Centre for the Prevention of Youth Crime

Delinquency and victimization in context of digitality

Digital media are omnipresent and highly influential in the lives of children and young people. They are used for everyday communication, entertainment, and information. In addition to providing benefits, digital media also pose risks: children and young people can, for instance, become victims or perpetrators of fraud or violent crime as a result of their online activities. The Centre intends to analyse these risks and benefits for young people in more depth.

It has conducted workshops on cybercrime and cyberbullying with experts with backgrounds in research and professional practice. Current developments in the areas of Internet violence and delinquency have been discussed in this context in connection with the challenges they present and their implications for prevention. Discussions have also examined how stakeholders with a role in crime prevention are now approaching these “new” forms of crime and looked at the extent to which they are now using digital media in their work.

The Centre regularly compiles and expertly evaluates statistics and research results in the area of digitalisation and youth delinquency and victimization. A new DJI brochure, “Zahlen–Daten–Fakten – Jugenddelinquenz im Kontext von Digitalisierung” (Fact and Figures: Youth Delinquency in the Context of Digitalisation) was published on the Centre’s website in April 2022 (available in German).