New figures reveal a 9.4 percent increase in suspects aged ten to 14 in , totaling 13,179 individuals last year. Recent incidents include a 13-year-old involved in a robbery and two minors attacking a boy in .
Governor is now calling for the age of criminal responsibility to be lowered from 14 to twelve. Current laws prevent twelve and 13-year-olds from being held criminally responsible for committing serious acts of violence.
Lower Austria has already implemented kindergarten programs for non-violent conflict resolution. Additionally, parents now face fines of up to 2,500 euros for refusing to cooperate with mandatory integration requirements regarding their children's behavior.