Crimes committed by minors increased by 22.8% in Panama during the first semester of 2026. Between January and June, the Superior Adolescent Prosecutor’s Offices received 2,475 complaints, 460 more than the 2,015 reported in the same period of 2025.
Cases related to sexual freedom and integrity topped the statistics with 875 complaints, followed by crimes against life and personal integrity, with 483; crimes against economic assets, with 453; crimes against collective security, with 357; and crimes against the family legal order and civil status, with 257.
The figures released by the Public Ministry show that the increase was widespread across almost the entire country. The province of Panama concentrated the highest number of complaints with 640 cases, followed by Panama Oeste, with 433; Chiriqui, with 377; Bocas del Toro, with 255; San Miguelito, with 165; Colon, with 161; Veraguas, with 140; Cocle, with 110; Herrera, with 85; Los Santos, with 57; and Darien, with 52.
Compared to the same period last year, the largest absolute increases were recorded in Panama, which went from 535 to 640 complaints (+105); Panama Oeste, from 328 to 433 (+105); Bocas del Toro, from 175 to 255 (+80); Veraguas, from 87 to 140 (+53); and Chiriqui, from 328 to 377 (+49).
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Cases also increased in Colón, Herrera, San Miguelito, and Darién, while Coclé and Los Santos maintained exactly the same number of complaints as in 2025.
The growth was also evident when analyzing the evolution of the main crimes. Reports of crimes against sexual freedom and integrity increased from 385 to 875, which represents 490 additional cases in just one year.
Crimes against life and personal integrity rose from 205 to 483, while crimes against economic assets grew from 256 to 453. Likewise, crimes against collective security went from 230 to 357, and those related to the family legal order and civil status increased from 91 to 257.
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The increase in complaints also had an impact on judicial activity. During the first semester of this year, the Superior Adolescent Prosecutor’s Offices participated in 4,100 hearings, compared to the 3,461 held during the same period of 2025.
Investigations into crimes attributed to minors increased in most of the country’s provinces compared to the first half of 2025.
Among the most frequent actions were 1,037 hearings before compliance judges, 467 unnamed hearings, 443 arraignment hearings, 295 sentence readings, and 272 plea agreement hearings.
Regarding precautionary measures, the Public Prosecutor’s Office reported 328 during the semester. Of these, 175 corresponded to provisional detention and 153 to other measures other than deprivation of liberty.
In contrast, during the same period of 2025, 516 precautionary measures had been applied, of which 133 were provisional detentions and 383 were measures other than detention, which reflects a change in the composition of the precautionary decisions adopted by the judges.
Statistics also show an increase in final discharged cases, which went from 1,377 in the first semester of 2025 to 1,601 this year. The most used mechanism continued to be the opportunity criterion by prosecutor’s resolution, with 868 cases, followed by 285 cases concluded by judgment, 253 declinations to the administrative sphere, 53 dismissals, and 49 conciliations.
Investigations into crimes against life and economic assets also recorded significant growth compared to 2025. Archive
Regarding judgments, between January and June 2026, 305 rulings were issued, compared to 236 in the same period of the previous year. The majority were resolved through plea agreements, with 258 sentences, while 25 corresponded to simplified proceedings and 14 were the result of oral trials.
Furthermore, of the 348 sentences classified by type of ruling, 346 were convictions and only two were acquittals, equivalent to a 99% conviction rate. In the first semester of 2025, 247 sentences had been recorded, of which 241 were convictions and six were acquittals.
The growth of sexual crimes, crimes against life, and crimes against property shows that the phenomenon is not limited to minor offenses and demands a coordinated response between authorities, schools, communities, and households.
