Interior Minister Gerhard Karner announced this on Friday in a press conference with Constitutional Minister Karoline Edtstadler (both ÖVP). Against the background of an abuse case involving a twelve-year-old who was abused for months by 18 boys, some of whom were underage, an interim report was presented by the youth crime working group.
This “cruel case” showed “that we have to change something in the system,” emphasized Karner. It’s not regarding “putting children in prison,” said Edtstadler, but enforceable consequences are necessary in the case of serious crimes.
These measures are planned
A total of three planned measures were presented. In addition to lowering the age of criminal responsibility, parents should also be held “significantly more accountable” as part of a new “police rule instruction” to be introduced, as the Interior Minister explained: Children and young people are required to be summoned by the police following certain crimes and are accompanied by their parents. “That doesn’t exist yet,” said Karner. The aim is to provide information regarding the consequences and consequences of the crime. Participation is mandatory and violations should be subject to sanctions, such as “fines for parents who do not participate.”
Furthermore, security police case conferences are to be introduced, for example in the case of serious violent crimes and for “underage multiple offenders”. This is regarding particularly serious crimes such as rape or armed robbery and “intensive offenders,” said Karner.
The interministerial working group has developed its first recommendations with the aim of “protecting children, educating young people and punishing violent perpetrators,” said the Interior Minister. “There is no single measure that changes everything,” he emphasized. Rather, many things are necessary, and it can not only be regarding voluntariness and supportive offers, but also regarding enforceable consequences and sanctions.
Support for the plans came from Upper Austria. “The constitutional state must not allow itself to be fooled by young, serious criminals. I therefore welcome the reduction of the age of criminal responsibility to 12 years for serious crimes,” said Integration Regional Councilor Wolfgang Hattmannsdorfer (ÖVP).
At a glance: The interim conclusions of the report
- Criminal responsibility: Reducing criminal responsibility to 12 years for particularly serious crimes or intensive offenders, while at the same time determining whether the young person had the maturity to recognize the injustice.
- Outpatient/Inpatient Guidance based on the model of the probation service for underage criminals
- obligators Case conferences for underage intensive offenders
- Specific Instructional discussions (Standard clarification) for minors with the involvement of their legal guardians
- Legal obligation to stay in Facilities for the care and education of minors, taking into account the PersFrBVG (protection of personal freedom)
- Stronger Obligation of legal guardiansamong other things, mandatory training, parent control app
- Expansion of Contact points and offers of help as well as existing measures for integration, including through mandatory parenting courses for children with a migrant background who have language deficiencies
