Although the crime rate in the Czech Republic last year remained roughly at the same level as in 2024, cases involving high levels of aggression have been on the rise, particularly among children, according to data from the Prosecutor General’s Office (NSZ), shared with CTK yesterday by spokesman Petr Maly.
In addition, the “experiential violence” or violent behaviour by children and adolescents that arises mainly from their desire to experience something, test the boundaries, or get an adrenaline rush is also beginning to appear more regularly in the Czech Republic, according to NSZ’s annual report.
This year’s NSZ activity report focused specifically on analysing criminal activities committed by juveniles and children under the age of 15.
When she took office last year, Prosecutor General Lenka Bradacova stated that she was concerned about the increasing aggression and intensity of violence among juveniles. She has argued that greater attention should be paid to working with children.
According to NSZ, the number of violence-motivated offences is increasing in this age category. In cases involving physical violence, NSZ has observed a general increase in aggression, emotional instability and impulsive behaviour among children and juveniles.
“Physical skirmishes most often occur in and around schools and educational institutions or during leisure time in public spaces,” said Maly. ”In some cases, they are characterised by considerable brutality and are often committed in a rowdy manner by a group. In schools, there has also been an increase in the number of attacks in the form of dangerous threats against classmates or teachers.”
Last year, NSZ also recorded a disturbing phenomenon known as “experiential violence”, which appears regularly, albeit still only sporadically, said Maly. “Its manifestations pose a significant danger to society,” he warned.
Last year, 186,858 new criminal proceedings were initiated in the Czech Republic, handled by enforcement bodies and overseen by public prosecutors. A year earlier, there were 189,912 such cases. There was a slight year-on-year increase in the country in the number of violent crimes, sex crimes, and property crimes (excluding theft).
According to NSZ, problematic behaviour is continuing to rise on social media and other communication platforms. This includes not only scams designed to extract money from users, but also a rise in hate speech and verbal attacks.
At the same time, according to NSZ, the number of cases of violence and self-harm among children and adolescents is rising, and these incidents often occur in the online environment.
“In 2025, a more frequent occurrence of threats, vulgar attacks and other forms of cyberbullying was observed on social media and chat platforms,” Maly stated. “A typical pattern is the perpetrators’ rapid deletion of the messages afterwards. However, these instances are often captured by other users and further disseminated. At the same time, a gradual increase in latent risky communication has been observed.”
Prosecutors have also noted a certain shift in the drug scene, with a decline in the number of hard-drug dealers among the younger age group. The most common offenders are now the 40–49 age group. Among the younger generation, distribution in the online environment predominates.
