Some young offenders who are told they must undergo compulsory therapy as part of their sentence are having to wait up to a year for treatment, the Volkskrant said on Tuesday.

The waiting lists for some therapies, such as help with aggression, have become stretched because responsibility has now been handed over to local authorities, and they are not geared up to cope, the paper said.

The paper said it is not known how many youngsters are waiting for treatment but that the public prosecution department, child social services and youth psychiatrists are all aware of the problem.

A spokesman for the public prosecution department told the paper that it and child social services plans to discuss the problems with local councils after the summer break.