JUVENILE crime in the Balearics has risen significantly over the past year but, according to one expert yesterday, the current credit crunch is fueling an even sharper and more immediate increase.
The Balearic High Court's juvenile crime prosecutor, Jose Diaz Cappa, revealed yesterday that, in 2001, a total of 2'000 cases of juvenile crime were handled. Last year, 4'500 juvenile crimes were committed and figures already collated for this year show a juvenile crime wave.
A two-day conference on juvenile crime and education opens in Palma tomorrow and Cappa warned that juvenile criminals are becoming progressively more aggressive and involved in more serious crime.