Many teenagers and adults believe the number of serious crimes committed by teenagers is on the rise, according to a government survey on juvenile delinquency released Saturday.
The survey, conducted on teenagers and adults separately in November, showed that 88.1 percent of the teenagers and 92.4 percent of the adults who responded believe that serious crimes are on the increase.
Although the figures were slightly lower -- down 4.8 percentage points for teenagers and 1.9 points for adults -- from the last survey in April 1998, the general tendency remains that many teenagers and adults believe there is a rise in serious crimes by teenagers, a Cabinet Office official said.