A total of 2,085 youths aged between 14 and 20 were subject to police investigation in connection with serious crimes, such as murder and robbery, during the first 11 months of the year, marking a 53.8 percent jump over the same period last year, according to a report published Thursday by the National Police Agency.
The total topped 2,000 for the first time in 16 years, with the NPA pointing out that offenses involving minors marked the fourth significant rise since the end of World War II. According to the report, minors investigated in the first 11 months of 1997 totaled 139,867, a 14.5 percent increase over the same period last year.
Of this total, 1,535 were investigated for alleged robbery, a 58.2 percent rise from last year's level. Of all the robbery cases, 70 percent were committed by groups of minors, the report said.
Some 5,910 minors were investigated for alleged intimidation, marking a 13.7 percent increase. The annual total is certain to top the previous annual record of 5,922 set in 1988. Some 1,509 minors were investigated for alleged drug abuse, marking an 11.8 percent increase.
Girls investigated for alleged sexual offenses totaled 1,969, a 7 percent increase from last year's level and more than triple the 1993 level.