Dutch police picked up 18,000 minors last year, a rise of 1,100 on 2018 and the first rise in 10 years, the CBS said on Friday.

Almost four in five were boys and for two thirds of the total, it was their first official run-in with the police. One in five teenagers registered as a crime suspect lived in one of the big four cities.

Most were arrested for theft, including shop lifting and stealing bikes, while 20% of cases involved public violence. Just over 6% of the arrests were made in connection with a firearms offence.

In total, the police registered 165,000 people as suspects last year, the CBS said.