Violence in schools increased significantly last year compared with 2021, recording the highest levels in six years for indicators such as juvenile and gang crime.
The findings are published in Miguel Rodrigues’s book, Violence in Schools – Characterization, Analysis and Intervention, which will be published on November 7. It describes the situation in Portugal based on records since 2011 (the year the Security Observatory was created). closed school) and 2022.
According to the latest report compiled by the head of the PSP, in the 2021/2022 school year, 6,067 incidents were recorded in the school environment, which is 1,573 more than the previous year and, compared to the 2020/2021 school year, there were fewer incidents. incidents of a non-criminal nature, and criminal ones increased from 2097 to 4634.
Among the main incidents, the vast majority of which occurred in the districts of Lisbon and Porto, there were 1,860 crimes against physical integrity, 1,128 cases of bodily harm or threats and 711 thefts, as well as crimes of a sexual nature and possession or use of weapons.
On the other hand, among the indicators related to school violence analyzed by Miguel Rodriguez, the main increase was in juvenile crime, which increased by more than 51% in just one year.
According to the data, nearly 1,700 cases of delinquency were reported among youth last year, the highest since 2016, matching the number of gang crime cases.
According to this indicator, the head of the PSP counts, based on the data of the SSB, 5895 cases in 2022 (1398 more than in the previous year).
Analyzing dating violence, nearly three thousand young abusers were identified (38% more than in 2021), and the profile is similar to previous years: the majority are men aged 16 to 24.
With the highest figure since at least 2011, the book also shows the number of children and young people flagged for risky behavior in childhood, which rose by more than 32% to 9,362 last year.
According to the author, the main diagnoses involve serious antisocial or unruly behavior, but situations of drug use, “bullying,” drinking, “gaming,” “gambling,” and crime are also encountered.
While the increase was less pronounced, the number of young people admitted to educational centers did increase, rising from 116 to 119, but well below the highest values of the last decade, between 2011 and 2013, which the author justifies by covid. -19 pandemic.
Likewise, the number of youth prisoners increased slightly from 149 to 170, with 62 minors aged between 16 and 18 and the rest aged 19 or 20.
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
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