Background Despite the increased interest in female offending trajectories over the last decades, knowledge is still limited. Aim To meet the need for more knowledge on female offending trajectories by studying sex differences in criminal career patterns. Method Data on 518 female and 2567 male offenders up to age 30 from the Swedish longitudinal Project Metropolitan study were analysed using latent class analysis. Results The female offenders were much less predisposed to offend than the males, but when they did, they tended to follow a similar set of trajectories to males in their criminal development over time. Four criminal career patterns were identified for each sex. Two patterns were the same between the sexes, and two were gender unique. All career patterns had meaningful and distinct associations with crime characteristics. Conclusions Our study presents indicators relating both to gender differences and to heterogeneity within the group of female offenders. One important finding was the identification of an adult-onset offender group unique to females. This group was characterised by high criminal activity over the years following their late onset. Further research will focus on the childhood origins, pathways and outcomes of different female antisocial and criminal careers.

This chapter explores the female patterning of crime and factors that differentiate between these patterns. The theoretical frame considers the developmental course of criminality and some common developmental pathways or trajectories. This perspective is concerned with identifying factors across people’s lives that account for both stability and change in antisocial behavior and crime. The family, school, and peer groups, expressed in social bonds and social networks, are the dominant sources of social control during childhood and adolescence and although childhood oppositional behavior tends to attenuate these important sources of social control, this is not invariably the case. The chapter has a special focus on a female pattern of crime that has not previously been given so much attention in research, namely an adulthood-onset trajectory. The overall aim is to contribute to a better understanding of factors that contribute to the development of different criminal careers among females by studying individual and social characteristics and how such factors interact to change and shape criminal involvement over two critical developmental phases: early adolescence and the transition into young adulthood for a cohort of Swedish girls.

In criminal career research, the existence of an adult onset trajectory has been identified more or less regularly over recent decades, providing indications of the existence of a group of serious offenders that resembles the early onset chronic offenders. The aim of this study is to further explore the origins and development of the adult onset females with regard to familial and social predictors and life events. Results are based on the Project Metropolitan data for 7,398 girls up to age 30 using logistic regression. The adult onset group showed a markedly higher prevalence of all covariates when compared with non-offenders and they are largely similar to the high level chronics. A logistic regression model including 11 covariates identified only two predictors on which the adult onsetters could be separated from the high level chronics. The authors conclude that there is support for the actual existence of the adult onset group, and that the group is difficult to separate from the high level chronics on the basis of structural factors. Using additional variables, including individual factors, further research should focus on answering the question of how the delayed onset of this group might be explained.

While unsupervised and unstructured socialising with peers is associated with delinquency, less is known about to what extent it fits within adolescents’ daily routine activities; that is, their general, structural time use. Furthermore, research informed by the situational action theory shows that unstructured socialising increases the probability of rule-breaking acts more for individuals with higher crime propensity. Hence, structural time use might explain patterns of unstructured socialising, and crime propensity might explain why some are at an increased risk of committing rule-breaking acts during such situations. The present study aims to connect these three aspects and examine: (i) how adolescents tend to structure their time use, (ii) if their structural time use differentially places them in unstructured socialising, and (iii) whether some adolescents during unstructured socialising run an elevated risk of committing rule-breaking acts due to their morality (as part of their crime propensity) while also taking their structural time use into account. Using a sample of 512 adolescents (age 16) in Sweden, time use and morality are analysed using latent class analysis based on space-time budget data and a self-report questionnaire. Multilevel linear probability models are utilised to examine how rule-breaking acts result from an interaction between an individual’s morality and unstructured socialising, also taking structural time use into account. Results show that the likelihood of unstructured socialising in private but not in public is different across identified latent classes. Adolescents, in general, run an elevated risk of rule-breaking acts during unstructured socialising, irrespective of structural time use. In this study, these acts consist mainly of alcohol consumption. However, the risk is higher for adolescents with lower morality. Adolescents’ time use may account for a general pattern of delinquency, but accounting for rule-breaking acts requires knowledge of the interaction between person and setting.

This study aims to examine offending and victimization in relation to situational criminogenic exposure. Self-reported data was collected at three occasions from a sample of 525 adolescents in Malmö, of which 320 fulfilled the study’s inclusion criteria. The results show that spending a lot of time unsupervised, pursuing unstructured activities, spending a lot of time with peers, and alcohol use, are associated with offending and victimization to various extent. However, the associations vary according to outcome and in relation to the participants’ age. Lifestyle-Routine Activities Theory may explain the findings, but needs to consider age as an important factor in the future. The two conclusions from this study are that (1) offending and victimization should be treated as two different, yet related concepts in relation to situational criminogenic exposure, and that (2) it is important to add an age dimension to the study of situational criminogenic exposure because the associations between the exposure variables and the outcome variables vary from early to late adolescence.

Background: There is a well-documented gender difference in offending, with evidence that boys, on average, are more involved in crime than girls. Opinions differ, however,on whether the causes of crime apply to girls and boys similarly.Aims: Our aim is to explore crime propensity in boys and girls. Our research questions were (1) are there differences between boys and girls in moral values and self-control;(2) are these attributes similarly correlated with offending among girls and boys; and (3) is any interaction effect between morality and self-control identical for girls and boys. Methods: Data were drawn from the Malmö Individual and Neighbourhood Development Study, which includes 481 girls and boys aged 16–17. An 8-item self-control scale was derived from Grasmick’s self-control instrument; we created a 16-item morality scale. Analysis of variance was used to test for differences in scale scores.Results: There were significant gender differences in moral values but not self-control.Moral values and self-control were significantly correlated with offending among both girls and boys. In the multiple regression analysis, the three-way interaction term used to test the interaction between gender, self-control and moral values was non-significant, indicating that the magnitude of the self-control–moral value interaction is not affected by gender.Conclusions: Our findings indicate that effects of morality and self-control are general and apply to girls and boys similarly, so more research is needed to explain gender differences in crime prevalence.

The importance of the city and its neighbourhoods has gained an increasing amount of attention in criminological research over the past decades. A number of studies have shown that neighbourhood characteristics are important for our understanding of the distribution of crime and fear of crime. In addition, characteristics of the residential neighbourhood have been identified as important for our understanding of the collective socialization of children and adolescents. Less is known about how these characteristics evolve over time. It has been argued that neighbourhoods develop and change constantly, nonetheless their relative position in the socioeconomic hierarchy of the city is often stable over time. In the present study the development of 104 Malmö neighbourhoods will be investigated over a period of approximately 15 years in order to extend the knowledge on stability and change of urban neighbourhoods. Data are drawn from the Malmö fear of crime study conducted in 1998 and 2012, comprising a total of approximately 8000 respondents living in the city of Malmö (Sweden). Changes in structural characteristics like neighbourhood socioeconomic status as well as in social processes like collective efficacy will be analysed in order to enhance our understanding of stability or change in victimization and fear of crime at the neighbourhood level. The findings will be discussed in relation to interventions aiming at the development of safe neighbourhoods, as well as in relation to future research.

Purpose To investigate how parental country of birth and individual gender affect utilisation of psychiatric care in adolescents. Methods On the basis of data from the Longitudinal Multilevel Analysis in Scania database, the article employs logistic regression to analyse the utilisation of psychiatric care among adolescents aged 13–18 (n = 92203) who were living in the southern Swedish county of Scania in 2005. Results Adolescents whose parents were born in middle- or low-income countries presented lower levels of psychiatric outpatient care utilisation than those with native parents. Initially, no associations were found between the utilisation of psychiatric inpatient care and parental country of birth. Following adjustment for socio-demographic variables, it was found that adolescents with parents born in low-income countries were less likely to utilise psychiatric inpatient care. Girls presented higher levels of psychiatric care utilisation, but controls for possible interactions revealed that this was true primarily for girls with parents born in Sweden or other high-income countries. Conclusions The different utilisation patterns found among adolescents with different backgrounds should be taken into consideration when planning and designing psychiatric care for adolescents, and when allocating resources. Our results may indicate lower levels of mental health problems among adolescents with parents born in middle- or low-income countries implying that protective factors compensate other stressors implicated in mental health problems. On the other hand, our findings may indicate an unmet health-care need as a result of problems accessing care.

Background In the Swedish society, as in many other societies, many children and adolescents with mental health problems do not receive the help they need. As the Swedish society becomes increasingly multicultural, and as ethnic and economic residential segregation become more pronounced, this study utilises ethnicity and neighbourhood context to examine referral pathways to child and adolescent psychiatric (CAP) clinics. Methods The analysis examines four different sources of referrals: family referrals, social/legal agency referrals, school referrals and health/mental health referrals. The referrals of 2054 children aged 11-19 from the Stockholm Child-Psychiatric Database were studied using multilevel logistic regression analyses. Results Results indicate that ethnicity played an important role in how children and adolescents were referred to CAP-clinics. Family referrals were more common among children and adolescents with a Swedish background than among those with an immigrant background. Referrals by social/legal agencies were more common among children and adolescents with African and Asian backgrounds. Children with Asian or South American backgrounds were more likely to have been referred by schools or by the health/mental health care sector. A significant neighbourhood effect was found in relation to family referrals. Children and adolescents from neighbourhoods with low levels of socioeconomic deprivation were more likely to be referred to psychiatric child and youth clinics by their families in comparison to children from other neighbourhoods. Such differences were not found in relation in relation to the other sources of referral. Conclusions This article reports findings that can be an important first step toward increasing knowledge on reasons behind differential referral rates and uptake of psychiatric care in an ethnically diverse Swedish sample. These findings have implications for the design and evaluation of community mental health outreach programs and should be considered when developing measures and strategies intended to reach and help children with mental health problems. This might involve providing information about the availability and accessibility of health care for children and adolescents with mental health problems to families in certain neighbourhoods and with different ethnic backgrounds.

This paper examines gender differences in young people’s crime involve- ment by testing the core propositions of Situational Action Theory (SAT) in the UK and Sweden. Using data from the Peterborough Adolescent and Young Adult Development Study (PADS+) and the Malmö Individual and Neighbourhood Development Study (MINDS) we explore cross-national differences in crime propensity and exposure to criminogenic settings and the extent to which these can explain gender differences in crime involve- ment. Findings show gender differences in crime involvement across both countries with lower levels of crime involvement among females. The results show within study gender differences in offending and propensity, but not in relation to exposure. Between study differences (for both girls and boys) were found in offending and exposure, but not in propensity. Propensity and exposure appear to predict offending among girls and boys similarly. These findings are discussed in relation to contextual differences.

Over recent decades, several studies have investigated the relationship between features of the social environment and adolescents’ mental health. Neighbourhood characteristics, based on official statistics or measured by means of surveys among the adult population, such as neighbourhood socioeconomic deprivation or social capital have been linked to adolescent mental health. However, adolescents’ individual perceptions of their neighbourhoods may be an equally important factor for understanding variations in adolescent mental health. The objective of this study has been to increase the knowledge on how adolescents’ perceptions of the social characteristics of their neighbourhoods are related to their mental health, and on whether perceptions of the neighbourhood have an independent effect over and above that of the socioeconomic structure of the neighbourhoods in which the adolescents live. Furthermore, we have studied whether this relationship differed between girls and boys, or between adolescents with different ethnic backgrounds. The study was carried out in 2011–2012, and includes 483 adolescents born in 1995 and living in the city of Malmö. Our results show that adolescents’ perceptions of the social characteristics of their neighbourhoods appear to be associated with their mental health, but these associations seem to differ between adolescents depending on individual characteristics (i.e. gender or parental country of birth). Interventions aimed at improving the social characteristics of adolescents’ everyday environments may be an important factor in reducing mental health problems. However, it is important to acknowledge that the influence of perceived neighbourhood characteristics interacts with individual characteristics.

Guided by Situational Action Theory the aim of the present study was to explore the role of the social environment and its interaction with personal characteristics and experiences in crime causation among young people in a Swedish city. The interaction between young people’s crime propensity and exposure to criminogenic settings on crime involvement was tested. Furthermore, the possibility of gender-specific criminogenic settings was explored. Data from the longitudinal research project Malmö Individual and Neighbourhood Development study (MINDS) were analysed for the adolescent period. In the present study data from the second and third wave of data collection was used. The data concern in-depth data detailing self-control, morality, deterrence sensitivity and decision-making. Individuals’ exposure to different environments was collected using a Space-Time Budget (STB). The STB provide data on the participants exposure to different settings by measuring which settings they take part of and what activities they engage in, from which we gain information on their activity fields. Characteristics of settings were measured through a separate community survey. The result showed that exposure to criminogenic settings was associated with crime involvement for boys and girls respectively. However, the impact of exposure to criminogenic settingsdiffered between the sexes. The findings will be discussed in relation to policy implications and furtherresearch.

Guided by Situational Action Theory the aim was to explore the role of the social environment and its interaction with personal characteristics and experiences in crime causation among young people in a Swedish city. The interaction between young people’s crime propensity and exposure to criminogenic settings on crime involvement was tested. Futhermore ,the possibility of gender-specific criminogenic settings was explored. Data from The Malmö Individual and Neighbourhood Development study (MINDS) were analysed for the adolescent period. MINDS was modelled after the Peterborough Adolescent and Young Adult Development Study (PADS+) and consists of 560 randomly selected children born in 1995, living in the city of Malmö, Sweden. The data concern in-depth data detailing self-control through executive functions and risk-taking, morality, deterrence sensitivity and decision-making. Individuals’ exposure to different environments was collected using a Space-Time Budget. Characteristics of settings were measured through a separate community survey. The results showed that exposure to criminogenic settings was associated with crime involvement for boys and girls respectively. However, the impact of exposure to criminogenic settings differed between the sexes. The findings will be discussed in relation to policy implications and further research.

The aim of the study was to examine if there is an association between how children and adolescents are referred to psychiatric child and youth clinics and what type of treatment they receive, the duration of treatment, treatment outcome, and if they occur in police registers. Knowledge on how children’s pathways to care affect different aspects of their treatment is limited, so is the knowledge on the association between source of referral and child and adolescent criminality. If source of referral is associated with differences in treatment, treatmentoutcome and criminality this may have important implications for the design and implementation of psychiatric care for children, and for the development of strategies to prevent future criminality. The data used in the analysis are drawn from The Stockholm Child-psychiatric database which consists of approximately 7600 children who consulted the Psychiatric Child and Youth Clinics (PBU) in the county of Stockholm, were born 1989 or earlier, and finished their contacts with the Psychiatric Child and Youth Clinics in the years 2003 to 2005.

There is a well documented gender gap in crime involvement between girls and boys. It has been argued that that the underlying causes of crime involvement may not be identical across girls and boys. On the other hand, recently developed theories like the Situational Action Theory (SAT) claims that the causes of crime are general and apply to girls and boys similarly. This paper examines gender differences in young people’s crime involvement by testing some of the core propositions of SAT in the UK and Sweden. Using data from the Peterborough Adolescent and Young Adult Development Study (PADS ) and the Malmö Individual and Neighbourhood Development Study (MINDS) we explore cross-national differences in crime propensity and exposure to criminogenic settings and the extent to which these can explain gender differences in crime involvement. Data from two waves of data collection (age 15 and age 16) are used. Findings show gender differences in crime involvement across both countries with lower levels of crime involvement among girls. However, the differences in crime involvement between girls and boys appear to be greater in the UK than in Sweden. These findings are discussed in relation to country specific gender differences in exposure and propensity.

The aim of this study was twofold; first we wanted to examine if there were actual differences in mental health problems between children with immigrant and Swedish background. Second, we wanted to examine the impact of neighborhood disadvantage, peer status, and family circumstances on mental health problems among children with immigrant background, as well as the association between ethnicity, level of neighborhood disadvantage, and contacts with Psychiatric Child and Youth Clinics. Multilevel analyses, using HLM 6.0, were carried out on data relating immigrant children’s mental health and contacts with psychiatric clinics to neighborhood characteristics. Results indicate that immigrant children tend to have more mental health problems than Swedish children, and factors related to the individual’s childhood family situation explain a considerable part of the differences. No significant differences in mental health problems were found between neighborhoods. The data used in the analysis are drawn from (1) the Swedish longitudinal database Project Metropolitan which consists of a cohort of approximately 15000 children born in 1953 and living in the Stockholm metropolitan area in 1963 and (2) The Stockholm Child-Psychiatric database containing approximately 20 000 children (including matched controls). Further research is needed on how social settings beyond the neighborhood can have an effect on children’s mental health, antisocial behavior, and well being.

The present study presents data from the longitudinal research project Malmö Individual and Neighbourhood Development study (MINDS). The study is modelled after PADS+ and guided by Situational Action Theory (SAT) with the overall aim to explore the role of the social environment and its interaction with personal characteristics and experiences in crime causation among young people in a Swedish city. The specific aim of the present study was to investigate to what extent young girls and boys differ in crime involvement, crime propensity and exposure to crimino- genic settings and also how these features changes over time. Data from the second and third wave of data collection was used. The data concern in-depth data detailing self-control, morality, deterrence sensitivity and decision-making. Individuals’ exposure to different environments was col- lected using a Space-Time Budget (STB). Overall, the results showed that crime propensity as well as exposure to criminogenic settings was associ- ated with crime involvement for boys and girls, respectively. However, the impact of exposure to criminogenic settings differed between the sexes

Fear of crime and inequality – Stability and change in residential neighbourhoods over time.

Fear of crime is not equally distributed among the Swedish population, and levels of fear differ between residential neighbourhoods. A follow-up of the results from the Sweish Crime Survey from 2006 to 2014 shows that the population in general report decreasing levels of fear of crime. At the same time, however, segregation in Sweden is increasing and the observed pattern of a decrease in fear of crime may not apply to all neighbourhoods or benefit the entire population. We employed data from two studies on fear of crime, performed in Malmö, Sweden, in 1998 and followed up in 2012 with a total of more than 8000 respondents. Multilevel analyses of fear of crime reveal that although the general pattern is that fear of crime is decreasing, differences between neighbourhoods are increasing, suggesting a segregation problem.

Mental health problems among adolescents have become a major public health issue, and it is therefore important to increase knowledge on the contextual determinants of adolescent mental health. One such determinant is the socioeconomic structure of the neighbourhood. The present study has two central objectives, (i) to examine if neighbourhood socioeconomic deprivation is associated to individual variations in utilisation of psychiatric care in a Swedish context, and (ii) to investigate if neighbourhood boundaries are a valid construct for identifying contexts that influence individual variations in psychiatric care utilization. Data were obtained from the Longitudinal Multilevel Analysis in Scania (LOMAS) database. The study population consists of all boys and girls aged 13–18 years (N=18,417), who were living in the city of Malmö, Sweden, in 2005. Multilevel logistic regression analysis was applied to estimate the probability of psychiatric care utilisation. The results from the study indicate that the neighbourhood of residence had little influence on psychiatric care utilisation. Although we initially found a variation between neighbourhoods, this general contextual effect was very small (i.e. 1.6 %). The initial conclusive association between the neighbourhood level of disadvantage and psychiatric care utilisation (specific contextual effect) disappeared following adjustment for individual and family level variables. Our results suggest the neighbourhoods in Malmö (at least measured in terms of SAMS-areas), do not provide accurate information for discriminating adolescents utilisation of psychiatric care. The SAMS-areas appears to be an inappropriate construct of the social environment that influences adolescent utilisation of psychiatric care. Therefore, public health interventions should be directed to the whole city rather than to specific neighbourhoods. However, since geographical, social or cultural contexts may be important for our understanding of adolescent mental health further research is needed to identify such contexts.

Situational Action Theory (SAT) explains people’s acts of crime as an outcome of the interaction between their crime propensity (dependent on their personal morals and ability to exercise self-control) and their criminogenic exposure (dependent on the criminogenic circumstances of the settings in which they take part). In this paper, utilising UK (PADS+) and Swedish (MINDS) data for the ages 15-16, we will explore cross-nationally to what extent the SAT framework can help explain within and between gender differences in young people’s crime involvement.

This paper examines gender differences in young people’s crime involvement by testing the core propositions of Situational Action Theory (SAT) in the UK and Sweden. Using data from the Peterborough Adolescent and Young Adult Development Study (PADS+) and the Malmö Individual and Neighbourhood Development Study (MINDS) we explore cross-national differences in crime propensity and exposure to criminogenic settings and the extent to which these can explain gender differences in crime involvement. Data from two waves of data collection (age 15 and age 16) are used. Findings show gender differences in crime involvement across both countries with lower levels of crime involvement among females. However, the differences in crime involvement between females and males appear to be greater in the UK than in Sweden. These findings are discussed in relation to differences in exposure and propensity.

Background: Externalizing symptoms in children (aggression, oppositionality, prop- erty and status violations), and the Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) triad of problems (inattention, hyperactivity, impulsivity) display a substantial co- morbidity. The “short temper” problem is common to these syndromes, which are predictive of a range of negative life outcomes including substance abuse and crimi- nality in adulthood. There is a gender gap for the syndromes (boys are more af- fected), for criminality (men are more criminal) and knowledge (we know less about girls’ criminal careers). Aims: The main aim was to compare crime rates and crime profiles among former Child and Adolescent Psychiatric (CAP) patients with cor- responding data for matched controls, focusing externalizing and internalizing psy- chiatric symptoms, sex and adverse social factors. Method: Data for 6055 former CAP-Stockholm outpatients were extracted from available treatment registers. For each CAP patient, two matched controls from the general population were randomly selected from the same area of residence, of the same sex and with the same year of birth (N approx. 12,000). Data on criminality for these individuals were obtained from a Swedish police register which also includes crimes committed prior to age 15. Results: Overall, twice as many former CAP patients were registered for crimes at a mean age of 21.4 compared to the controls. The over-representation was larger for crimes of violence. Females were registered for a much lower number of crimes, par- ticularly crimes of violence (gender gap). The gender gap among the CAP patients was smaller than among controls. Compared with controls, CAP patients character- ized by externalizing problems at referral had an odds ratio (OR) for crimes of 5 for males and 10 for females. Neglect was the only adverse social factor which was asso- ciated with a higher crime rate and affected boys more than girls. Compared to pre- vious Swedish CAP cohorts, the criminality of the current cohort was much higher. Conclusion: In-depth studies of female crime careers characterized by externalising problems are needed. Child psychiatric services must find new and more effective ways of identifying and treating children with such problems, regardless of sex. The findings can guide the choice of strategies which will reduce crime rate.

BACKGROUND: Poor self-control is a strong correlate of criminal propensity. It is conceptualized and operationalized differently in criminology than in other scientific traditions.

AIMS: (1) To verify the dimensionality of the criminological Grasmick self-control items, other self-regulation items and morality ones. (2) To re-interpret the dimensions using a clinical perspective, a taxonomic/diagnostic model and references to possible "biological underpinnings." (3) Validate the dimensions by associations with crime.

METHOD: Population: all persons born 1995 in Malmö and living there at age 12. A random sample (N = 525) filled in a comprehensive self-report questionnaire on themes like personality, crime/abuse and social aspects at age 15, 16 and 18. Age 18 data were analysed: 191 men and 220 women.

RESULTS: Self-regulation items were 4-dimensional: ADHD problems (Behavior control and Executive skills) and two Aggression factors. Morality items formed a fifth dimension. Negative Affect and Social interaction factors covered the rest of the variance. The validity of these factors was backed up by correlations with similar items/factors. Self-regulation subscales predicted crimes better than the Grasmick scale; an interaction with morality improved prediction still further. Sex differences were over-all small with three exceptions: Aggression, Morality and Negative affect.

CONCLUSION: We identified four dimensions of the 20-item Grasmick instrument: Cognitive action control (impulsiveness/sensation seeking, response inhibition), Executive skills/future orientation, Affective/aggression reactivity and Aggression control. All should be possible to link to brain functional modules. Much can be gained if we are able to formulate an integrated model of self-regulation including distinct brain functional modules, process-and trait-oriented models, relevant diagnoses and clinical experiences of individual cases.

Objective: This study was designed to explore the concentration of schizophrenic patients to socially disadvantaged areas in Malmö. Method: A case-finding study of schizophrenia was combined with a victimisation survey. Data was factor-analysed and visualised using geographical information system software. Results: The schizophrenic patients lived predominantly in socially disorganised areas characterised by high levels of disorder, fear of crime and victimisation. Regression analyses showed that local informal social control and concrete fear of crime explained one-third of the variance in schizophrenia prevalence. Measures of victimisation and social disorder, together with schizophrenia prevalence, were found to explain 52% of the variance of concrete fear of crime in the neighbourhood. Conclusions: Our hypothesis is that these circumstances cause vicious circles that tend to maintain or worsen an already negative situation, with detrimental effects on psychosocial functioning and on the quality of life of the persons with schizophrenia. Key words: schizophrenia, crime, fear of crime, victimisation, social disorganisation

This study tested a cross-level integrated model of neighbourhood level disorder and individual level vulnerability, in relation to explaining individual differences in worry about criminal victimization1. The aim of the present study is (1) to establish if there is unique neighbourhood level variation in worry about criminal victimization, independent of neighbourhood composition, and(2) to establish the extent to which two proposed mechanisms at the individual level, prior local victimization and perceived disorder, act as mediators of a hypothesised effect of neighbourhood level disorder. Given the hierarchical structure of the research question a series of multilevel analyses based on data from a survey of more than 4,000 residents of a Swedish urban are a was performed. Findings by and large indicate that there are significant neighbourhood level differences in worry about criminal victimization and that these differences are not completely due to compositional effects. Neighbourhood disorder has effects on worry about criminal victimization, independent of the composition of neighbourhoods. The present study suggests that neighbourhood disorder has consequences for worry about criminal victimization and that prior victimization and perceived disorder are key mediators of the contextual effect of neighbourhood disorder. The implications of these findings are discussed. 

De olika verktyg för riskbedömning av upprepat våld på individnivå som används inom svensk polis idag och hur de fungerar i rutinverksamhet har hittills utvärderats i begränsad utsträckning. I föreliggande rapport sammanfattas resultat från fyra studier i vilka verktygen Check-10(+), SARA:SV och Skånemodellen har utvärderats (Mellgren m.fl ., 2012; 2014a; 2014b; Svalin m.fl ., 2014). Samtliga verktyg bygger på kunskap om riskfaktorer för de olika brottstyper för vilka återfallsrisken ska bedömas och stöd- och skyddsåtgärder sättas in. Den mesta kunskapen kommer dock från andra verksamheter än polisverksamhet. Följande frågor diskuteras i rapporten: *Vilka är de ärenden som blir föremål för strukturerad bedömning och hur fungerar den initiala bedömningen som sorteringsgrund? * Bidrar processen med riskanalys till minskad upprepad utsatthet? * Kan riskanalys anses fungera väl i polisverksamhet? Den initiala bedömningen är det första steget i riskanalysens process. Om den inte fungerar är sannolikheten större att inte heller den strukturerade bedömningen i steg två fungerar. Genomgången av de ärenden som blir föremål för riskanalys med Skånemodellen, Check-10(+) och SARA:SV visar att få av alla de ärenden som anmäls under ett år bedöms strukturerat. Av dem är det endast ett fåtal där det bedöms föreligga särskilt förhöjd risk, de fl esta bedöms som låg eller medelhög risk. För att vidare svara på frågan om de mest allvarliga ärendena blir bedömda bör en uppföljning göras för ett urval av de ärenden som inte går vidare till strukturerad bedömning för att kunna jämföra återfallsfrekvensen med och utan bedömning och tillhörande stöd- och skyddsåtgärder. För samtliga undersökta verktyg och de bedömningar som genomförts utifrån dessa är det interna bortfallet stort för vissa faktorer, särskilt för de som rör gärningspersonens psykiska hälsa. * Detta innebär i praktiken att bedömningar av risk görs utan ett komplett underlag. Det i sin tur innebär att den träffsäkerhet man haft i de vetenskapliga studierna av verktygen inom andra verksamheter inte går att uppnå i polisens vardagsarbete. Förlusten i träffsäkerhet kan vara så stor att bedömningen närmar sig slumpnivån. Då är det meningslöst att alls göra riskbedömningar. * Verktygen visar låg prediktiv validitet, andelen upprepat utsatta bland ärenden som bedömts med Skånemodellen och SARA:SV är stor, till- gången till åtgärder är begränsad och åtgärdernas preventiva förmåga förefaller vara svag och kan i vissa fall antagligen öka brottsrisken. Riskbedömningarna kan vara mycket bra men om de åtgärder som vidtas på basen av riskbedömningar och ekonomiska kalkyler inte har någon effekt, t.ex. en viss brottspreventiv åtgärd som enligt kriminologisk forskning inte fungerar brottspreventivt på en viss grupp av kriminella – då är vinsterna med verksamheten små. När de första moderna riskbedömningsmetoderna lanserades i mitten av 1990-talet fokuserade man ute slutande på riskbedömningen – inte vad som skulle göras utifrån den. I dag är riskbedömningar av detta slag alltid sammankopplade med riskhanteringsåtgärder. Om ambitionen är att basera denna typ av verksamhet på vetenskap räcker det inte att utvärdera om riskbedömningarna är tillräckligt bra – vi måste också utvärdera effekten av de åtgärder som styrs av riskbedömningen. Mot bakgrund av detta är en av de viktigaste slutsatserna – och rekommendationerna – att kunskapen om hur verktygen fungerar måste öka innan rekommendationer görs. Sammanfattningsvis, leder riskanalys till minskad upprepad utsatthet för brott och kan verktygen anses fungera väl i svensk polisverksamhet? Ett kortfattat svar på frågan är: Nej, inte baserat på de utvärderingar som genomförts inom detta projekt. Kunskapen om vilka ärenden som inte bedöms är begränsad och vi vet inte om ”rätt” ärenden går vidare. Baserat på att fl est ärenden bedöms som låg eller medelhög risk är en rimlig slutsats att många högriskärenden missas. Bortfallet är ibland så högt att bedömningens validitet måste ifrågasättas, dvs. man mäter inte det man avser att mäta och en bedömning baserad på bristfällig information riskerar att bli felaktig. Detta bekräftas av att träffsäkerheten är låg och andelen upprepat utsatta hög. I tillägg är interbedömarreliabiliteten i vissa avseenden låg, både för Skånemodellen och för SARA:SV. En kritisk faktor är det första steget i riskbedömningen (screening), dvs. procedurerna för att välja ut ett begränsat antal av alla inkommande ärenden, som sedan går vidare till en strukturerad riskbedömning. Det bör vara möjligt att skapa välfungerande screening-rutiner på basen av redan kända sakförhållanden och befi ntliga databaser, dvs. aktuariska riskfaktorer som är omedelbart tillgängliga för polisen vid screeningen. Sådana riskfaktorer är ålder, kön, tidigare kriminalitet i allmänhet och våldskriminalitet i synnerhet, offer (närstående och/eller andra), brottsbredd (många olika typer av tidigare brott), vårddomar och indikatorer på missbruk. Polismyndigheten bör genomföra större utbildnings- och implementeringsinsatser samt följa upp, utvärdera och anpassa arbetet med riskbedömning av våld på individnivå. Därefter bör nationella verktyg rekommenderas och riktlinjer för arbetet tas fram. Detta kräver resurser, men menar man allvar med satsningen på riskbedömningar är detta nödvändigt. Punktinsatsernas tid bör vara förbi och det långsiktiga förbättringsarbetet inledas omgående.

I följande rapport sammanfattas resultatet från en utvärdering av Check-10(+). Check-10(+) är en av de strukturerade checklistor för bedömning av risk för upprepat våld på individnivå som används inom svensk polis. Rikspolisstyrelsen föreslog efter en inspektion av polismyndigheternas rutiner vid riskanalys (Rikspolisstyrelsen, 2010) att de metoder och verktyg som används inom svensk polis för att bedöma risken för upprepat våld på individnivå bör utvärderas. Detta baserades på att de olika metoder för riskanalys och specifika verktyg för riskbedömning som tillämpas inom svensk polis har utvärderats i begränsad utsträckning, och att kunskapen om hur verktygen fungerar är bristfällig. I en uppföljande inspektion av myndigheternas arbete med riskanalys (Rikspolisstyrelsen 2014:9) rekommenderas att verktygen SARA, SAM, PATRIARK och eventuellt Check-10(+) ska användas nationellt. Utvärderingen bygger på en genomgång av 98 ärenden i vilka en riskbedömning med Check-10(+) genomfördes i Polismyndigheten i Uppsala län. Arbetssättet och verktyget studeras avseende den initiala bedömningen där ärenden som sedan går vidare till strukturerad bedömning sorteras ut, internt bortfall, rekommenderade och genomförda stöd- och skyddsåtgärder, återfall i brott samt fördelning av risknivåer. De ärenden som bedömdes med Check-10(+) var olika och inkluderade brottstyper som olaga hot, och misshandel men även mordbrand och utpressning för att nämna några. Det interna bortfallet var stort främst avseende faktorer som var associerade med gärningspersonen med det gemensamt att de rörde personlighetsrelaterade egenskaper som kriminell attityd, impulskontroll och bristande medkänsla. Bortfallet var så stort (mer än 30%) att instrumentets validitet var hotad. De flesta ärenden bedöms i mitten av den skala på vilken risken och hotbilden bedöms. Det vanligaste är att det föreligger viss risk eller risk och låg hotbild eller förhöjd hotbild (2 eller 3). Få ärenden bedöms som ringa risk eller ingen hotbild och antalet ärenden där risken bedöms som betydande och hotbilden som hög är mycket få. Antalet riskfaktorer stiger med risknivån och hotbildsnivån. Ju fler riskfaktorer som föreligger desto högre bedöms alltså risken och hotbilden. I knappt hälften av ärendena rekommenderas någon stöd- och/eller skyddsåtgärd och i ungefär en fjärdedel av det totala antalet ärenden genomfördes den rekommenderade åtgärden. De åtgärder som rekommenderas är i huvudsak samtal som innehåller information om brottsofferstöd och riskanalysens resultat, motiverande samtal (gäller främst vittnen), säkerhetssamtal och säkerhetsbesiktning av bostaden. Det är inte möjligt att identifiera något mönster i siffrorna. Oavsett risknivå rekommenderas åtgärder i ungefär hälften av ärendena. Oavsett allvarlighetsgrad i befarat återfall rekommenderas åtgärder i ca 40% av ärendena. Åtgärder på basen av rekommendationerna genomförs i ca 60% av fallen, också oavsett risk och allvarlighetsgrad. Det finns alltså inte någon systematik i detta och riskbedömningen styr inte åtgärdsrekommendationerna. Detta är den enda utvärdering av verktyget som hittills genomförts. Den viktigaste slutsatsen är därför att kunskapen om hur Check-10(+) fungerar i polisverksamhet måste öka innan verktyget rekommenderas som en nationell modell för bedömning av risk för generellt våld på individnivå. Resultaten från föreliggande utvärdering pekar på brister som måste åtgärdas och det bör föras en diskussion kring möjligheterna att bedöma risken för upprepat våld för så olika brottstyper som de som bedöms med verktyget i den här studien.

Kapitlet introducerar ämnet kriminologi och ger exempel på innehåll, teoretiska och metodologiska inriktningar och vanliga forskningsområden. I kapitlet introduceras också begreppet akademi och dess innehåll och aktörer.

Children are nested in families, and families are nested within communities (e.g. neighbourhoods). This implies that the behaviour of both children and their parents is influenced by external and contextual factors. The aim of the present study was to explore the relationship between parental monitoring and neighbourhood disorder and collective efficacy from the perspective of the adolescent and to investigate how perceived monitoring and neighbourhood characteristics were related to and interact in predicting adolescent offending. The characteristics of the adolescent's neighbourhoods were assessed using two different data sources: adolescents' own perceptions and an independent, aggregated measure from a community survey. The analyses showed that the adolescents' perceptions of neighbourhood level of disorder and collective efficacy were associated with both adolescent-perceived parental monitoring and adolescent offending, while the corresponding measures from the community survey were not. As regards the prediction of offending, adolescent-perceived parental monitoring is the most important predictor. Neither collective efficacy nor disorder appear to interact with parental monitoring in explaining adolescent offending. Future research would contribute to the field by examining the effect and interaction between the study variables in a sample with younger adolescents as well as by including parents' perceptions. As to practical implications, our results indicate that families living in disadvantaged neighbourhoods may benefit from targeted support aimed at handling negative neighbourhood influences.

The aim of the present study is to examine age-varying and long term associations between parental monitoring, involvement with deviant peers and substance use in a sample of adolescents followed from 12-17 years of age. The sample is drawn from the Malmö Individual and Neighbourhood Development Study (MINDS) and constitutes of four waves of data collection with 190 adolescents and their parents. OLS analyses were conducted to examine whether the associations between the study variables differ by age group. The sobel method was used for testing the significance of indirect effects. A longitudinal path-model was also specified and estimated to examine whether there are long term effects of parental monitoring on involvement with deviant peers and substance use. The main findings in the study show that the effect of parental monitoring on substance use is significantly mediated through involvement with deviant peers in all age groups. Further, the results show that parental monitoring in early adolescence is associated with substance use in later adolescence in different ways, mainly through involvement with deviant peers.

Within the Situational Action Theory (SAT), exposure to criminogenic settings is one of the core aspects in the explanation of young people’s crime involvement. To decrease exposure to crime-inducing settings we need to increase knowledge of the determinants of exposure to these kinds of settings. The present study aims at examining the importance of how changes in two monitoring-related measures: parental knowledge and time spent with family relate to changes in what can be considered as crime-inducing settings: involvement with deviant peers and time spent with peers in unsupervised and unstructured activities. The sample is drawn from MINDS, and constitutes data on the 482 young persons who participated in both the second and third wave of data collection (age 15-17). The data concern in-depth data detailing individual characteristics as well as family and peer related variables. Young person’s exposure to different settings was collected using two research instruments, a survey and a Space-Time Budget (STB). The STB provide data on the participants exposure to different settings by measuring which settings they take part of and what activities they engage in, from which we gain information on their activity fields. Negative binomial multilevel analyses were carried out in order to examine both between- and within-person effects. The findings indicate that monitoring has an overall negative effect of on time spent in criminogenic settings. However, examining individual change over time shows that changes in parental knowledge is associated to change in involvement with deviant peers but not in time spent unsupervised in unstructured activities. Changes in time spent with family is associated to changes in time spent unsupervised in unstructured activities but not to changes in involvement with deviant peers.

Relapse into intimate partner violence (IPV) can potentially be predicted and counter-measures applied. This study examines the predictive validity of a violence risk assessment tool: the Police Screening Tool for Violent Crimes (PST-VC) among a sample of 65 offenders. All PST-VC assessments regarding IPV that were conducted at the Scania police department in 2010 were included in the sample. Follow-up time was 16–28 months, and all reported incidents with the same victim and suspected offender were recorded. The PST-VC demonstrated limited effect in the ability to identify high-risk offenders and predict repeat victimization. Interventions against the offender and victim protective actions were more often recommended in high-risk cases but did not lower the number of IPV relapses. The study suggests that the PST-VC is not a promising instrument.

Background: Risk assessments are used by the police in order to identify the need for victim protection. In Sweden, two kinds of methods are used in police settings – variants of instruments developed in the HCR-20 tradition, and an instrument designed within one regional police authority: the Police screening Tool for Violent Crime (PST-VC). Aim: To study the reliability and validity of the PST-VC as a general tool for assessing and managing threat and violence in police settings. Method: Seventeen cases were evaluated by ten police employees. Each case was evaluated by two assessors randomly paired and blind to each other´s assessments. All cases were also assessed previously at the time of the police report, together 51 pairs of assessments. Results: The inter-rater agreement was examined for five variables: the suspected offenders’ access to weapons, previous offences, previous violence/threat against the victim, the global risk assessments and the recommended protective actions. Inter-rater agreement was highest for the global assessments and the recommended protective actions. However, agreeing about these global ratings was associated with widely varying scores for the structured variables among the raters. The fairly high reliability was most likely due to similar “gut feelings” induced by the police culture.

Violence risk assessment and management is conducted in police settings in order to prevent repeat victimization. One of the most frequently used violence risk assessment tools in this specific context is called the Brief Spousal Assault Form for the Evaluation of Risk (B-SAFER), which focuses on intimate partner violence (IPV). The present study examines B-SAFER assessments conducted by police employees, related protective actions and repeat IPV crimes in order to study: 1) to what extent risk- and victim vulnerability factors in the B-SAFER predicted global risk assessments, 2) the predictive accuracy of each B-SAFER item and the global risk assessments with regard to repeat IPV, 3) to what extent recommended protective actions were implemented and 4) the preventive effect of the implemented protective actions on repeat IPV. There were a large number of missing cases in the assessments and the risk and victim vulnerability factors only contributed to the global risk assessments to a minor extent. The predictive validity was low overall, few protective actions were implemented and those which were actually implemented did not appear to prevent repeat IPV. The continuous education and training of assessors is required to improve the work of violence risk assessment and management in police settings.

Risk assessments are used by the police in order to identify the need for victim protection. The aim of this study was to examine the inter-rater reliability of two violence risk assessment tools; the Police Screening Tool for Violent Crimes (PST-VC) and the Brief Spousal Assault Form for the Evaluation of Risk (B-SAFER), used by police employees in two different police authorities in Sweden. The inter-rater agreement was evaluated for both tools, with respect to global risk assessments, recommended protective actions and risk- and victim vulnerability factors. The main results showed that the inter-rater agreement was highest for the global assessments and widely varying, from very low to fairly high, for the structured variables. The fairly high reliability for the global risk assessments was most likely due to shared assumptions (heuristics, tacit knowledge) among the assessors rather than being based on the information obtained by the tools.

Föreliggande rapport presenterar resultatet från en utvärderingsstudie av polisens arbete med riskbedömning och riskhantering (samlingsnamn riskanalys) utifrån riskbedömningsverktyget SARA:SV som används för att bedöma risken för upprepat våld i nära relationer på individnivå. Materialet som analyserats omfattar 320 ärenden som efter initial bedömning blev föremål för SARA:SV-bedömning av riskanalytiker vid Polismyndigheten i Uppsala under åren 2011 och 2012. Fokus för utvärderingen är resultatet av de riskanalyser som genomförts, inte arbetets organisering, även om den aspekten berörs. Verktyget har främst utvärderats avseende internt bortfall, prediktiv validitet, rekommenderade och genomförda stöd- och skyddsåtgärder samt interbedömarreliabilitet. Resultaten visar att det interna bortfallet för riskfaktorerna varierar mellan drygt fyra procent för faktorn tidigare våld (aktuell situation) och 53 % för faktorn psykiska problem (bakgrund). Variationerna mellan variablerna är stora men bortfallet är systematiskt lägre för riskfaktorerna rörande gärningspersonens bakgrund (4-39 %) jämfört med faktorerna som rör gärningspersonens psykosociala situation (10-53 %). Jämfört med liknande studier är bortfallet högt. I praktiken innebär det stora interna bortfallet att ett alltför stort antal bedömningar baseras på otillräcklig information om gärningsperson och brottsoffer. Detta leder till att validiteten inte kan garanteras eftersom bedömningen av risken inte bygger på den information som krävs för att bedöma risken. Ju högre bedömd risk, både för bedömning av sannolikhet och allvarlighetsgrad i aktuell situation och bakgrund, desto fler var de föreliggande riskfaktorerna. En dryg tredjedel av hela undersökningsgruppen blir upprepat utsatta för något brott. I flertalet fall är alltså de åtgärder som sätts in inte tillräckliga för att förhindra ytterligare brott. Vi noterar också att kategorin låg/viss risk är störst, att bedömarna inte använder hela bedömningsskalan samt att återfallen är vanligare i ärenden som inte bedömts med hög risk. En stor andel av de upprepade brotten begicks kort tid efter bedömningen. Detta innebär sammantaget att verktyget SARA:SV har låg grad av prediktiv validitet i föreliggande studie och fungerar dåligt för att inom polisverksamhet predicera återfall i brott i föreliggande studie (dvs. diskriminera mellan grupperna återfall/ej återfall) eftersom antalet korrekta förutsägelser endast är ungefär 7 av 50. Den vanligaste rekommenderade åtgärden är kontaktförbud (en dryg fjärdedel av fallen) och information om brottsofferstödjande verksamheter i ungefär lika många fall. Säkerhetssamtal och säkerhetsbesiktning rekommenderas i drygt 20 % av ärendena. Övriga åtgärder än dessa förekommer sällan. Totalt rekommenderades 355 åtgärder. I 42 % av ärendena rekommenderades inga åtgärder, i 30 % en åtgärd, i 10 % två eller tre åtgärder och i ett litet antal fall (färre än 5 %) fyra eller maxantalet fem åtgärder. Samtliga åtgärder rekommenderas i större utsträckning än de genomförs. Kontaktförbud beviljas av åklagare endast i knappt hälften av de fall där de rekommenderas av den som gör riskbedömningen. Interbedömmarreliabiliteten är god för de sammanfattande bedömningarna men detta är skenbart. Samstämmigheten uppkommer genom den magkänsla som är gemensam för bedömarna: polisutbildningen, gemensamma erfarenheter, poliskulturen och lokala kulturer (t.ex. bland polisanställda som arbetar med riskbedömningar). Tittar vi på hur två bedömare motiverar att de bedömde ett visst fall på ett visst sätt (utifrån svaren på huruvida de enskilda faktorerna föreligger helt eller delvis eller inte föreligger) är dessa helt olika. Eftersom man är osäker på sin bedömning håller man sig i mitten av bedömningsskalorna. Man använder sig i huvudsak av två (av fem) skalsteg för den sammanfattande bedömningen. Ytterst syftar riskbedömning och riskhantering i detta sammanhang till att förhindra återfall och upprepad viktimisering av brottsoffren. Vår undersökning kan inte ge några definitiva svar på om detta syfte uppfylls. Detta med anledning av att det är omöjligt att med strikt vetenskaplig metod studera huruvida riskbedömning förhindrar brott. Detta är ett problem som vidhäftar alla studier inom området. Vi kan inte identifiera en risk och sedan inte göra något åt den. Det går inte att slumpa riskbedömningen, dvs. singla slant om en viss gärningsperson har hög eller låg risk och sedan agera utifrån detta när åtgärder vidtas. Kortfattat visar utvärderingen att bortfallet är stort och att vissa faktorer, särskilt de personlighetsmässiga faktorerna, är svåra att bedöma, och att riskbedömning i sig är ett svårt uppdrag som utan rätt implementering och utbildning blir mycket svårt att lyckas med. Dessutom är evidensbasen för den preventiva förmågan hos de åtgärder som finns tillgängliga svag.

This study examines how child and adolescent referrals to psychiatric child and youth clinics are associated with ethnicity and neighbourhood of residence. Four sources of referrals are examined: family referrals, social/legal agency referrals, school referrals and health/mental health referrals. Referrals of 2054 children aged 11-19 from the Stockholm Child-Psychiatric Database were studied using multilevel logistic regression. Results indicate the importance of ethnicity for child and adolescent referrals to psychiatric child and youth clinics. Family referrals were more common among children and adolescents of Swedish background than among those of immigrant background. Referrals by social/legal agencies were more common among children and adolescents of African and Asian background, while children of Asian or South American background were more likely to have been referred by schools or by the health/mental health care sector. A significant neighbourhood effect was found only in relation to family referrals (i.e. it was more likely to be referred to psychiatric child and youth clinics by the family in some neighbourhoods than in other neighbourhoods). These 45 findings have significant implications for the design and evaluation of community mental health outreach programs and should be considered when developing strategies intended to help children and adolescents with mental health problems. Victimization and Violent Crime among Children and Ad

Arbetet mot livsstilskriminellas brottslighet har hög prioritet inom svensk polis. I ett regeringsuppdrag ska svensk polis bland annat utarbeta nya och förbättrade arbetsmetoder mot de livsstilskriminella och deras brottslighet. Arbetsmetoderna ska baseras på forskning och kunskap. Det är därför särskilt angeläget att belysa innebörden av det komplexa begreppet livsstilskriminella utifrån forskningslitteraturen. Rikspolisstyrelsens verksledningskansli har därför uppdragit åt professor Marie Torstensson Levander att ge en överblick över begreppet livsstilskriminella och alternativa begrepp såsom kroniker, vanekriminella eller återfallsbrottslingar utifrån den mest betydelsefulla forskningslitteraturen. I rapportens första del diskuterar författaren begreppens innebörd och hur man skulle kunna operationalisera dessa. I rapportens andra del presenterar författaren en kunskapsöversikt med fokus på vad vi vet om livsstilskriminellas kriminalitet och vilka förebyggande åtgärder som skulle kunna användas i arbetet mot denna grupp. Genom denna rapport är förhoppningen att alla som arbetar med livsstilskriminella ska få en fördjupad förståelse för innebörden av begreppet livsstilskriminella så att arbetat mot dem kan genomföras på ett effektivt och kunskapsbaserat sätt. Docent Anders Nilsson, Kriminologiska institutionen vid Stockholms Universitet har läst manus och bidragit med värdefulla synpunkter på innehållet.

Att män begår betydligt fler brott än kvinnor och också utvecklar mer varaktiga brottskarriärer är sedan länge känt, men vad ligger bakom dessa skillnader mellan könen? Ser orsaksmekanismerna bakom kvinnors brott annorlunda ut än för männen