The Attorney General of Navarre, Jaime Goyena, highlighted on Friday the “worrying” fact that minors aged 14 and 15 now commit the same number of crimes as those aged 16 and 17, whereas previously their delinquency rate was much higher. weaker.
In 2023, he indicated during the opening ceremony of the judicial year, a total of 958 crimes involving minors between 14 and 18 years old were reported compared to 1,217 in 2022, or 21.2% less .
The vast majority were due to injuries (223), crimes against property (209) and sexual freedom (42).
As in previous years, this year we have seen an increase in reports of hurtful crimes, between boys or girls, generally committed in groups, even if the cases of recording and dissemination of attacks through social networks have decreased. Crimes against sexual freedom also continue to increase.
Criminal offenses are increasing
In total, in 2023, 36,945 criminal proceedings were initiated (minor offenses, emergency proceedings and preliminary proceedings), which represents an increase of 4.9% compared to 2022.
In the event of emergency procedures, a total of 2,770 procedures were initiated, or 0.2% more. And in previous procedures, 29,652 were initiated, which represents an increase of 4.9%.
In addition, last year 10 jury proceedings were initiated, 3 more than the 7 initiated the previous year, none of which were dismissed, so that in all ten cases there was a indictment from the public prosecutor.
As in previous years, most emergency procedures are grouped into 6 criminal categories: offenses against road safety, which represent almost half (49.39%) of the total; injuries (13.1%); against the administration of justice (8.48%); gender-based or domestic violence (8.01%); against assets (5.92%); and against public order (4.15%).
In the case of road safety offences, emergency procedures focus almost exclusively on two offences: driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs and driving without a valid license.
Crimes committed by criminal groups increase by 160%
233 proceedings were initiated for crimes against privacy, which represents an increase of 30.2% compared to the previous year. In this criminal group, the offense of discovery and disclosure of secrets stands out, for which 125 proceedings were initiated, which represents an increase of 26%.
In the area of attacks on freedoms, where varied behaviors frequently linked to gender-based violence are concentrated (coercion, threats, harassment), 2,240 procedures were initiated, which represents a decrease of 3.1%. The number of harassment crimes increased by 14.6%.
On the other hand, in crimes against public order, the increasing trend observed in previous years in the most serious crimes was broken, since 194 attacks were recorded (which represents a decrease of 26%) and 262 resistances ( which represents a decrease of 13.2%).
However, this positive development has been overshadowed by the notable increase in crime such as incorporation or integration into criminal groups (almost always linked to the commission of crimes against property in homes or factory facilities). ), offense for which 39 procedures were initiated, which represents an increase of 160%.
Once again, the type of offense with the highest statistical incidence is Internet fraud.
More than 3,500 charging documents
In 2023, the Public Prosecutor’s Office issued a total of 3,580 indictments, which represents a decrease of 4.9% compared to the 3,768 in 2022. It is thus confirmed that over the last four years (2020, 2021 , 2022 and 2023), the number of qualifying writings remains stable between 3,200 and 3,700.
Concerning precautionary measures, the Prosecutor was interested in a total of 207 measures of provisional detention without bail, which represents a significant increase of almost 40% compared to the 148 in 2022, most of them for crimes against public health and against property, the main reason being the existence of criminal recidivism
