Using 102 homicide court judgments from the district courts of Gothenburg, Malmo and Stockholm- with Malmo district court further on being dismissed, this research examined female preferentiation in sentencing outcomes. Consistent with previous findings, results showed how female convicts were described in a milder way than male convicts, except from cases involving parenthood and gang related offenses. Male convicts were found to be described as more severe in their actions of homicide offenses compared to female convicts in their actions of homicide offenses. Bodily damage caused by male convicts tended to be enhanced while bodily damage caused by female convicts tended to be minimized. When female convicts claimed self-defense plaintiffs were ascribed poor personal attributes. Poor personal attributes were not found among plaintiffs with a male convict/-s. Also, compared to male witnesses and male co-defendants, female witnesses and female co-defendants were still considered as trustworthy after being found lying during the investigational process. Explanations and future research are discussed. 

Fear of crime is a well-explored field within criminology. Although inconsistencies exist, it is mostly defined as an emotional reaction to crime or aspects of crime. Consequences can affect society indirectly but are mainly on an individual level. For example, an individual can decide to avoid certain environments. One of these environments can be cyberspace, the internet, as individuals can experience fear of online criminal activity. This area of research has not been explored as much as fear of traditional crime. A systematic literature review is conducted to analyse the body of research that applies the concept fear of crime to cybercrime. With the purpose to assess the much-discussed concept fear of crime to a new subset of crimes within criminology, cybercrime. This review has shown that challenges and limitations from traditional fear of crime research are still present in fear of crime research of the online environment. Findings are in part in line with previously published studies on the subjects and provide a knowledge base for future research. The paper concludes that the online environment does not seem to stand on its own when it comes to feelings of fear, and that the broader context of an individual’s experiences should be considered.

The influence of crime news coverage on fear of crime in the audience has for decades been evaluated as a social problem. Indicating a relationship of exposure to crime news and the emergence of fear of crime. However, the research on crime news coverage is limited, and questions remain about how the lack of information in the portrayal of crime in newspaper influences fear of crime among the audience. This study examines the presentation of crime news in newspapers regarding the amount of information provided to the reader, and the influence of this coverage on fear of crime among the readers. The sample consist of 900 crime news articles published in two local newspapers in Skåne, Sweden, and were content analyzed based on previous research, and on theoretical perspectives of Locus of control, Assignment of responsibility, and Downward comparison. The results show that both information regarding the context of the crime incident, and information regarding the characteristics of the victim and offender are rarely portrayed in the crime news. The results also imply that the absence of information, provide in the newspapers, may influence fear of crime among the readers. This is suggested to be due to the lack of ability to control crime events, and to evaluate one´s own risk for victimization. Finally, this study suggests educating newspaper journalist in public health method, which might lead to a decreased risk for fear of crime among the audience.

Cybercrimes have been rapidly increasing over the past decade becoming more sophisticated and increasing victimization, resulting in an increased load of the police in the effort to prevent and stop these crimes. This study explores the challenges the Danish police encounter facing cybercrime and their approach to preventing it. The data were collected through interviewing individuals on a managing level in two different departments dealing with cybercrime within the Danish police force. The data were analyzed thematically to identify key issues. The main challenges found being; the time frame the police has to act upon in reference to the nature of the data, the culture that exists on the internet and distinguishing jokes from threats, the effortlessness of criminals justifying once actions, and the visible presence of the police on the internet. The primary focus of prevention to deal with some of these issues is moving towards creating a healthy network between the police and the private sector, in an effort to create a shared responsibility and a forum of which information can be shared to create a possible united front towards cybercrime.

This study illustrates the experiences and knowledge on mental illness within the police organization. The main queries are how the police education prepare the police for encounters with mentally ill individuals, what police officers experience and what is done within the department in relation to strengthen knowledge and competence on mental illness. Nine interviews were conducted with police students, police officers and a business developer and the findings are that the overall perception of the police programme is that it provides future police officers with a basic understanding about mental illness. However, experienced police officers feel that they need more knowledge about mental illness to feel more secure and comfortable in these meetings. Furthermore, the police department works with the governmental assignation by preparing study material for different groups to strengthen their knowledge and competence on mental illness. The aim is to provide the police with knowledge about legal frames, recognition of mental states/disorders, how to respond to mentally ill individuals and what agencies are available to assist in the community. The limitation of the study was the relatively small sample considering that data was collected from different parts of the organization. However, this study has demonstrated an overview of the whole organization and their work connected to mental illness. The conclusion of this study is that the police department in Sweden has realized the knowledge gap and developed an educational plan to resolve the missing puzzle pieces.

The Faroes are a rural, ’closely-knit’ (Nils Christie 1982), and unexplored society. Hardly anyone is a stranger. Neither are police officers and offenders. How does this affect policing? Based on 6 interviews with Faroese police officers and 3interviews with Faroese offenders, the ’living law’ (i.e., social norm) of Connection Seeking was identified. Analysis was done phenomenologically with thematic analysis and content analysis. The ’living law’ of Connection Seeking is a law that officers must heed to stay connected with society. This includes being friendly and behaving properly. To a high degree, Faroese officers succeed, sometimes at the expense of ‘law in books’ and ‘law in action’. Danish officers in the Faroes, however, fare worse. Findings suggest that Faroese officers show their Camaraderie and Appropriate Behaviour by being lenient, sympathetic, and trusting, among others, and that the ‘living law’ of Connection Seeking is a prevalent law in officers’ and offenders’ life-worlds.

As it occur an increasing number terrorist attacks around the world, and terrorism has become one of the greatest threats against the national security in modern times, it is of great importance to try to understand and constrain the appearance of terrorism. A strategy to prevent future terrorist attacks is to stay one step ahead and thus prevent attacks before they occur. Profiling of leaders of terrorist organizations may be a way for the police, military and intelligence services, to get indications that something is about to happen, and thereby be able to implement interventions to prevent the attacks. To identify and understand how leaders think and behave can be crucial in the prevention of future attacks and the destruction of terrorist organizations. The importance of a leader has been proved to be of great importance regarding the decision making process within a group or organization. Political personality profiling of leading figures is a kind of description of a leader's personality from which one can make predictions about future behavior and decisions. This thesis is based on the assumption that motives can help to explain the behavior and the decisions of a leader. Political personality profiling of leading figures could very well be used in the prevention of future terrorists attacks if it’s based on the assumption that predictions refers to X increase the risk for Y. So it is possible to predict human behavior if one talks in terms of risks and probabilities.

Face-to-face (F2F) is a method of raising money where professional fundraisers approach and connect directly with people (members) to sign them up, usually for monthly donations. Although F2F fundraising is expanding worldwide, making a meaningful impact in emergencies, little is known about the job and the risks people might face while on duty, such as being an easy target of victimization. The study was qualitative, with overall eight interviews. The interviews were semi-structured with ten open-ended questions as a guide; they addressed the background, job difficulties, experience and exposure to violence, response and coping mechanisms, and mental well-being. Narrative analysis was performed to analyze the interviews. The results depict that fundraisers have been victimized on the streets, including verbal, physical and sexual victimization. At the same time, the most used coping mechanism when experiencing violence was repression and sensitization. Furthermore, the results indicated that exposure to violence affects both an organizational level leading to low absenteeism and productivity and on an individual level, causing stress, trauma symptoms, and low self-esteem and confidence. Moreover, results indicated a link between exposure to violence and alcohol or substance abuse.  

Additionally, the results implied that verbal victimizations were as frequently perceived as a normal part of the job. F2F fundraising is increasing worldwide as one of the most effective ways of fundraising. Further research should assess and explore the interventions that organizations use in the workplace when violent incidents happen. 

This study examines the relationship between temporary residence status with workplace victimization that affects the overall lived experience of the Bangladeshi Immigrants in Sweden. It presents how temporary residence status connected to the threat of deportation of the immigrant and make them in a vulnerable condition that influences the perpetrator (employer) to exploit or victimize them economically, physically, and psychologically. In doing so routine activity theory and Marxist view applied to establish the relation and formulate preventive strategies. And depicting the overall scenario the researcher applied a qualitative research method with a semi-structured interview where participant selected through purposive and snowball sampling methods. The study findings indicate that temporary residence status has almost fifty percent connected to the workplace victimization that stalled individual life extensively and later citizenship and integration process into a new society. However, most of the participants agreed that they accepted this life willingly and around half of the participant have no major issues regarding violations but most of the victimized people didn’t imagine that they have to endure this cruel process.

Abstract: Prior research indicates a growing number of Children of Alcoholics (CoAs) in Sweden, and increased levels of externalizing behaviours in these individuals. According to international research, externalizing behaviours as criminality are more often displayed in CoAs than children with non-alcoholic parents. CoAs are also more often treated for panic attacks, depression and post-traumatic stress. The assumption is that high risk parents often have high risk children. With the aim to investigate the relationship between parental alcoholism and youth criminality in Sweden a systematic literature review has been conducted. Five databases were used to find relevant publications; Libsearch, Swesub, Eric via Ebsco, ProQuest and Google Scholar. A total of 530 texts were scanned and 17 studies eligible to inclusion were read and analysed according to PRISMA, a preferred reporting system of literature reviews. Inclusion criterions were; Sweden as geographical area, attention on children and young adults aged 13-25 years and a focus on parental drinking and youth criminality. The publications were also to be peer reviewed and published between 1998 and 2018. Results indicate a significant correlation between parental drinking and youth criminality in Sweden. CoAs display externalizing behaviours as aggression, conduct disorders, antisocial behaviour and criminality more often than children without alcoholic parents. It can be concluded that research on the field of CoAs is not the most researched in Sweden but in line with international findings and would benefit from further attention so we in the future can work with preventive measures based on solid knowledge.

Adultery, abortion, witchcraft, sex work, are crimes that have historically until today been identified as predominantly female crimes. By criminalizing them, the patriarchal society exercises a control of the body and sexuality of women to maintain and remain them in their gender norms. However, patriarchal society participated in their victimization. In fact, many women in prison have been abused in their childhood and often faced a continuous victimization. The aim of this thesis, using feminist theories and critical discourse analysis as part of a case study, is to understand to what extent the patriarchal system has an impact on the creation of the female offender arguing that female offenders are victims of the patriarchal system before being criminals. The analysis of discourses surrounding the case of Lisa Montgomery demonstrates that gender has an impact on how people are criminalized and punished. The abuses often overlooked by the system have an impact on the crime trajectories of female offenders. However, the justice system rarely takes those aspects into consideration, especially when the female offender does not fit her gender norms. She is then described as an inhuman monster who deserves a severe punishment. This participates to maintain and reinforce patriarchy by recalling societal norms of femininity. The case of Montgomery represents thus one of many cases in which female offenders are, before being an offender, a victim of the system that allowed her continuous victimization.

Crime and weather are common topics of conversation, but rarely simultaneously. Criminological research has investigated the two and found that there is a connection. However, this nature of the association varies depending on geography and type of crime. The current study used official crime records and public weather data to investigate the relationship between weather, in the form of temperature and precipitation, and daily crime rates of seven crime types in Malmö, Sweden from 2010 to 2015. Negative binomial regression analyses were run and controlled for a range of temporal and seasonally recurring variables to find the unique contribution of weather. The results showed that rates of assault, bicycle theft, street robbery, and vandalism increased with increasing temperature, and that rates of assault, bicycle theft and arson decreased with the presence of precipitation. Implications for theory are that environmental factors should not be overlooked in explanations of criminal behavior. As for policy implications, the results can aid crime prevention agencies in understanding how crime patterns fluctuate which in turn informs their decision-making relating to prioritization of distribution of resources.

In today's modern society we are highly exposed to different media in our everyday life, and individuals may spend a large part of their time taking part in media debates, news and other information shared on different media channels. Through this, news media have become an influential factor for how individuals in today's society perceive and construct reality, and consequently the public's perception of crime. This critical analysis strives to elucidate how crime in Malmö is presented in Swedish newspapers. This report is centered on which discourses emerge throughout the chosen empirical material, how different crime types are presented and how victims and perpetrators are constructed in this material. By studying how Malmö is presented through a commonly used news media source, it is possible to uncover how collective understandings of crime are created and affirmed, which is essential in order to be able to influence this established (but arguably somewhat radical) image. Newspapers' presentation of Malmö differs from the description of other major cities in Sweden, and Malmö is often illustrated as a dangerous or unsafe city with high crime rates. The perception of crime in Malmö given through the official statistics are overshadowed by news media's accentuation of violent and lethal crime. A skewed division of crime reporting, may therefore be an important factor for the public's perception of crime in Malmö. Crimes are depicted as an effect of larger societal problems and an integral part of everyday life. Few articles dispute the established image of Malmö as dangerous, and the few who do only briefly highlight this to an extremely limited extent, resulting in the preservation and reproduction of the majority's presentation of Malmö as a dangerous or unsecure city.

The unprecedented situation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic worldwide is characterized by social isolation, separation from loved ones and limited freedom. These events have been identified as adversely affecting the mental health of the population, who suffer mainly from depression, anxiety symptoms, anger and fear feelings as well as sleep problems. Based on general strain theory (Agnew, 1992) combined with the changing opportunities in crime (routine activity theories), the aim of the survey was to examine the impact of the negative mental health during the second wave of COVID-19 lockdown, in violent behavior and substance use of individuals residing or living in Greece. A secondary objective formulated based on gendered approach for which men are expected to act more violently than women and females are expected to have poorer mental health than males. An online survey was conducted and disseminated through Facebook groups. Approval of the informed consent was one of the criteria for participation in the study. The collected data included demographic characteristics, information about mental health, violent behavior, and substance use, like alcohol drinking and smoking cigarettes during the lockdown. The ANOVA shown that there is not any significant impact of poor mentality in aggressive behavior and substance use which could be explained by considering the Greek cultural context. The results of independent samples T-test indicated that male indeed act more violently than female, and that women report poorer mental health than men. This finding is consistent with the gender approach and could be further explored through feminist theories. The results of this research purposes to give more insight into this kindly new phenomenon and to present a perspective that may differ from other countries not only in the kind of measures adopted, but also in the perception of individuals that disclose the cultural variation. 

Geographical profiling (GP) is a method used to determine an offender’s most likely area of residence. GP helps to better understand the spatial behaviour of an offender, by connecting series of crimes in a specific area. Research have shown that the geographic space plays an important part when solving crimes, especially with respect to serial offenders that tend to offend closer to their home. Despite the fact that GP has had some success, the field has received criticism, and speculations regarding its applicability for actual investigations. This thesis seeks to evaluate whether a specific method within GP could have been applied for an actual investigation. Thus, the aim of this study is to explore if it is possible to apply the Circle Theory of Environmental Range to the case of Marcel Lychau Hansen, ‘Amagermanden’, who is a famous Danish serial offender, and whether the theory could have contributed to the investigation at the time. By conducting a case study, the results showed that Hansen was operating as a commuter, and the theory was therefore not able to predict a narrowed area for his residence, since it was not possible to perform the Hypothesis of Environmental Range. However, the study showed that he had several of his daily routines on Amager – and this finding highlights, that considering the geographical factors would have been an important factor for the investigation. The study concludes the theory to be applicable to the case, though it was found limited in how it could have contributed to the investigation, and the geographical profile could not stand alone for this specific investigation.

In 2018, the reform “All actions have consequences” and the appertaining legislative, Juvenile Delinquency Act was passed in Denmark. The reform seeks to change the procedures when working with minors who commit crime, by combining a significant and prompt consequence with support from social services to end criminal behavior amongst minors. As part of the reform, the Juvenile Delinquency Board (JDB) was established. This mixed-methods study explores the professional’s experiences with the JDB, especially regarding how the implementation of the JDB has changed the procedure of working with minors with delinquent behavior. This study also examines to what extend the minor re-offend after having a case processed in the JDB. Five qualitative interviews with professionals occupying different roles within the JDB were conducted. Additionally, data regarding re-hearings from the JDB’s secretariat was obtained, which provided the study’s quantitative data. The findings revealed that the work within the JDB is faced with several challenges which counteract the intention of the reform. Challenges like the insufficient protection of the child’s rights and the inability of handling minors with psychiatric diagnoses were found.  The perception of the JDB was found to play a major role in how the JDB’s decision impacts the minor, as the similarities between the JDB and a juvenile court, might cause the minor to perceive the JDB’s decision as a sentence. This increases the risk of labeling the minor as a criminal which, in turn, may result in re-offending. The data regarding re-hearings revealed that over one-third of the re-hearings were related to new crimes, which indicates that the JDB’s decisions might not be as effective as intended. 

The aim of the given study is to investigate the impact of the legal as well as the sociocultural systems of Iran on the secondary victimization of rape victims in the country. As a theoretical background of the study, two feminist theories, Feminist criminology and Radical Feminist, will be used. By the help of these theories the influences of patriarchy on secondary victimization of rape victims in Iran will be explained. While case study is used to frame the design of the study, qualitative content analysis will also be used to collect the needed data through analyzing different sources and materials. The findings show that the lack of comprehensive laws regarding rape crime in Iran and the way service providers view and perceive rape victims have led to re-victimization of rape victims. Moreover, analyzing the sociocultural system of the country demonstrated that the prevalence of rape myths and gender inequality in the society have also contributed to re-victimization of such victims. The author believes that establishing new comprehensive laws regarding rape crime and changing the service providers and people’s attitudes regarding rape crime and rape victims through education are the most appropriate solutions for this problem.

Previous research has shown that children suffering from abuse, neglect or maltreatment before turning 18 are significantly associated with several measurements of delinquency, such as self-reported and official incidence of arrest, offending frequency, violent crimes and drug-use. Thus, reducing child maltreatment can be seen as a crime prevention strategy. In Sweden, certain professionals have a mandatory responsibility to report child maltreatment to authorities. Previous research has shown that professionals often fail to report to authorities. This thesis aims at deepen the knowledge and understanding of the process of reporting and adopts a qualitative approach, interviewing school personnel about their experience, and their perceived barriers to report. The interviews are analyzed using qualitative content analysis. The results of this thesis mirrors in many aspects what have been found in previous research. The analysis found four main categories, education, experience of the social services, fear of consequences of making a report and reporting routine. The results indicate that school personnel are not sufficiently educated on child maltreatment or how to report it, have negative experience of the social services, holds fear about various aspects of reporting and deploy reporting routines that might not facilitate reporting. The implications drawn from this thesis is that school personnel need to be educated to facilitate reporting, but also that reporting routines need to be altered in order to increase reporting. Further, schools and the social services need to collaborate to a greater extent than today.

This thesis primary aim is to examine specific deterrence; the fear of punishment

experienced by individuals who have committed crimes and subsequently

received a punishment. Specific deterrence is assumed to deter criminals from

reoffending. The secondary aim of this thesis is to examine the perceptions of

increased punishments as a measure to prevent crime, as deterrence theory

predicts that increased punishment correlates to decreased criminality. The

Swedish government has continually proposed and implemented increased

punishments. As such, the validity of specific deterrence and the effectiveness of

increased punishments requires examination in a Swedish context. Perceptions

and experiences of specific deterrence, and perceptions of the deterring effect of

increased punishments, was examined in 12 semi-structured interviews with

people who have committed a crime and received subsequent punishment. The

material was analysed using thematic analysis, and the results found that the

participants did not experience deterrence, as drug addiction, fear of consequences

from other criminals, and perceptions of apprehension and severity of punishment

inhibited, or eliminated, specific deterrence. Increased punishments were not

thought to have affected past criminal actions, but opinions on increased

punishments to combat current criminality were both positive and negative. By

applying General Strain theory, the study found that the presence of a stronger

experience of strain eliminated or diminished specific deterrence.

Research in life-course criminology has been studying turning points away from criminality. There is although a limited amount of research that has been focusing on parenthood and especially on fatherhood as a potential turning point. The available studies show mixed results in this topic and the findings suggest that there are factors that can both form and restrict fatherhood as a potential turning point towards desistance. The aim for the present thesis is therefore to get a better understanding of fatherhood as a potential turning point from persistent offending and to examine the role and meaning of fatherhood in the criminal careers of Swedish former criminals. Qualitative method in the form of retrospective semi- structured interviews has been used to collect data and five former offenders that became fathers during their criminal career participated in the study. The data have been analysed with systematic text condensation and the results indicate that the men did not desist after becoming fathers. They did however have both intended and unintended breaks from criminality when their child was born, but the criminal lifestyle was their first choice and their children were put on the second place. Relationships to friends and in some cases to the mother of the child was a restricting factor for fatherhood to become a turning point. Another factor that restricted fatherhood from being a potential turning point was human agency. The men concluded that an offending father can not receive help from society if there is no will for the father to desist.

Through a national collection, the Swedish Police identify and classify vulnerable neighborhoods. Areas are assessed through police perceptions regarding high concentrations of certain problems and criminal activity, such as public acts of violence with risk of harming third parties, open drug markets and organised crime structures. The purpose of this study has been to see whether it is possible to statistically discover these neighborhoods based on socioeconomic and demographic data. Initially, in a national comparison, areas that are defined as vulnerable neighborhoods by the national collection, was compared with other areas in the country. This was done based on a statistical grid consisting of squares with the dimension of 250 x 250 meters, with each square holding information about socio-demographic data. The main aim has been to identify a statistical model that more objectively can identify squares that are vulnerable or not, compared to the police's more subjective assessment. Result from logistic regression analyses implies that vulnerable neighborhoods from the national collection show greater odds at having high concentrations of residents with foreign background, higher unemployment rates and more households with single parents. Lastly, the best fitted regression model for explaining these areas by the means of pseudo R2-value, were used to calculate a prediction value for each square. This value was then analysed using a GIS-software, to discover any areas that in the national collection was classified as vulnerable, but according to the model no longer met the criteria, and then vice versa. The overall result indicate that it is possible to discover areas with higher concentrations of certain characteristics seen in vulnerable neighborhoods, using spatial analyses and logistic regressions of micro-places, to more objectively classify these areas. By aggregating crime data, the result of this study can in the future mean a more effective implementation for police authorities.

Background: The victimization of children has been a prevalent issue long before the emergence of social media. The rapid development of the world wide web during the last decades has created more ways to get access to anyone anywhere at any time. This has brought along a yearly increase in the number of children who are abused online with the help of technological devices. So far, the existing research in the field of online grooming has been limited and especially in Estonia. Although the problem has been acknowledged, little is known about the offenders and how they target children for sexual purposes.

Aim: The thesis aims to create a fuller picture of different types of online offenders in Estonia by using typology formed by the European Online Grooming Project. Furthermore, it looks into the rational choice processes of these offenders and how they establish a connection with their victims for personal sexual gratification while minimizing their risk of getting caught.

Method: The data consists of 13 court cases of offenders who were found guilty in 2017-2022. The documents were accessed in Estonian Harju County Court and analyzed using thematic analysis.

Results: The results showed that the most common types of online offenders in Estonia are intimacy-seeking and adaptable. The findings add support to previous research, showing that most online offenders use different controlling tactics like emotional abuse, threatening, blackmailing, and flattery to benefit their chances of gaining sexual gratification from the relationship. To minimize their chances of getting caught, the offenders had chosen vulnerable victims, faked details about their personal information, used different social media applications to their own benefit, and consistently asked the victims about their surrounding environment.

Conclusion: The findings of the study are in line with previous research about the typologies and strategies of online groomers whilst providing new data for future research on the topic. The hope is that with a deeper analysis of the groomers behavior, the study helps to create further preventative measures to decrease the number of potential future victims.

Occupations in private security industry are among the riskiest occupations in terms of workplace violence. Online survey was sent to private security companies and related organisations to collect data on prevalence and forms of workplace violence in private security occupations. Sample consisted of 539 respondents. Systematic literature review was conducted to explore previous research. Descriptive statistics was used to study prevalence and forms of workplace violence and chi-square test for independence was used to reveal significant differences between background variables and exposure to workplace violence. The findings indicate that private security employees experience a lot of verbal and physical violence as well as threats of violence. Results also indicate that some environments have higher prevalence of violence than others. Finally, these results were compared to very limited previous research and the results indicate that prevalence is similar or higher (physical violence) among this sample than what is reported in other similar studies.

Purpose – A variety of risk assessment tools has been developed over the years with the goal of improving the preventive interventions with violent criminality. Among these, Stalking Assessment and Management (SAM) has been integrated since 2015 as a risk assessment tool for stalking cases in the Danish police. This current study sets out to discover and describe police employees' experience with SAM as a risk assessment tool and discuss its challenges in a Danish police setting. 

Design – The student recruited 19 participants from six Danish police jurisdictions for a questionnaire and conducted an expert interview with a consultant from North Jutland police jurisdiction. 

Findings – The results showed a general positive attitude towards SAM as a tool, as it contributes with relevant risk factors, an increased safety level of the victims and a good foundation for handling the risks in a stalking case. Though, challenges were found in limited time to make thorough assessments and missing information when filling out the items of SAM. Additionally, part of the participants asked for further training after being certified and further training about SAM for leaders. 

Limitations – The results are based on a questionnaire with 19 participants and an expert interview. Because of this, the results are not generalizable, but should be seen as relevant indications in the fields of developing and implementing SAM as a risk assessment tool. 

Originality – With a focus on risk assessment within the Danish police and the employees experience with SAM, this current thesis addresses a gap in theexisting literature.

The current study examined the effects of personality traits, psychopathy, and narcissism in the context of voluntary false confessions. The administration of various self-report measures in a sample of university students (N= 485) to assess personality traits, psychopathy, narcissism, and self-reported likelihood of voluntary falsely confessing enabled quantitative analysis of the interaction among these essential parameters. Narcissism and openness to experience accounted for 14% of the total variance in the likelihood of the voluntary false confessions in the male sample. Whilst narcissism and psychopathy accounted for 11% of the total variance in the female sample. These findings indicate that narcissism, psychopathy, and openness to experience are psychological factors that may have an impact on the likelihood of an individual confessing to a crime they did not commit, outside of the forensic settings. 

International and national reports and research have shown that between 12-75 % of the students at universities have experiences of being badly treated/humiliated, harassed or discriminated by staff or fellow students, at least once during their university studies. A newly published report by Malmö university is of importance because this report includes a broader range of variables that have a connection with experiences of being badly treated, harassed or discriminated. Nevertheless, the report is limited because the results are based on bivariate regression analysis on binary variables and thus, does not control for other correlated variables. The aim of the current thesis is to improve the results by using multivariate logistic regression. The results indicate that using multivariate logistic regression narrows down the number of significant variables, which corresponds with the complexity of interaction in everyday life, providing a more realistic perception of the interaction of the dependent variables.

The increase of firearm-related violence has plagued Sweden, and specifically Malmö, for thirty years. This Systematic Literature Review gathered ten articles from different fields in order to discern the causes behind such an increase, the mechanisms of gun violence in a Swedish settings and the implications for Malmö on a criminological level. Results showed that a combination of factors such as the illegal importation of illicit firearms and the expansion of organized criminal groups in vulnerable territories were responsible for a shift of pattern in homicide. This change is preventing the police from properly solving homicide cases and the criminal justice system from prosecuting them. All in all, firearm violence is strongly related to gang activities in the three largest Swedish cities and the reason why Malmö is the most affected may be explained by the large number of clustered near-repeat shootings spread over three neighborhoods considered vulnerable. Actions have been taken though still require some analysis.

Problem gambling is a public health issue that affects gamblers, relatives and society in general. The Swedish National Gambling Helpline, Stödlinjen, operates as a primary help to people with problems related to gambling. The 22,260 calls made to the helpline from 2009 to 2016 were studied with regards to gender, age, online gambling, psychosocial problems, and crime. Comparison between gamblers and relatives revealed gender and age differences. Reports of online gambling increased for both groups as time progressed, while crime declined. The results are discussed, and it is concluded that more research on the connection between gambling and crime is needed, as well as further develop a crime-aspect in the counsellors’ documentation of helpline callers.

Background: The Swedish penal code has viewed self-induced temporary insanity, caused by intoxication, depending on which Sociology of Punishment is currently active. Starting from a lenient view of drug-induced insanity in the Middle Ages towards a harsher penal climate today. 

Aims: This thesis aims to investigate how the Courts of Appeals views self-induced temporary insanity. Specifically, the investigation highlights how the courts navigate between the conflicting rationalities governing criminal intent on the one hand and drug abuse on the other.

Results: A thematic analysis using NVivo showed that the Court of Appeals verdicts are inconsistent regarding sentencing when addiction is involved. The results also show a lack of knowledge about addiction as an illness within the Court of Appeals and that the courts sentence substance abusers much harder than others with temporary insanity. The thesis concludes that the Rule of Law is at risk when inconsistent verdicts are commonplace. 

Drug abuse often correlates with a criminal career. Compulsory care of addicts aims to motivate the individual to come to terms with their addiction. However, crime can be part of the lifestyle that the addict gets involved in. This essay examines how the preventive treatment at the State Board of Institutions in Sweden works to prevent relapse for both addiction and crime. The issues also concern collaboration in addition to treatment work. The material was gathered through qualitative semi-structured interviews with five people in the treatment staff at one of the State Department Board's LVM homes. The analysis was a thematic analysis and the collection of material resulted in three themes: "treatment work", "lack of knowledge among staff" and "collaboration". The informants believe that the treatment work has a good effect through the social bonds that are created between the client and treatment staff, but also so called “treatment conversations”. Clients are perceived to have high motivation during the time for LVM, but this often decreases after LVM completion. The result of the study shows that there is a lack of knowledge among treatment staff, mainly regarding crime prevention and psychiatry. Collaboration is perceived to work deficient, and informants highlight shortcomings in the provision of information between the actors involved. The results are subsequently attributed to social bond theory, the age-graded theory of informal social control, routine activity theory and to previous research on addiction and crime. The results are intended to be used instrumentally in order to improve the treatment work at the Swedish National Board of Institutional Care, which in turn improves prevention for both substance abuse and crime.

Throughout the years it has been suggested that crime is product of offender, victim and the environment in which they exist. Some places attract crime more than others and the knowledge about these places has contributed to making the connection between crime and place more and more explored by researchers. Malmö Områdesundersökning 2012 stated in one of their conclusions that crime preventive interventions should be adjusted to the area where it is implemented. On this basis and with the camera surveillance at Stortorget in Malmö as a case study, this thesis tries to examine under what circumstances (based on structure, criminality and the perceived level of disturbances) camera surveillance is effective and how this knowledge could be used in future crime prevention work. The data consists of statistics from crime reports and data from Malmö Områdesundersökning 2012. Through a comparison between previous research, national and international camera surveillance projects and the circumstances around Stortorget in Malmö, it can be stated that the main result of this thesis is that camera surveillance as a crime prevention effort is very complex. Exactly under what circumstances camera surveillance is effective is difficult to conclude since many factors play their parts. This opens up the possibility for further studies within the field. The more knowledge we gain on camera surveillance and different types of crime prevention, the better chances we stand to create effective efforts in the future.

This thesis addresses a significant knowledge gap in the existing literature on bias-crime, which primarily focuses on minorities while neglecting the experiences of majorities. The primary objective of this study is to shed light on bias-crimes targeting majorities and compare their impact on fear of crime with those experienced by minorities. By analysing data from a sample of 1,616 victims, this research reveals that both minority and majority bias-crime victims exhibit similar patterns in terms of fear of crime. Notably, both groups experience heightened levels of fear compared to victims of non-bias crimes, with no significant difference observed between the two. Moreover, this study identifies several factors associated with fear of crime in both minority and majority victims, including recent victimisation, intersectionality, indirect victimisation, and the presence of visibility/visual identifiers. Although this thesis initially aimed to identify differences between the two groups, it ultimately found striking similarities. The discussion section critically examines the potential role of methodological limitations in shaping these findings and offers insights into their implications. By addressing this research gap, this thesis contributes to the criminological field by offering a more comprehensive understanding of bias-crime and its impact on fear of crime among both minority and majority populations.

Traditionally in Sweden the crime preventative and fear of crime reducing work has fallen on the police. However, in 2019 the Swedish government appointed an inquiry where an investigator is to submit a proposal regarding how the municipalities in Sweden can have a legislated responsibility for crime preventative work. The proposal is to cover formulations of what the responsibility would be as well as what actors should carry this responsibility. The present study examined a municipal crime preventative and fear of crime reducing initiative that has grown more popular in Sweden: community wardens. The aim of the present study was to investigate what the arguments for the implementations were as well as how these arguments turned out practically. The present study uses a qualitative thematic analysis to study the implementation of community wardens in two Swedish municipalities – Vellinge and Trelleborg. The results show that even though the arguments for and mission of the community wardens in both municipalities are very similar there are differences in implementation giving the community wardens different approaches. In Vellinge there is a focus on building relationships and working proactively providing an enhanced informal social control. Whereas in Trelleborg there is greater focus on monitoring municipal properties enhancing the formal control in the municipality. Furthermore, there seem to be risks of intruding or overlapping with other actors when implementing community wardens. 

The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic is not only a health crisis, but also shatters the social and economic lives through regulations and social restrictions. As seen during SARS 2002-2003, measures like social restrictions can impact behaviour negatively, leading to discrimination, stigmatisation and xenophobia. There is a lack of studies on antisocial behaviour and crime during health crises, such as pandemics. Related studies on disaster and crime gave mixed results, with some suggesting an increase in prosocial rather than antisocial behaviour. Using a criminological perspective, German news media from January 1, 2020 until March 31, 2020 were analysed. These media sources were the tabloid Bild and two main elite newspapers, Süddeutsche Zeitung and Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. Analyses were conducted quantitatively based on frequencies, means and word counts. Additionally, a qualitative media content analysis regarding events, behaviour and story tone was undertaken. The aim was to reveal indications of reported behavioural changes. For a complete overview, both antisocial and prosocial behaviours were included. Results indicate that antisocial behaviour, such as ignoring of governmental advice and rules, and discriminatory behaviours, as well as crimes like fraud became more prominent over time than prosocial and helping behaviour. This study shows only a fragment of the situation in Germany, but highlights the importance of continuous assessments of human behaviour during dynamic and critical times.

ABSTRACT Police departments across Uganda are faced with significant challenges to reduce crime, improve quality of life, and, use meagre resources. Many have struggled to find the right balance between keeping communities safe, while at the same time having transparent and effective policing methods and approach. This thesis examines effectiveness or/ and ineffectiveness of community policing. This is derived from people’s perceptions of the policing strategies used within their communities. The research focuses on the nature of community policing and its, perception among the Ugandans and how these policing strategies are important to police legitimacy (acceptability) and how it helps them in gaining the trust of the local population. The thesis discusses reasons to why community policing has not been accepted by the Uganda population. Continually therefore, it is examined whether community policing has brought about reduction in crime rate. The thesis revealed that there is much laxity in bridging the gap between the community members and the police. Most people feel police is not involving the entire community into their activities, people think police is to protect certain groups of people in society especially the rich. Most people (47%) negatively perceive community policing, though 56% reported that it is an important program. Reduction in crime due to community policing was observed. The thesis concludes by advocating for strategies that are important for a successful community policing program implementation. Finally, the thesis recommended involvement of the media and need for police to adapt to use of new technology to avoid confrontation by masses that may be suspicious, for example, body-worn cameras (BWCs).

Offender profiling is an important investigative tool for the law enforcement in investigating serious crimes, among others homicide and attempted homicide. Two of the most important theories in discussing offender profiling, are the inductive and deductive profiling theories. None of these theories have though been validated, why evaluating them in relation to validity is of high importance. A total of 19 cases including 23 offenders of homicide and attempted homicide were identified after searching court documents in a city in Sweden. Information available to the police (sex and age of the victim, modus operandi and crime scene) was retrieved. The inductive and deductive theories were then applied to the information in each and one of the 19 cases identified, in order to profile the probable offender. These presumed profiles where then compared with the actual offender in each case, in order to evaluate the validity of the inductive and the deductive theories. In six of the cases the presumed profiles were fully correct, while they were partially correct in the rest. In no cases they were false. The inductive and deductive profiling theories are thus effective to use in order to profile an unknown offender.

Traditional martial arts are thought to be a path towards virtue through the practice of self-control. In this study, a survey was used to examine the associations between the practice of traditional martial arts, higher levels of self-control and lower levels of aggression, which were already suggested from previous research. The hypothesis was based both on self-control and social bonds theories as well as theories based on morality. The philosophical concept of t.m.a, which is thought to encourage individuals to practise discipline in the pursuit of virtue, was assumed to have contributed to the survey's results. Further research should examine traditional martial arts' potential in both crime (and recidivism) prevention as well as rehabilitation.

The current thesis examines how sex offenders are portrayed in newspapers in Germany with the use of a qualitative content analysis. Utilized were 49 articles both from a German tabloid called “Bild-Zeitung” and a broadsheet called “die Zeit”. Three main themes were identified and analyzed. Initially, the focus was on the portrayal of the sex offenders, followed by the portrayal of the victims and lastly which agencies and how they were mentioned. For each main theme several subthemes were formulated in order to examine the main themes in more depth. Findings suggest that most articles emphasized the previous criminal history of the offenders and stressed negative personality traits, leaving a stereotypical image. Findings of the second theme indicate that victims are rarely blamed for the offenses, while empathy establishment was emphasized through the use of the detailed description of the brutality of the offenses, especially for cases with underaged victims. The analysis of the last theme showed that police and investigators were portrayed mostly as doing a good job and working effectively in investigations, whereas experts like social workers, psychologists or lawyers were interviewed in less articles. The opinion of politicians and the public opinion mostly emphasized the demands for harsher punishment and longer incarceration. Therefore, the majority of articles examined showed a stereotypical image of the offenders, portraying them as recurrently reoffending,opportunistic and brutal.

The current paper is aimed at providing an overview of the current state of research regarding the potential of linking series of crimes to single offenders through repeated modus operandi behaviors. A systematic literature review was conducted to document findings from previous evaluation research as to the predictive accuracy of crime linkage specific to residential burglary. The findings indicate that predictions of linked burglaries can be made with moderate to high predictive accuracy. In order to get an understanding of the extent to which residential burglary offenders repeat their crime scene behaviors, the findings are discussed in relation to the criminological theories Routine activities theory and the Rational Choice perspective. Future research is suggested.

Föreliggande undersökning är en levnadsvaneundersökning där samband mellan narkotikabruk och kriminalitet samt koppling till ungdomars levnadsvanor undersöks. Det övergripande syftet med aktuell studie är att analysera den levnadsvaneundersökning som genomfördes i Malmö stad höstterminen 2009 och härigenom beskriva och analysera förekomst av narkotikabruk och kriminalitet i årskurs 9 (grundskola) samt årskurs 2 (gymnasium). Centrala frågeställningar är: Hur utbrett är narkotikabruk och kriminalitet? Finns det ett samband mellan narkotikabruk och kriminalitet? Vilka faktorer påverkar narkotikabruk och kriminalitet? Undersökningen visar att narkotikabruk och kriminalitet förekommer bland Malmöungdomar men i olika omfattning. Fler Malmöungdomar uppgav att man använt narkotika någon gång än uppgav att man begått mer allvarligt brott. Cannabis var det dominerande preparatet jämfört med andra typer av narkotika. Samtidigt var Cannabisbruk svagare relaterat till kriminalitet jämfört med annan narkotika. Bruk av annan narkotika än Cannabis medförde ökad risk för allvarligt brott. Regelbundet narkotikabruk och kriminalitet predicerades av individuella levnadsvanor och sociala förhållanden.

According to Green & Ward's (2004) definition, state crime means human right violations or state organizational deviance. Based on the 2020 political conflicts in Thailand, at least four historical actions can potentially identify as state crimes—the 2014 coup, the 2017 constitution, the usage of the lèse majesté law, and the state officers using violence to force people to remain in silence. Beyond that, there are two contradicting political narratives—the conservative and the reformist. While the conservative justified the four actions mentioned earlier, the reformists do not. This study aims to explore the development of the political narratives of the two conflicting sides based on their own verbal explanation. In addition, it discovers the linkages between those narratives and the actions taken towards the current situation in Thailand. The researcher uses the Narrative Approach to Qualitative Inquiry to interview participants from both political narrative sides. Then the results are analyzed by the Narrative Thematic Analysis process. The analysis reveals that the surroundings (political news, for example) influence conservatives and reformists in their political narrative development process. Furthermore, they make political moves accordingly to their interpretation of those inputs. Hence, it is clear that political narrative impacts the justification of state crime in this particular situation. Lastly, stepping out of the echo chamber, the justice system based on the rule of law, and using digital media with self-awareness potentially decreases state crime justification, the study finds.

During the latest years, the phenomenon of violence against teachers has been a growing concern for contemporary schools all over the world (Bounds & Jenkins, 2018). Existing studies propose increasing prevalence estimates (McMahon et al., 2017) and various harmful consequences for victims and schools (Wilson et al., 2011; Huang et al., 2017). Yet, this phenomenon is still severely understudied. Therefore, this study attempts to address some of the existing literature gaps by providing in-depth qualitative information on educators’ thoughts and experiences on the subject. More specifically, this study aims to investigate the different forms and consequences of violence against teachers as well as the teachers’ perceptions about the factors that motivate students to engage in violent behaviours against them. Information relevant to the purpose of this study was comprehended through semi-structured interviews and analysed by using the method of conventional context analysis. Findings from the interviews suggested that violence against teachers is commonly experienced in both indirect (e.g. rumour spreading, property crime) and direct forms (e.g. verbal and physical violence), whereas consequences were found to impact teachers’ psychological wellbeing, their personal lives, the students and consequently several aspects of the school climate itself (e.g. teaching and learning experience). Additional findings suggested that students’ violent behaviour can be motivated by several factors who are either of personal nature to a student (e.g. receiving an unexpected grade) or a result of the preestablished student culture (e.g. normalisation of violence among peers and generalisation of behaviour). Directions for future research, policy implications and targeted interventions are considered in the context of these findings.

A holistic approach to Counter Violent Extremism (CVE) in the Internet Environment and Social Media is essential. This thesis focuses on gender and context consideration in online approaches to CVE through use of a literature review and samples of online counter-narrative campaigns. This has led to determination of the extent to which gender and context have been considered in online approaches to CVE and identifying what they mean for CVE online, while highlighting full participation of women in online approaches that are aimed at countering violent extremism as well as the critical role of contextual factors in online approaches to CVE. In addition, the thesis shows that more research is needed to fill the gaps identified. These gaps are the role of women in online CVE campaigns as well as contextual factors that are associated to violent extremism. More so, online narratives should be all rounded since this study found that CVE narratives have failed to identify a predictable psychosocial trajectory to explain de-radicalization processes that are crucial to disengage radicals.

Deported migrants in Jamaica face a plethora of integration and rehabilitation issues that have been exacerbated by the society’s negative perception of the population. Though previous research has highlighted the counterproductive implications of the negative attitudes (Headley, 2006), it is still evident in the Jamaican society. The current study examines the relationship between the migrant’s fear of crime and their well-being post-deportation. Therein, eight semi-structured interviews facilitated by the National Organisation of Deported Migrants were used to collect data over two weeks. A thematic analysis indicated that visibility impacted the extent to which deported migrants had a perceived risk of victimisation. The population's reduced mobility and lack of integration as a result of increased visibility and distrust of the wider society influenced their exhibition of isolating behaviours which were identified as incubators for physical and mental health effects, potential substance use disorders (SUD) and recidivism. Additionally, migrants residing in communities with reported criminal activities were identified to be at an increased risk of the adverse effects highlighted. The presence of several protective factors, including less time away from Jamaica and familial support mitigated these factors. The author highlights that social education, in addition to effective long-term reintegration and rehabilitation programs that focus on health are necessary implementations to reduce the risks associated with fear of crime and improve reintegration.

Online crime, in general, is increasing these years, crimes committed through technology that is almost impossible for the authorities to solve and prevent. The average Danish teenager spends six hours a day on online forums, and studies on how content affects the user show that the users do get affected by the content. How do practitioners prevent teenage users from being embedded in extremist online communities when there are no national guidelines or research to support an evidence-based approach to prevention? Practitioners give presentations on this topic to teenagers and other professionals and seek to create stabile strong social bonds among peers and talk openly about pitfalls of the internet with the teenagers. 

This thesis applies Social Learning Theory and Social Bond theory in the understanding of why some users get radicalized through online forums. Applying these theories is relevant because mirroring propaganda, creating norm deviating social bonds and a “them and us” detachment from the surrounding norm society can be explained by these theoretical perspectives – and can all be precursors towards extremist behavior. 

The practitioners believe that they are navigating in a field where the need for knowledge is huge, and the methodological approach highly relies independently on the practitioner themselves. The main theoretical discussion is based on the founding hypothesis that being exposed to extremist content either leads to nothing or an increase in deviant behavior. The theoretical perspective in this thesis and previous research suggests that there is a causal link between traditional real-life risk factors and online crime, but also attachment to deviant online communities can lead to extremism – just as it is in a real-life setting. 

Post-traumatic stress disorder, Alcohol Use Disorder and violent behavior are common among post-deployment war veterans. This study investigated the occurrence and co-occurrence of probable Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), probable Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD) and violent behavior, and specifically investigated whether co-occurrence of probable PTSD and probable AUD escalates violent behavior in Ukrainian male help-seeking Anti-Terroristic Operation (ATO) veterans. The study targeted male Ukrainian ATO veterans (n = 144) seeking psychological help at three Ukrainian veterans’ centers located in Dnepr, Kirovograd and Kiev regions between February 2018 – March 2018. Data was collected through close-ended self-administered questionnaires by using screening tools; the Mississippi Scale for Combat-Related PTSD, The Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test-Consumption (AUDIT-C), and four domains abstracted from items measuring violent behavior in National Vietnam Veterans Readjustment Study. Using IBM SPSS Statistics 24 for Windows, frequencies, correlations between variables, and logistic regression analysis were run. Results indicate that 13 % of ATO veterans have met the criteria for probable PTSD, 25% for probable sub-threshold PTSD and 73 % for probable AUD. Further results indicate that veterans recorded positive results in these syndromes reported higher frequency of violent acts, with increased odds of high frequency violent behavior when the syndromes co-occur. Future research directions are discussed.