Crime Prevention Work with Children and Young People

Our Research

The Swedish National Council for Crime Prevention's school survey on crime shows that just over 50 percent of students in grade 9 have committed some type of crime in the past year, a figure that has remained relatively stable over the past decade. At the same time, there are signs that crime has increased in certain groups of adolescents, particularly violent crime, and the proportion of young people under 18 suspected of serious crimes and/or connected to criminal networks has increased.

In criminological research, it is well established that most young people who commit crimes only commit a few minor offenses over a limited period, but there is a small group of young people who commit more and more serious crimes and continue to commit crimes as they grow older. This latter group often also exhibits other types of problems such as substance abuse or mental health issues.

Crime prevention interventions is needed to reduce youth crime in general, as well as interventions aimed at reaching young people who are on the path to developing more serious criminal behaviour and risk becoming involved in serious violence and organised crime. However, more knowledge on how to best prevent crime among children and young people is limited, especially in a Swedish context, and more research is needed on what interventions should focus on, how preventive work should be designed and implemented, and which interventions are effective.

This research environment brings together different projects focused on crime prevention work with children and young people. The projects include, among other things, summer camps, crime prevention work in schools, and measures to prevent children and young people from becoming involved in organized crime.

The environment is funded by a donation from Länsförsäkringar Skåne