İstanbul Chief Public Prosecutor Fatih Dönmez stated that efforts are underway for new legislation increasing sentence for juvenile delinquency in the face of crime syndicates specifically targeting children.
"Crime groups enjoy having their names advertised, whether in a good or bad way. Their target audience is children. Our ministry is making legal arrangements for children dragged into crime. Sentence amounts will also be increased," Dönmez said today at a meeting with journalists, according to the state-run Anadolu Agency (AA).
CILDREN PUSHED INTO CRIME SPEAK OUT
'Everyone looks at us from the outside, they should see from the inside too'
The chief prosecutor urged media outlets to avoid using names of such groups to prevent them from gaining public visibility. "Their goal is only to advertise. Our duty here is to minimize the advertising part. We want the names of organizations not to be featured in news," he stated.
The regulations are expected to be part of an upcoming judicial reform package.
In recent years, Turkey has seen the emergence of "new generation crime organizations" that use cartoon character aliases like the "Caspers" or "Daltons." These groups reportedly recruit a significant number of minors into their ranks.
Juvenile delinquency in Turkey: Nearly 20,000 children under 'judicial control measures'
Juvenile delinquency stats
According to 2025 data recently released by the Justice Ministry, there has been an increase in the number of files and crimes involving children dragged into crime. Prosecutor offices held a total of 332,648 files, where 330,496 children were investigated for 683,823 different crime types.
The data shows that 125,086 files involving 143,196 children were carried over from the previous year. In 2025, 207,562 new files were opened, involving 187,300 children and 412,893 crime types. While 209,022 files were resolved, 123,626 files were transferred to the current year.
The population of the 0-17 age group in Turkey is 21.8 million.
2025 justice statistics reveal one in five people in Turkey were suspects
(NÖ/VK)
