Overview
- University of Cologne researchers surveyed about 3,800 students in grades 7 and 9 at 27 schools in Gelsenkirchen, Herten and Marl, comparing results with a 2015 baseline.
- Self-reports indicate substantially more offenses than police data capture, with more intensive young offenders and higher levels of property crime and younger pupils’ violence than official figures suggest.
- The study links elevated offending to increased parental violence, worsening psychological distress—especially among girls—and reduced self-control alongside weaker fear of detection and punishment.
- School norms deteriorated, with fewer teacher interventions in fights and a sharp fall in moral rejection of minor misbehavior, while heavy social‑media use correlated with higher violence.
- After several years of increases, youth crime declined in the most recent year studied, as NRW weighs measures such as police presence on schoolyards and a debate over lowering the age of criminal responsibility.