| 1. |
- Atak, Kıvanç
(author)
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'‘Inappropriate but not crime?’ Policing racial hatred in Sweden
- 2020
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In: Nordic Journal of Criminology. - : Taylor & Francis. - 2578-983X .- 2578-9821. ; 21:1, s. 32-48
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Racial bias afflicts police practices across the globe. Police discrimination against and mistreatment of racial and ethnic minorities is indeed difficult to underestimate. While much attention has been thus paid to racially biased policing, fewer studies examine the question from the reverse angle, namely how the police themselves combat racist offences. This article offers empirical insights into the policing of racial hatred in Sweden, a relevant yet relatively understudied case. Drawing on interviews with police officers and crime investigators, I discuss law enforcement perspectives, e.g. perceptions and reasoning in relation to the investigation of racist offences. Findings evince a rather narrow approach as regards the constructions of racist motive that involves a relatively restricted use of bias labelling in identifying hate incidents, especially when the boundaries of racial hostility are perceived as blurred. I argue that while such an approach may reflect a legitimate effort to demonstrate the existence of a motive behind an offence, it may also lead to an underestimation of more mundane forms of racism and their harms inflicted upon racialized individuals and communities. The results have implications for ‘recognition’ and ‘belonging’ as benchmarks of democratic policing, and ‘the promise of inclusion’ associated with combatting hate crimes.
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| 2. |
- Beckley, Amber L., 1981-, et al.
(author)
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The Stockholm life-course project : investigating offending and non-lethal severe violent victimization
- 2022
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In: Nordic Journal of Criminology. - : Taylor & Francis. - 2578-983X .- 2578-9821 .- 1404-3858 .- 1651-2340. ; 23:1, s. 61-82
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Much is known about the patterning of offending throughout life, but less about the patterning of victimization. In this study, we used data from the Stockholm Life-Course Project (SLCP), a longitudinal study that includes measures of childhood problem behaviour. We analysed offending (criminal conviction and police suspicion), inpatient hospitalization and outpatient care for violent victimization. We replicated the well-established age-crime curve amongst SLCP study members. We found that hospitalization for severe violent victimization was most likely to occur between 20 and 40 years of age. We additionally considered how childhood problem behaviour impacted overall risk and life-course patterning of offending and victimization. Childhood problem behaviour was associated with a greater risk of criminal conviction. But childhood problem behaviour showed inconsistent associations with risk for police suspicion. Childhood problem behaviour was generally associated with greater involvement in crime up to middle adulthood. Childhood problem behaviour was generally associated with a greater risk of victimization. However, we were limited in our ability to estimate the effect of childhood problem behaviour on life-course patterning of victimization due to the rarity of victimization. These results imply a need for larger studies on violent victimization and greater nuance in our understanding of childhood risks and their life-long outcomes.
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| 3. |
- Binde, Per, et al.
(author)
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Violating trust : a study of court verdicts in cases of gambling-driven economic crimes in the workplace
- 2022
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In: Nordic Journal of Criminology. - 2578-983X .- 2578-9821. ; 23:2, s. 212-230
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- This study investigated trust-violating economic crimes committed in businesses and at public and non-profit organizations by employees with problem gambling. Verdicts delivered by the Swedish general courts over a five-year period (N = 283,884) were subject to a keyword search, and verdicts matching the search criteria (n = 1,232) were examined in detail, identifying 62 such cases. A notable finding was that middle-aged women with no previous criminal record were overrepresented compared with women in national statistics on crimes in general. Non-profit organizations and public services were relatively ineffective in detecting gambling-driven trust-violating crimes. The implications of our findings for criminological theory are discussed; the results lend support to Donald Cressey’s theory of trust-violating crime as driven by a non-shareable problem and agree with the ‘fraud triangle’ conceptualization. We conclude that although these gambling-driven crimes are relatively rare, the risk of them occurring should not be ignored by businesses and organizations as the consequences can be severe and, for small businesses, sometimes devastating.
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| 4. |
- Bäckman, Olof, et al.
(author)
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Criminal convictions and immigrant background 1973–2017 in Sweden – have differences increased or declined?
- 2021
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In: Nordic Journal of Criminology. - 2578-983X .- 2578-9821. ; 22:2, s. 149-168
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- This study investigates Swedish conviction trends by individuals’ immigrant background for the period 1973–2017. The central research question is whether relative differences in conviction levels have increased, declined or remained unchanged over recent decades. This question is examined in part using a traditional cross-sectional approach, and in part using a cohort-based approach. All results are presented by gender, and results for the cohort-based approach also by holding socioeconomic background constant. The results show that conviction levels have decreased, to a greater extent among men than among women, irrespective of immigrant background. The level of overrepresentation among those born in Sweden to foreign-born parents has increased somewhat, while the overrepresentation of those born abroad has decreased towards the end of the period examined.
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| 5. |
- Enell, Sofia, et al.
(author)
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Confinement and restrictive measures against young people in the Nordic countries : A comparative analysis of Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden
- 2022
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In: Nordic journal of criminology. - : Taylor & Francis Group. - 2578-983X .- 2578-9821. ; 23:2, s. 174-191
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- This article reviews and compares the use of confinement and other restrictive measures against young people under 18 in child welfare and/or the criminal justice systems in Denmark, Sweden, Finland, and Norway. Young people are confined for a variety of reasons, including protection, care, treatment, and punishment. However, confinement of young people is a contested issue because it can beviewed as necessary but also potentially harmful. Comparison of legislation and practices reveals that while there are some similarities in the service provisions for young people, there are also significant disparities among the four countries regarding the organization, function, and frequency of the use of confinement and restrictive measures. While Denmark and Sweden use secure welfare institutions, Finland and Norway apply other restrictive measures. Despite the differences in approaches to confinement in the Nordic countries, the use of confinement is guided by the principle of the child’s best interest, and the child welfare system is the main frame for confinement and intervention. The article discusses these disparate practices from the perspective of children’s rights and identifies new avenues for research and practice.
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| 6. |
- Estrada, Felipe, et al.
(author)
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The female offender - A century of registered crime and daily press reporting on women’s crime
- 2019
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In: Nordic Journal of Criminology. - 2578-983X .- 2578-9821. ; 20:2, s. 138-156
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- This article examines how women’s crime has been reflected in crime statistics and media crime reporting. We employ a long-term historical perspective, looking at developments from the beginning of the 20th century until the present. We describe the overarching processes that underlie the decline in the gender gap in convictions for theft and violent crime, respectively, at different times during the past century. The study also use a new data set comprised of newspaper articles on women’s and men’s offending published by the Swedish press between 1905 and 2015. We compare the trend in the number of articles focused on offences committed by women and men respectively, variations in the offence types that the daily press choose to report on and the overarching explanations for crime that are discussed in the articles. The results show that levels of coverage and the types of crime that attract media attention are strikingly similar for men and women, but throughout the whole period there is a greater need for the newspapers to find reasons for women’s offending. Moreover, there has been no marked increase in the press focus on women’s crime as women have comprised an increasing proportion of those convicted of criminal offences.
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| 7. |
- Fredriksson, Tea
(author)
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Avenger in distress : a semiotic study of Lisbeth Salander, rape-revenge and ideology
- 2021
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In: Nordic Journal of Criminology. - 2578-983X .- 2578-9821. ; :1, s. 58-71
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Culturally constructed ideals and stereotypes are part of collective sense-making processes. One such stereotype is Nils Christie's ideal victim. The present study discusses how the ideal victim shares key features with another cultural stereotype: the damsel in distress. Moreover, the study addresses attempts at subverting such stereotypes, which can be found in the women avengers of rape-revenge narratives. Studies of rape-revenge narratives have elucidated how such stories (re)imagine rape victimhood and survival in Western and Nordic culture, in ways that question the ideal victim qua damsel and her underlying patriarchal ideologies from a feminist perspective. However, such critique has led to the creation of other stereotypes and ideologically complex and even problematic portrayals of rape and victimization. Through a semiotic analysis of portrayals of a popular rape-revenge protagonist, Lisbeth Salander, the present study discusses how different ideologies surface, converse, and collide in fictional narratives of rape, survival, victimhood, revenge, and retribution. The study finds that while embodying resistance to the damsel, Lisbeth Salander also embodies aspects of the patriarchal ideologies that keep the damsel in place, thus creating an ideologically complex image. This creates a space for questioning the cultural understanding of rape, victimhood, and resistance.
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| 8. |
- Gerell, Manne, Docent, 1979-, et al.
(author)
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COVID-19 restrictions, pub closures, and crime in Oslo, Norway
- 2022
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In: Nordic Journal of Criminology. - : Taylor & Francis. - 2578-983X .- 2578-9821. ; 23:2, s. 136-155
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Alcohol consumption and crime are closely linked and there is often more crime near pubs and bars. Few studies have considered the impact of restricting access to pubs or bars on crime, and the present study aims to provide more insight into this by using the restrictions to combat the COVID-19 pandemic as a natural experiment. In Oslo, Norway, alcohol serving was banned twice during 2020, and at other times during the year, restrictions were placed on how late it could be served. In the present paper, these restrictions are analysed, alongside more general COVID-19 restrictions, to assess their association with crime. To identify these, we employ negative binomial regression models of daily crime counts for nine types of crime adjusted for the day of the week, the week of the year, and the year itself. This is in addition to the presence, or absence, of alcohol-related restrictions and more general COVID-19 restrictions. The findings suggest that both, general restrictions and bans on serving alcohol, reduced crime, although not universally across all crime types and times of the day. When pubs are ordered not to sell alcohol after midnight there appears to be an unexpected increase in crime.
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| 9. |
- Golovchanova, Nadezhda, 1983-, et al.
(author)
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Perceived reasons of unsafety among independently living older adults in Sweden
- 2022
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In: Nordic Journal of Criminology. - : Taylor & Francis. - 2578-983X .- 2578-9821. ; 23:1, s. 44-60
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Feeling safe is important for quality of life in advanced age. The current study aimed to investigate whether different perceived reasons for unsafety uniquely contribute to the feelings of unsafety in the neighbourhood and at home while ageing. Data from a cross- sectional survey study on older adults living independently in Sweden were analysed (N = 622, age range 64–106 years, 60.6% female). Binary logistic regressions revealed unique associations between fear of crime, unattractive social climate in the neighbour-hood, and inconvenient infrastructure at home with experienced feelings of unsafety, while controlling for socio-demographic fac-tors. When distinguishing between reasons for feeling unsafe in the neighbourhood and at home, different associations with socio- demographic factors emerged. Higher age was positively asso-ciated with health-related unsafety both in the neighbourhood and at home and was not related to fear of crime neither in the neighbourhood nor at home. Female gender was associated with both health-related unsafety and fear of crime in the neighbour-hood and with health-related unsafety at home. Overall, the find-ings highlight the presence of a range of perceived reasons of unsafety relevant for older adults and the importance to consider these subjective unsafety reasons in further research and practice.
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| 10. |
- Gottzén, Lucas, 1977-
(author)
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Violent men’s paths to batterer intervention programs : masculinity, turning points and narrative selves
- 2019
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In: Nordic Journal of Criminology. - 2578-983X .- 2578-9821. ; 20:1, s. 20-34
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Drawing on interviews with voluntary participants in intervention programmes for perpetrators of intimate partner violence in Sweden, the present article analyses violent men’s turning-point stories, that is, their narratives of deciding to start and starting treatment. Three types of turning-point stories are identified: narratives that describe men recognizing their violence either before or during treatment, and narratives of returning to treatment. Through these stories, the men not only present reasons for joining therapy, but also produce gendered narrative selves. In particular they present themselves as morally ‘good’ and self-conscious men by simultaneously acknowledging their abusive behaviour and distancing themselves from being violent men.
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