| YOUTH INVOLVEMENT IN CRIME
Grenada The only youth crime statistics available in Grenada were compiled for a police presentation about juveniles arrested and charged in 2015, 2020-2022 and should not be considered official statistics as they were not formally released or available. For the period under review, records from the Police show that there were charges of 475 offenses committed by people under the age of 18. In 2015 - 156 were charged; in 2020 - 145 were charged; in 2021 – 96 were charged and in 2022 – 78 were charged which indicates a pattern of decline.
According to the police presentation about juveniles arrested and charged in 2015, 2020-2022, the most common crimes (62.5% of all offences) in order were: (see Appendix 3)
1) Causing harm – 114 2) Housebreaking – 63 3) Possession of marijuana – 36 4) Sex with someone over 13 years old - 27 5) Grievous harm – 23 6) Stealing from a dwelling house – 23 7) Sex with someone under 13 years old – 11
We are unable to verify the accuracy of the statistics so we cannot determine how representative or indicative they are. Also, there is no disaggregation of the data so we cannot determine the distribution of the offences over the time period which leaves us with some important questions. How reliable is the indication of a decline of charges for juveniles? What is the distribution of incidents 2015-2022? Have the incidents of more serious crimes increased or decreased proportionately between 2015-2022? Because it is virtually impossible for the media to carry stories on juvenile crime, we are unable to make any comparison for this demographic. Media stories and opinion pieces about youth crime involving 18-35 years old paints a different story showing an increase in the frequency of and concern about gun and gun related crimes. This reporting accounts for approximately 45% of all youth crime stories. Having no official statistics, we are unable to comment on how representative the media reporting is in comparison, but editorials and opinion pieces reflect great concern about gun and gun related crimes such as possession of illegal weapons and ammunition, homicides and murder and indicate these are the major youth crimes. 16
16 MTV Grenada 22 nd June 2023
36 A Media Analysis of the Coverage of Youth Involvement in Crime and Violence and Trafficking in Persons (June 2021 to June 2023) in the Eastern Caribbean
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