During today’s Cabinet meeting, the government announced the “Safe YOUth” app to address juvenile delinquency. Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said the app’s functionality will be presented soon.
Based on the “panic button” model, the app will allow minors to alert the police if they are in danger.
The Prime Minister also mentioned that targeted changes will be made to increase penalties for firearm possession among young people and for repeat criminal offenses.
Delinquency rates have increased despite the launch of the ‘Stop Bullying’ platform for named reports of school violence since April 2024.
He emphasized that the provision allowing defendants to be cleared after returning stolen goods will be abolished, saying that “it was a favorable measure that some exploited.”
Juvenile delinquency is so widespread that in the first eight months of this year, at least 8,978 individuals were arrested. In the same period in 2023, 6,157 arrests were made, according to the Hellenic Police. This means that since the start of 2024, the police have been arresting 37 students per day. The charges mainly involve drugs, assaults, robberies, thefts, and burglaries
