In the course of the debate on juvenile crime, Interior Minister Gerhard Karner and Constitutional Minister Karoline Edtstadler (both ÖVP) presented a draft law on Friday. The amendment is intended to enable measures that also apply to minors under the age of 14, but does not provide for a lowering of the criminal liability limit.
After negotiations with the green coalition partner are completed, the law change should enter into force “as soon as possible,” Edtstadler said at a press conference in Vienna on Friday. The amendment is intended to allow case discussions and rule instructions in the future – even for young people under the age of 14, as was highlighted.
First learn, then punish
In concrete terms, the regulatory instructions must be such that minor perpetrators are personally summoned to the police together with a legal guardian. The authorities must be locally responsible in the immediate residential area, it was said at a press conference in Vienna on Friday. Repeated loading should also be possible. According to Minister of the Interior Karner, the instructions are mainly intended to prevent further and future crimes. According to Karner, violations such as failure to appear or disruption can be punished with fines from 1,000 to 4,600 euros – as the “Krone” has already reported.
The already well-known security police case conferences should also be extended to children and young people who have committed crimes. “We have seen here that there is a need for a network where police information is brought together with that of child protection authorities and schools,” Karner said at the media event at the Ministry of the Interior. For cases of organized youth crime, joint case conferences are also planned to “in particular counter the increased danger potential of ‘youth gangs’ through coordinated measures,” the Ministry of the Interior said. The basis for both changes is the Security Police Act (SPG).
A reduction in the criminal liability limit is excluded
The discussed reduction of the criminal liability limit was explicitly excluded from the press conference on Friday. In April, Karner and Edtstadler announced a lowering of the age of criminal responsibility “for serious violent crimes” and for intensive offenders from 14 to twelve years – together with the now planned changes to the SPG. Justice Minister Alma Zadic (Greens) remained negative until the end. “We continue to meet this requirement,” Edtstadler emphasized on Friday. There is a need for the ability to ‘put violent youth in their place’, the Minister of Constitutional Affairs said.
According to Karner, the draft amendment to the SPG was recently sent to the Ministry of Justice. On Friday, he was optimistic that the relevant law would come into force in time for the upcoming National Council elections in the fall. He is convinced that “eventually the right arguments” will prevail, Karner said.
Source: Krone
I am Ida Scott, a journalist and content author with a passion for uncovering the truth. I have been writing professionally for Today Times Live since 2020 and specialize in political news. My career began when I was just 17; I had already developed a knack for research and an eye for detail which made me stand out from my peers.
