Previous research has indicated that disparities in sentencing exist within legal systems depending on social characteristics such as ethnicity, gender, and age. The purpose of this study is to investigate what kind of disparities in sentencing are present within the Swedish legal system. It hypothesizes that variations in sentencing are affected by stereotypical perceptions of offenders in regard to ethnicity, gender, and age as well as a legal system that is governed by Swedish norms and values. The data of the study derive from 164 previous convictions from the 2017 issue of Stockholm’s Tingsrätt. The data were analyzed through Ordinary Least Square analysis (OLS) and binary analysis to identify the best predictor of ethnicity, gender, and age in sentencing outcomes as well as examine interaction effects within the social groups. The results of the study are in line with those of previous research and illustrate tendencies toward disparities in sentencing outcomes depending on the social characteristics of ethnicity, gender, and age. In addition, the interaction effects indicate that the social features of youth, non- Swedish nationality, and male gender in combination reflected the highest risk of harsh sentencing compared to other combinations. Sentencing disparities are arguably outcomes of stereotypical perceptions of offenders and an “ethnically” Swedish legal system that is governed by Swedish norms and values. Further research is required to enhance knowledge of disparities in sentencing due to the effect of an “ethnically” Swedish legal system. Such research is needed to determine how provisions that concern equality can become actual conditions.

Money laundering is believed to have been around since the introduction of money. It is a vast, international problem which challenges law enforcement agencies and legislating authorities, as well as financial institutions and organizations of interest, all over the world. The past few years, something new has snuck up on law enforcement agencies and legislating authorities, namely Blockchain technology and cryptocurrency. This has caused a number of reactions, such as nations and international organizations quickly updating their anti-money laundering regulations. This goes to show how money laundering is constantly evolving, which makes targeting this crime a constant challenge. There is currently a lot of research being conducted on Money Laundering and specifically research on how to tackle the issue. What this study wishes to contribute with is an overview of the recently published (year 2020), available literature on the matter, to facilitate the continuous work on how to best prevent and detect this crime. The aim with this study is to look at already existing literature and to establish what the current focus is when combatting Money Laundering. It is based on three research questions; What are the three main focus’ areas? What are the challenges? How is anti-money laundering regulations tackling cryptocurrency? The method used is a narrative literature review and the search was conducted through Malmö University Electronic Library. Following explicit inclusion and exclusion criteria, the analysis was based on a total of 22 articles. The results show that the focus’ areas’ and challenges are; cryptocurrency and specifically the EU’s fifth anti-money laundering directive, challenges with international cooperation, and lastly, the role of financial institutions and identifying the beneficial owner.

The Covid-19 disease has a large impact on life across the globe, and this could potentially include impacts on crime. Using SARIMA-models, the current study describes how crime has changed in Sweden during a twelve-week period after the first governmental measures was undertaken to limit the spread of the disease. Compared to most other countries, Sweden has undertaken smaller interventions and is therefore an interesting case from a comparative perspective. The findings show that most measure points are within a confidence interval of what is expected from the forecast, indicating that common assaults have not been heavily affected during the study period, contrary to what is expected from a routine activity perspective.

Deficits in executive functions, specifically in response inhibition (RI), have been reported in antisocial behavior, conduct disorder, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), etc. Individuals with deficits in RI have a high probability to show non-adapted social behavior that can lead to crime. Many studies have shown that transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), a noninvasive brain stimulation (NIBS) technique, modulate the activity of the prefrontal cortex and the functions involved in executive control and RI. This article aims to review the literature on the effect of tDCS on RI and executive control and to highlight research avenues to develop therapeutic alternatives to prevent onset and recidivism of crime. A systematic review of the literature was performed in the Libsearch database following PRISMA method. Ten studies were selected showing tDCS modulation of RI measured with the Stop Signal and the Go-NoGo task. Eight of the studies showed gains on RI with tDCS versus sham. The data led to consideration of tDCS as a new therapeutic alternative to improve RI and hence prevention of onset and recidivism on crime. Individual differences, targeted brain areas, the polarity of electrodes and long-term learning effects are further discussed as crucial considerations for future studies.

This study is a part of the research project Automated Phone Follow-Up in Correctional Services. The overall aim of the research project was to investigate if Interactive Voice Response can be used as tool to investigate, monitor and influence levels of stress, depression, anxiety, and use as well as urge of alcohol and drugs among paroled offenders. IVR is a technology based on automated phone interviews, which means that a computer has been programed to call up, ask questions, record answers and provide a feedback to the paroled offenders. Previous publication from the research project explored if it is possible to use automated phone interviews (IVR) to follow-up the development of stress, psychological mood, and use of alcohol and drugs in paroled offenders during the first 30 days following probation (Andersson et al, 2011). The main aim of this study was to investigate if there were any differences in psychological mood, substance use and personality between paroled offenders that participated in at least one automated phone follow-up and paroled offenders that did not participate in any automated phone follow-up. Another aim of this study was to describe the psychological mood, substance use and personality in the total sample group of paroled offenders. The only significant difference between participants and non-participants in the phone follow-up´s was found for the personality trait guilt. The paroled offenders that participated in the phone follow-up scored significant higher on guilt, a scale measuring feelings of guilt and shame after wrongdoing, cheating, of having bad thoughts. The results of the descriptive analysis showed high levels of substance misuse, depression and anxiety symptoms in the total sample group of paroled offenders. The paroled offenders also scored high on personality scales socialization, impulsivity and monotony avoidance compared to healthy subjects.

This paper is the third part of an ongoing research project by Andersson et al. 2014 using Interactive Voice Response, an innovative automatic telephone assessment to study Swedish paroled offenders in the first 30 days after prison. Repeated measures of qualitative reports on daily most stressful events (stressors) and quantitative severity ratings (stress) were used to study the perception of stress in the immediate prison release phase. Adding to the knowledge about prisoners’ reentry by exploring paroled offenders’ perception on daily stressful events and the stress intensity associated with these was the main purpose of this essay. Following a phenomenological approach, daily stressful events could be categorized into social, psychological and physical stressors and an insight in the everyday complexities through the reports of paroled offenders could be provided. While social stressors build the largest category, physical stressors are on average perceived as most severe. Overall stress severity shows an increase over the duration of the study period. The findings further support the feasibility of daily automated telephone assessments in the context of the Swedish Prison and Probation Service. Keywords: immediate prison release, Interactive Voice Response, paroled offenders, stress & stressors, transition phase

Existing research about the manosphere and the subculture of Incels is primarily focused on the discourse on the American online discussion forums. After several high-profile attacks performed by Incels, resulting in severe casualties, the phenomenon of Incels has reached the mainstream media as well as public interest in the forums where members of the manosphere communicate. The discourse displays a highly misogynistic worldview, where the belief in a hegemonic patriarchy is oozing with toxic masculinity. The shared misogyny has also led to discursive interactions between Incels and the alt-right movement. Men are considered to be entitled to women, and a rejection is an excuse for violence. This study aims to investigate if the of misogynistic discourse expressed in the American manosphere as well as in the alt-right has gained hold in a Swedish context. Mainstream media, as well as alternative media, have been investigated and analysed with discourse theory. In discourse theory, language plays an active role in constructing the social world and discourse creates a world that looks real or true for the writer. The Swedish online discussion forum Flashback is where most of the communication seems to take place for groups within the manosphere as well as the alt-right and where most of the misogynistic context can be identified. Themes and concepts from the American misogynistic manosphere can be recognised and has gained a strong hold in the alternative media as well as mainstream media in Sweden. The strong hold of the misogyny in a Swedish context may display a risk for future violent actions.

Mental illness is far higher among prisoners than in general populations, especially for female prisoners. Previous research has discovered that traumatic experience plays a crucial role in the development of psychiatric disorder and other mental health issues in female prisoners. The present paper reviews eight articles, investigating into the negative outcomes associated with trauma-related mental health issues for female prisoners, and how their trauma-related mental health needs are addressed in prison. Systematic text condensation was used to discover similar themes and meanings throughout the articles. The results found a high prevalence of unrecognized and misdiagnosed trauma-related mental health issues across the articles, in particular post-traumatic stress disorder, with treatment having too much focus on substance abuse rather than addressing trauma directly. The review concludes that current prison screening measures and interventions do not identify trauma-related mental health issues adequately or address trauma directly. As a result, prison services do not meet the complex trauma needs of women. Further research needs to be conducted in this area for this population, as trauma-specific treatment is in its infancy.

Elliot Rodger, a 22-year-old student, carried out the Day of Retribution in Isla Vista, California, leaving six dead and fourteen wounded, before taking his own life. There here have been numerous attempts to explain his behavior including claims of him having features of autism spectrum disorder, traits of psychopathy and psychotic symptoms, narcissism, depression, fragile masculinity, and deviant sexual fantasies. This study examines the link between strain, coping and violence, based on General Strain Theory, using a qualitative content analysis of Elliot’s manifesto, My Twisted World: The Story of Elliot Rodger. The results indicate that Elliot experienced multiple sources of strain in his life and that he lacked adequate coping skills, which affected his perceptions of and interactions with the world. He experienced isolation, frustration and anger. These negative emotions together with his sense of entitlement intensified over the years, creating desire for revenge and justifying use of extreme violence as an attempt to eliminate strain and find relief.