Fewer Amsterdam young people suspected of offences
In 2025, 2.3 per cent of 12- to 17-year-olds in Amsterdam were registered as suspects.
The proportion of young people in Amsterdam suspected of an offence has fallen again. The share is higher than average in Zuidoost and Nieuw-West, while the municipality warns that the figures are not directly comparable with older publications because of a new calculation method.
In 2025, 2.3 per cent of young people in Amsterdam aged 12 to 17 were suspected of an offence. Among 18- to 24-year-olds, the figure was 2.1 per cent. Both percentages are lower than in the previous three years, according to figures from Onderzoek en Statistiek of the municipality of Amsterdam.
The decline forms part of a longer-term picture. Municipal figures show that the proportion of juvenile suspects has almost halved over the past ten years. This does not mean that all forms of crime have declined to the same extent, or that the trend is the same in every borough.
In Zuidoost, the proportion of suspects among 12- to 24-year-olds was 2.9 per cent in 2025. In Nieuw-West, it was 2.6 per cent, and in Noord it was also 2.6 per cent. There are also clear differences between individual areas within boroughs.
The municipality also examines the types of offences of which people are suspected. Among suspects in Amsterdam, property offences were the most common, followed by traffic and violent offences. Among 12- to 17-year-olds, property offences accounted for a relatively large share of the offences recorded among suspects.
The figures concern suspects, not people convicted by a court. A registration may therefore result from a police investigation that later does not lead to a conviction. Nor do the figures in themselves explain why the number of suspects is falling.
From 2025, the municipality has used CBS microdata and calculated the figures retrospectively for the period 2014-2025. Previously, the figures came from the police records of Eenheid Amsterdam. The new method also includes offences that Amsterdam suspects are thought to have committed outside the municipality.
Onderzoek en Statistiek therefore warns that absolute numbers and percentages may differ slightly from those in earlier publications. According to the municipality, the downward trend is visible within the new series, but the figures do not in themselves answer the question of which measures or social changes are responsible for it.
One story, several perspectives
What is established
- The proportion of juvenile suspects in Amsterdam fell in 2025.
- The percentages differ by borough.
- The registration concerns suspects, not court convictions.
- The municipality changed its calculation method.
Left
Arguments A decline in youth crime is no reason to scale back prevention. Targeted investment in education, youth services, financial security and support in neighbourhoods with higher figures can prevent young people from falling through the net.
Values Equal opportunities, social prevention and reducing disadvantage.
Consequences More public services may cost money in the short term, but this approach holds that they could limit reoffending and exclusion in the longer term.
Centre
Arguments The figures should above all be read carefully. The municipality, police and schools should monitor developments by neighbourhood and periodically assess measures for their effectiveness, without drawing major conclusions from a single statistic.
Values Evidence, feasibility and proportionate government.
Consequences This approach is likely to lead to targeted programmes and better data, but less quickly to major nationwide policy changes.
Right
Arguments The decline is positive, but safety requires continued enforcement. Young people who cross the line should be addressed quickly and clearly, with an emphasis on the responsibility of parents and the local community.
Values Public order, responsibility and protecting victims.
Consequences More monitoring and a stricter response may strengthen the sense of safety, but could also lead to more registrations and tension with young people in vulnerable neighbourhoods.
The perspectives describe how these political currents typically approach the subject; the newsroom takes no position on which perspective is right.
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The key figures and the methodological warning can be found directly in the municipal publication. No causal explanations have been presented as facts.
- confirmed In 2025, 2.3 per cent of 12- to 17-year-olds in Amsterdam were suspected of an offence. — The municipality of Amsterdam reports this percentage. source
- confirmed In Zuidoost, the proportion of juvenile suspects was 2.9 per cent in 2025. — This appears in the municipality’s breakdown by borough. source
- confirmed Since 2025, the municipality has used CBS microdata and recalculated the series back to 2014. — This is explained in Onderzoek en Statistiek’s description of the new method. source
- confirmed Being suspected is not the same as being convicted. — This is a legal distinction; the source refers to suspect registrations. source
Editor's note
The decline and the percentages are based on the municipality’s analysis. The municipality changed its method in 2025; the causes of the decline have not been established.Sources
- Aandeel jeugdige verdachten afgenomen — Onderzoek en Statistiek Amsterdam
- Verdachten; delict, leeftijd, geslacht en woongemeente — CBS
More on this in Dutch media
- NRC — „amsterdam jeugd”
- NU.nl — „amsterdam jeugd”
- De Telegraaf — „amsterdam jeugd”