"We will break the vicious circle" - A study on Swedish prison officers' views on violent extremists and radicalised persons

Abstract

The aim with this study is to find out how prison officers in Gothenburg are identifying violent extremism and radicalisation. The method used to find information regarding this was interviews performed with thirteen prison officers who have recently finished the basic training programme. The interviews lasted approximately 30 to 40 minutes each, and were performed during two different periods when the basic training programme educated the prison officers in radicalisation and violent extremism. The theoretical framework used to extract information is made by Moscovici, and involves categorisation and social representation. The interviews have been analysed through discursive analysis, which helped the study to gain depth and an interesting angle of approach. The findings on the first research question show approximately half of the prison officers felt they did not learn anything from the lecture, and the other half are positive towards the content of the lecture. The findings on the second research question show eleven prison officers cannot identify a violent extremist person from looks and appearance, meanwhile two prison officers mean they are able to identify them. This gives the education and the lecture about violent extremism and radicalisation credibility and should mean positive response.