"In Montenegro, 682 minors were reported for committing criminal offenses in 2025, which represents a significant increase compared to previous years, when 497 minors were reported in 2024, and 451 in 2023," states the Report on the Work of the Prosecutorial Council and the State Prosecutor's Office for 2025.
As the document points out, in addition to unresolved reports from the previous period, state prosecutors conducted proceedings against a total of 1,111 minors as perpetrators of criminal offenses.
"Criminal sanctions may only be applied to perpetrators who were 14 years of age at the time of the commission of the criminal offense, while persons under the age of 14 are considered children and no sanctions provided for by law may be imposed on them," the report states.
During the reporting period, criminal charges against 559 minors were resolved, while charges against 551 minors remained unresolved at the end of the year. Courts imposed educational measures on 247 minors, prison sentences on five, and security measures on one, while in 10 cases the proceedings were suspended.
A special part of the report refers to the criminal protection of children and minors as victims or witnesses of criminal offenses. During 2025, the Expert Service acted in 165 criminal proceedings and worked with a total of 202 children and minors.
State prosecutors requested the participation of the Professional Service in 101 cases for a total of 134 children, and assessments and findings were made for 78 children in 62 cases.
"Children were most often exposed to crimes of domestic violence, sexual violence, physical violence, human trafficking, and traffic crimes," the document states.
In six cases, the criminal act of trafficking in children was recorded, for the purpose of begging, child marriage and sexual exploitation.
The report shows that perpetrators of crimes against children are most often adults, and in a large number of cases, family members.
"The father appears as the perpetrator in 43 cases, the mother in 14, the brother in five, the grandfather in three, while cases in which the perpetrators were uncles or aunts have also been recorded," the report states.
Children harmed by criminal acts were most often female, aged three to 17 years.
In a large number of cases, the expert service recommended that children not be interrogated in order to avoid re-traumatization, and that the interrogation be conducted using audio-visual equipment in a separate room.
"For 41 children, it was recommended not to be interviewed due to stress, anxiety, conflict of loyalty and risk of retraumatization," the document states.
Also, the appointment of proxies for 55 children, psychological and psychiatric treatment for 38 children, as well as the involvement of social work centers for additional protection, were recommended.
During 2025, state prosecutors' offices imposed 75 alternative measures against minors, of which 63 were warnings and 12 were educational orders.
A total of 104 alternative measures were applied to 99 minors, the most common of which were warnings, settlements with the injured party and payment of a sum of money for humanitarian purposes.
"The expert service of the Supreme State Prosecutor's Office supports the application of alternative measures throughout the country and continuously works to improve the criminal protection of children and minors," the report concludes.
Data show that among juvenile offenders, crimes with elements of violence dominate, followed by traffic crimes and theft, while recidivism was recorded in nine juveniles.
