BROTT MOT GRIFTEFRIDEN - Kartläggning och situationell brottsanalys.

Abstract

Aims and objectives: The thesis has a two-folded aim, firstly to explore and describe the scope and characteristics of the crime “violating the peace of the dead” in a Swedish contemporary context. Secondly, to analyze the crime-causes from a situational perspective, by testing the validation of situational action theory (SAT), combined with supporting interactional theories and morality concepts. In this way, the thesis can contribute with theoretical development and inspire future interdisciplinary research. This is important, not only since previous research is scarce, but also for testing and elaborating criminological theory in a wider context. Method and data: The empirical material consists of court documents: 35 sentences between the years 2009- 2019. With inspiration from previous studies of rare crimes, I chose to conduct a single case design with embedded units of analysis, using within- and cross-case analysis. Early in the process I divided the collected material in two categories, and the main analysis focused on the unlawful treatment of a dead body (not the grave). The systematic analysis was done in a framework based on mainly three levels of analytical categories: sentence data, case elements and theoretical concepts. Results: The descriptive results show an increase in number of sentences over the recent years. This might be related to an increased sensitivity for violence in society, as well as changes in legal praxis, but still hiding or mutilation of victims of deadly violence are rare. The theoretical analysis suggests that the cases firstly can be seen as representing three different situational dimensions: the social, the private and the coincidental dimension. And secondly, each dimension constructs a specific meaning intertwining the individual, interaction and context, influencing the causation. The main theory, SAT, had some limitations in explaining this type of crime, but was useful combined with supporting theories. However, developing a crime specific theory seems less helpful, these crimes are too heterogenous. Instead, they are best understood as situationally dependent moral (inter)actions.