The number of crimes involving African-born suspects under the age of 18 has been declining sharply in the centre of Helsinki.

   

"The decline is reflected clearly in the statistics, although some of cases from the early part of the year have not been resolved", says Ossi Yliskoski of the Helsinki police.

   

Yliskoski attributes the improved situation to actions taken by social and youth workers, voluntary organisations, and the African community itself.

   

According to Yliskoski the number of African children under the age of 15 suspected of committing crimes in the early part of this year was much lower than at the same time last year. The decline has been steady since the middle of last year.

   

In the first three months of 2000 the number was 22, in the second quarter it was 42, in the third, just 20 and in the last quarter it was only 11.

   

In the first three months of this year only six African teenagers under 15 were arrested. At the same time 212 Finns of the same age group were caught suspected of crimes. Non-African foreigners were involved in 30 cases.

"We have to consider that

the perpetrators have gotten older, but this does not negate the impression that the situation has improved, because the number of crimes committed by those aged 15 to 17 have also declined", Yliskoski says.

A new and unfortunate

phenomenon is that the situation has grown considerably worse among underage teenagers of the Roma, or Gipsy minority.

   

"We don't know why this has happened. In years past the proportion of crimes involving Roma children was very small, but now they are replacing the African children with respect to crimes committed by those under 15."

   

Late last year the Somali community, the City of Helsinki Youth Department and the Fenix "house of possibilities" started a project near the Helsinki Central Railway station aimed at preventing African children from getting into petty crime.

   

Somali men volunteered to patrol the centre to keep track of what Somali youngsters were doing. They also worked together with the parents of the children.

   

In March the City of Helsinki appointed a Somali immigrant with training as a social worker, to work on the problem together with a Finnish social worker in the city centre.