Turkish authorities concerned about rise in juvenile crime

Juvenile crime, crimes committed by minors, have troubled Türkiye in recent years, especially after well-publicized cases and online outrage.  The Turkish Parliament set up a "Committee for Research on Children Driven to Crime”.

The number of incidents involving children reported to or brought before security units in Türkiye rose significantly in 2024, reaching 612,651, an increase of 9.8% compared to the previous year, according to data released by the TurkStat last year.

Of the total cases, 279,620 children were identified as victims, while 202,785 were involved due to alleged criminal behavior, categorized as "children driven to crime.”

Among the children driven to crime, 40.4% were involved in assault-related incidents, 16.6% in theft and 8.2% in drug-related offenses, including use, sale or purchase of illegal substances. Other allegations included threats 4.6%, crimes creating general danger 4.2% and a wide array of other offenses accounting for 26% of the total.