Youth crime soars among homeless migrants in Sweden

The number of crimes in which Swedish police suspect homeless migrant teens of being involved has soared in recent years, local media reported Thursday.

Police in Stockholm suspected homeless minors without caretakers present in the country of committing some 800 reported crimes last year, more than double the figure from 2012, daily newspaper Dagens Nyheter reported.

"It concerns between 500 and 600 boys who have been active criminals in the Stockholm region during this period," Patrick Ungsater with the Stockholm police told the paper.

Police found the greatest increase in crimes that involved narcotics, which soared fivefold among migrant children over the two-year period. Theft was the most commonly reported category, with some 350 cases reported last year alone.

An internal report seen by the newspaper stated that migrant teens who entered the country on their own make up nine of 10 minors currently in police custody.

Police can detain minors but often release them while trying to verify their age with foreign authorities, using methods such as DNA testing and fingerprints, the paper reported.

Public broadcaster Swedish Television recently reported that around 200 children, some as young as nine years old, roam the streets of the Swedish capital after fleeing their home countries. Endit