Vienna has recently reached alarming proportions. Current figures published by Interior Minister Gerhard Karner (ÖVP) show that a total of 14,804 young people between the ages of 10 and 18 were registered as suspects in Vienna in 2024. The hotspot districts of Favoriten, Floridsdorf and Donaustadt are particularly striking. In Favoriten, 1,397 minors were recorded, including 17 children under 10 and 423 between the ages of 10 and 14. Floridsdorf follows with 1,734 suspected young people, 699 of whom are between 10 and 14 years old. Donaustadt has the highest number of juvenile suspects at 1,834, including 28 under the age of 10 and 628 between the ages of 10 and 14, reports the Today.

The FPÖ General Secretary Michael Schnedlitz expressed sharp criticism of the ÖVP's integration policy. He calls for the age of criminal responsibility to be reduced to 12 years and for age controls to be improved. According to Schnedlitz, integration in Vienna has failed and the high number of non-Austrian young people suspected of the crime speaks volumes. What is particularly worrying is that 48 percent of the suspects between the ages of 10 and 14 are not of Austrian origin. Among them are 1,167 Syrian suspects, a dramatic increase compared to 150 in 2020. The numbers are clear: in 2024 there were almost 1,000 Syrian suspects involved in crimes like this FPÖ reported.

Growing concern about developments

These alarming statistics don't come out of the blue. Interior Minister Karner described youth crime as a “problem child” and points out that reports about suspects between the ages of 10 and 14 have exploded in recent years. In 2024, 12,049 reports were recorded in this age group, doubling the number of previous years. The government is planning measures to stop this development. This also includes the discussion about restoring family reunification rights, which Karner sees as an important step in combating rising crime. The Vienna.at highlights that the most active repeat offenders, so-called “system breakers”, commit over 50 crimes per month and are responsible for 28 percent of crimes committed by under-18s.

The general crime statistics in Vienna also show an increase. Despite a decline in residential thefts, car thefts and thefts from vending machines increased by 25 percent. Another social problem is politically motivated crimes, which, according to current surveys, are playing an increasingly important role. The clearance rate is currently 52.9 percent, with more than 280,000 cases solved, but looking at the sad numbers leaves a bitter aftertaste.

Demands for quick action

Calls for rapid action, particularly with regard to improving the security situation for young people, are growing louder. Schnedlitz calls for clear measures to protect society from growing crime. It remains to be seen whether and what steps the government will take to curb this threatening development.