JUVENILE DELINQUENCY IN THE EUROPEAN UNION - A qualitative study with focus on juvenile delinquency in the European city Malmö

Abstract

The aim of this qualitative research is to investigate the shifts in juvenile delinquency in the southern Swedish city called Malmö. My two research questions are; 1) From the perspective of serving employees at the Police Department in Malmö, in what ways have juvenile delinquency changed the recent years? 2) Which factors do employees at the Police Department in Malmö believe have impacted such changes in juvenile delinquency? The study introduces the topic juvenile delinquency in the European Union (EU) and Sweden with the help of former studies and theories on the subject. The data collection is based on my interviews with seven currently active police officers at the Police Department in Malmö. Theories used to explain the juvenile's behavior and the experience of the respondents are the social bond theory, the social learning theory and the subcultural theory. The interviews are showing that the juvenile delinquency has not increased itself, but the respondents highlight that the juveniles are starting their criminal path in earlier stage than before. Furthermore, the respondents have experienced an increase of juvenile delinquency when it comes to the level of crime where juvenile crimes have gone from small more “innocent crimes” to serious crimes. The absence of good role models in juveniles surrounding is a factor for choosing the criminal way in life, that the social surroundings impact if they live in exposed areas in the city. My study also showed that many juveniles with foreign background have different attitude and trust level towards the Police in Malmö.