site.btaInterior Minister Reports 37 Cases of Harassment, Aggression Committed by Youth Gangs in Sofia This Year

A total of 37 cases of harassment and aggression committed by youth gangs were reported in Sofia this year, responded Interior Minister Daniel Mitov during question time in Parliament to MP Elisaveta Belobradova regarding youth gangs known as lokali. Perpetrators were identified and 33 were detained, added the Minister.  

The Minister said that after each victim’s report, the gangs' actions are investigated, the files are sent to the prosecution service which applies educational measures if it established individuals under the age of 18 have committed dangerous acts. Local commissions operating within municipalities impose those measures, added Mitov.  

The preventive and counteractive measures taken by the Interior Ministry aim at identifying and monitoring these youths, establishing their identity, and gathering information about the structure and activities of the groups. Inspectors from the juvenile crime prevention units work with all identified children, both perpetrators and victims, the Interior Minister emphasised. 

According to data from the Regional Directorate of Interior in Sofia, between 70% and 80% of individuals under the age of 18 committing such acts in Sofia are already known to the police, Mitov reported. 

More adequate legislative tools are needed to effectively counter the youth gangs, since, due to outdated legislation from 1958, the Ministry of Interior is often “with tied hands.”, highlighted Mitov. The ministry is actively participating in drafting an entirely new juvenile justice law, for which an interdepartmental working group has been established.