Young offenders are on the rise in Macao, a report by the Social Welfare Bureau (IAS) shows. A shocking 19.6 percent of reported crimes were of a sexual nature – slightly more than the crime of theft, according to Ponto Final.
The report revealed that Macao’s average young offender is 14 years old, male, and living with his parents in Nossa Senhora de Fátima (the city’s largest and northernmost parish).
The IAS’s report covered the 169 juvenile delinquency cases referred to the bureau by local courts across 2020, 2021, and 2022. Figures showed a 13 percent increase in cases when compared with the three years prior.
[See more: Last year’s sharp rise in child sex abuse cases prompts a call for reform]
Crimes against people were the most common category of offence (53.3 percent, down from 61.7 percent in the last report) – including theft and crimes of a sexual nature, such as sexual abuse of children, rape and sexual fraud.
Crimes against property were the second most common category. Drug-related crimes made up less than one percent of offences.
The report stated that falling under the influence of maladjusted peers was the main reason youths in Macao turned to crime. Just over half of offences committed by youths over the three-year period were carried out by groups, rather than by individuals.
