This report presents Brå's statistics on offences reported to the police in 2022 where hate was the underlying motive. The statistics are based on all reported crimes that the police classified as hate crimes and where Brå has also identified hate as the underlying motive in the police report.
This report presents the results of Brå’s study on the police’s work in connection with profiling and equal treatment. The study stems from the Swedish Police Authority’s request for an independent party to investigate what this work looks like at different levels within the organisation. The aim of the report is to contribute towards the Authority’s development work within this area.
In the Politician’s Safety Survey, elected representatives in Sweden are asked to respond to questions concerning self-reported victimisation. This statistical report presents the overall results of the Politician’s Safety Survey (PTU) for the period 2012–2022.
This summary presents the overall results of the Swedish Crime Survey (SCS) 2023. The results of the report are summarised and broken down into the following areas of inquiry: exposure to crime, fear of crime, confidence in the criminal justice system, and crime victims' contact with the criminal justice system.
This report focuses on how circumstances and situations that make fraud possible are targeted by fraud prevention measures. The report also includes recommendations for different crime prevention actors.
The significance of socioeconomic background factors for whether or not individuals become involved in crime has been widely discussed in the field of criminology, and the research literature in this field is extensive. The aim of this report is to provide an easily accessible overview of the knowledge that has been produced by this research.
This report aims to provide a broad picture of how crime prevention work has been conducted and developed locally, regionally and nationally in relation to the objectives described in Sweden’s national crime prevention programme.
It is very much in the public interest that government authorities operate effectively and that their work is of high quality and makes efficient use of public resources. To ensure this, their performance and mutual interactions need to be monitored regularly by both the government and the authorities themselves.
How has the Police Authority organised and managed growth activities? Is the outcome so far in line with the government's goals and what factors might explain any shortcomings in goal fulfilment?
The purpose of this study is to report on the extent to which forensic activities have benefited from the government's investment in 10,000 more police employees, whether the increase in resources has contributed to better results and what remaining obstacles there are to achieve an efficient forensic process.
Digital hate crimes are hate crimes that take place in digital environments, such as social media. The aim of this report was to improve the knowledge on digital hate crime.
This report describes the types of data breach offence that are currently being reported to the police in Sweden and the difficulties that police and prosecutors face in investigating and prosecuting these offences, with a special focus on the more complex data breach offences.
With the exception of hate crimes based on general xenophobic and racist motives, Afrophobia is the most common motive found among reported hate crimes in Sweden. Nevertheless, there is a lack of more detailed knowledge on Afrophobic hate crime. This report has been written at the instruction of the Swedish government, to develop the knowledge base on Afrophobic hate crime in order to improve the opportunities to prevent these offences.
The overall purpose of this survey is to describe trends over time in self-reported exposure to crime and participation in crime among students in year 9. Year 9 is the final year of compulsory education in Sweden, with students aged 15–16. The report is descriptive in nature and therefore does not provide answers as to underlying factors behind being a victim of crime or committing crime. More detailed analyses and explanations of the results may instead be presented in other more in-depth studies.
Citizens’ victimisation, fear of crime, confidence in the criminal justice system and crime victims’ contact with the criminal justice system have long been a focus of Swedish crime policy. Therefore, detailed knowledge of which groups are victims more than others, which groups are adversely affected by fear of crime, and public confidence in the criminal justice system are of value to crime policy makers. The Swedish Crime Survey is an important source of information for this purpose.
To better describe crime prevention work in Sweden, the report is divided into five chapters: • Crime prevention work – National initiatives. • Brå’s development work in 2021. • Regional crime prevention work. • Local crime prevention work. • Final conclusions and discussion.
This report examines incorrect payments from Swedish municipalities and regions to companies and non-profit organisations active in the welfare sector.
In this report, Brå continues with the study of so-called strategic offences – i.e. the offence types in a debut conviction that best predict continued high-frequency offending.
In this report, Brå continues with the study of the sentencing consistency, but also examines which factors are taken into consideration when sentencing, and how this varies between groups of judges and between groups of courts.
This report shows that the number of reported robberies against people under 18 as well as the self-reported exposure to robbery among young people have both increased in recent years.
Does improved lighting reduce levels of crime? What do the strongest evaluations tell us? These questions are answered in this systematic review, which examines the strongest available research to date.
This report presents Brå’s statistics on offences reported to the police in 2020 where hate was the underlying motive. The statistics are based on reported crimes that the police classified as hate crimes and where Brå identified hate as the underlying motive.
This summary presents the overall results of the Politician’s Safety Survey (PTU), 2012–2020. The purpose of the Politician's Safety Survey is to measure the extent and consequences of harassment, threats, and violence experienced by elected representatives who are exposed in their capacity as elected representatives.
This summary presents the overall results of the Swedish Crime Survey (SCS) 2021. The results of the report are summarised and broken down into the following areas of inquiry: victimisation, fear of crime, confidence in the criminal justice system, and crime victims' contact with the criminal justice system.
Citizens’ victimisation, fear of crime, confidence in the criminal justice system and crime victims’ contact with the criminal justice system have long been a focus of Swedish crime policy. Therefore, detailed knowledge of which groups are victims more than others, which groups are adversely affected by fear of crime, and public confidence in the criminal justice system are of value to crime policy makers. The Swedish Crime Survey is an important source of information for this purpose.
During the past ten years, a court verdict was reached in just four cases involving terrorist financing. This report, however, is mainly concerned with the measures taken by the authorities in order to counter the suspected financing of terrorism.
During the course of 2020, a range of new national initiatives were introduced, with both the primary and indirect aims of strengthening crime prevention. This report provides a picture of crime prevention in Sweden and the needs for 2021.
Viewed from a long-term perspective, it is well-established that, at least in Western Europe, homicide levels increased during the period 1960-1990 and have since declined. In Sweden, however, this downward trend has stalled, and since 2013 levels of homicide have once again been on the rise. This study compares recent trends in Sweden with homicide levels and trends in 22 other European countries with a focus on the period since the year 2000.
In 2019, the North Stockholm Police District set up a special investigation team, the Sexual Crimes Group, which only investigates rape cases. This evaluation studies whether the introduction of Group has led to better investigative work in rape cases.
A study of the characteristics of Islamophobic hate crime in Sweden – the nature of the offences, the people who have been subjected to them, who the perpetrators are (when possible), and the consequences of the crimes.
This report features an analysis of the effects in Sweden of the pandemic on the inflow and outflow of cases in the Police Authority, the Prosecution Authority and the courts.
In April 2018, the Swedish Prison and Probation Service was commissioned by the government to conduct a trial programme with so-called reintegration groups. The purpose of the trial programme was that the probation service and other actors would be able to make plans at an early stage and facilitate the reintegration of clients into society by means of coordinated measures.
The presentation of processing decision types on the basis of motive and type of crime provides more detailed knowledge about the legal system's treatment of hate crime. This report is an examination of processing decision types for those reported offences for which the Swedish National Council for Crime Prevention (Brå) has identified as featuring a hate crime motive during the years 2013-2016 and 2018.
An analysis of the prevalence of crimes and disorderly conduct at swimming pools and libraries in Sweden. The purpose of the analysis is to provide a basis for the government in its deliberations on whether swimming pools and libraries should be encompassed by a regulation on injunctions.
This summary presents the overall results of the School Survey on Crime 2019. The overall purpose of this survey is to describe trends in self-reported exposure to crime and participation in crime among students in year 9, which is the last year of compulsory education in Sweden with students aged 15–16.
This summary presents the overall results of the Swedish Crime Survey (SCS) 2020. The results of the report are summarised and broken down into the following areas of inquiry: victimisation, fear of crime, confidence in the criminal justice system, and crime victims’ contact with the criminal justice system.
In order to schedule working hours to better match operational needs, the police have developed a new scheduling model, referred to as 8+2. Brå has followed the pilot project in eight districts.
Measuring and comparing the incidence of rape in different countries can provide knowledge which can be used to combat such crime. However, this requires that the available statistics provide comparable data from the different countries.
A pilot scheme for fast-tracked criminal cases, also known as Fast Track Legal Proceedings, was conducted in the Stockholm North police district in 2018 and 2019.
On 1 July 2018, changes were made to the legislation concerning rape, meaning that the law is now based upon the absence of consent instead of the occurrence of violence, threats or a particularly vulnerable situation. The new law was welcomed by many people as constituting an important societal signal, but there were also concerns (particularly from lawyers) that it would be difficult to apply.
The number of sexual offences reported to the police has increased steadily over the past few decades. In recent years, there has also been an increase in self-reported exposure to sexual offences according to the Swedish Crime Survey (SCS).
The purpose of the Politician's Safety Survey (PTU in Swedish) is to measure the extent and consequences of harassment, threats, and violence experienced by elected representatives who are exposed in their capacity as elected representatives.
This summary presents the overall results of the Swedish Crime Survey (SCS) for 2019. The results of the report are summarised and broken down into the following areas of enquiry: victimisation, fear of crime, confdence in the criminal justice system, and crime victims’ contacts with the criminal justice system.
It has become more difficult to persuade people to report and testify regarding criminal offences. This report aims to answer two overall questions: what motivates the silence and how can more people be persuaded to provide information to the criminal justice system?
What does total reporting of persons suspected of offences entail, and how does this population differ from the population of persons suspected of offences who continue to be suspected of an offence following a completed investigation?
A study of the offence of gross violation of a woman’s integrity in the criminal justice system and an analysis of what might have caused a visible decrease in the numbers of reported, cleared, and convicted offences.
Brå has studied the characteristics of reports of rape of adult women, how the investigative work is conducted, and the reasons why so many investigations are dropped. The courts’ operations are also explored. Finally, a smaller study has been conducted concerning whether different groups of persons suspected of rape are treated equally by the criminal justice system.
What forms does antisemitic hate crime take in Sweden, and who commits these offences? These are the two central questions examined by the Swedish National Council for Crime Prevention in this report.
The purpose of this report is to describe a view of crime prevention in Sweden in 2018 – on the local, regional and national levels – as well as identifying the development needs for 2019.
This summary presents the overall results of the Swedish Crime Survey (SCS) for 2018. The results of the report are summarised and broken down into the following areas of enquiry: victimisation, fear of crime, confidence in the criminal justice system, and crime victims’ contacts with the criminal justice system.
Lethal gun violence in criminal milieux has increased over time. Therefore, Brå has conducted a study of shootings in criminal milieux. The study is based primarily on interviews with individuals who have been active in the milieux where gun violence occurs.
Brå has followed the police-citizen partnership work in four selected areas and evaluated its performance. The purpose of the evaluation is to furnish the police with a picture of the police-citizen partnership work and provide guidance for future development and improvement of this work.
The overall purpose of the School Survey on Crime is to collect and analyse self-reported data from year nine students regarding their exposure to crime and their participation in crime and other deviant behaviour.
The amendment of the provision regarding gross violation of a woman's integrity resulted in more stringent minimum penalties and an expansion of the types of acts that can together constitute a gross violation of integrity.
This study asks how limitations of investigation are put into practice in Sweden and to what extent the decisions come into conflict with other central goals of the justice system.
Implementing effective and appropriately focused efforts in socially disadvantaged areas requires sound knowledge about the underlying situation, not in the least based on the residents’ own experiences. Accordingly, the Government has requested that Brå investigate the relationship to the justice system in socially disadvantaged areas.
During 2017, a large number of local crime prevention measures were undertaken by the police and municipalities, as well as by parties in the commercial sphere and civil society. The purpose of this report is to provide a view of crime prevention work in Sweden.
Socially disadvantaged areas are characterized by, among other things, a large percentage of residents with low socioeconomic status, and criminal elements that have significant impact on the local community. In this report, Brå has studied confidence in the justice system, and the sense of safety among residents in areas which the police identify as socially disadvantaged.
This study addresses harassment, threats, violence, and corruption in organised football, ice hockey, basketball, and bandy. The study focuses specifically on unlawful influence, i.e. events where the victim perceives that the purpose was to influence them when exercising their profession.
The overall purpose of this survey has been to shed light, on a national level, on older people' exposure to various types of offences and their insecurity and concern about crime. At the same time as the percentage of older people in the population continues to increase, knowledge about the victimisation of this demographic group has been limited. The goal of the study, which has been undertaken on Brå's own initiative, is to contribute much-needed fundamental information for future work to prevent crime against older people and create greater security.
This report presents the overall results of the 2017 Swedish Crime Survey (SCS, or NTU in Swedish). The survey covers victimisation, unsafety, confidence in the criminal justice system, and crime victims’ contacts with the criminal justice system.
Hate crime 2016 presents self-reported hate crime victimisation based on the Swedish Crime Survey (SCS), the Politicians’ Safety Survey (PTU) and the School Survey on Crime (SUB), as well as statistics on police reports with identified hate crime motives.
One of the Swedish Government’s gender policy goals is to end men’s violence against women. The National Council for Crime Prevention (Brå) has studied police working methods for preventing men’s serial partner violence against women, as well as approaches and working methods aimed at persuading the perpetrators of violence to cease the violence.
Within three years of release from prison, two out of five persons commit a new offence sanctionable by prison or probation. The National Council for Crime Prevention (Brå) has studied the Prison and Probation Service’s work with special reintegration assistance measures in Sweden.
In 2010, parents with custody of a child became subject to more rigorous liability to pay damages in Sweden. In 2016, the Swedish National Council for Crime Prevention (Brå) was instructed by the Government to evaluate the reform.
This anthology on the asset-oriented approach is intended to function as a handbook where several key actors help to spread knowledge about how to deal with these issues.
The Politician’s Safety Survey (PTU) measures the extent and consequences of harassment, threats, and violence experienced by elected representatives who are exposed in their capacity as elected representatives.
This survey shows that there is a substantial body of research regarding the costs of crime, being conducted internationally, focused variously on the costs of crime, on economic benefits of crime prevention measures, or on other anti-crime measures.
This report addresses how the Swedish Migration Agency and its personnel are subject to unlawful influence in the form of harassment, threats, violence, vandalism, improper offers, and attempts at cronyism.
The study addresses unlawful influence from external customers and clients, i.e. harassment, threats, violence, vandalism, and corruption where the victim perceives the purpose being to influence the discharge of official duties.
Since 1976, Brå has published the Crime Trends in Sweden report series for the purpose of providing a current view of the trends and structure of the main types of offences. The most recent report contains descriptions and analyses of a number of types of offences until 2015. This pamphlet contains a selection of all of the information regarding crime and criminality which you can read in the report.
This report presents the overall results of the 2016 Swedish Crime Survey (Nationella trygghetsundersökningen, NTU, in Swedish). The survey covers exposure to crime, insecurity, trust in the criminal justice system, and victims’ contacts with the justice system.
Sweden has been the object of criticism because a significant number of persons in detention are in isolation. This report studies detention and the conditions in Swedish detention centres.
The School Survey on Crime investigates crime victimisation and participation in crime, as well as other deviant behaviour among year-nine students on the basis of self-reported data.
“Organised crime” is an expression which is used freely in public debate in Sweden. However, the term encompasses a host of different phenomena and forms of organisation, and the import of “organised crime” thus varies depending on who uses the term and how, and when, the term is used.
Worldwide the digitalisation of society is proceeding rapidly, while influencing almost all areas of life. Since law-abiding society continuously interacts with digital-based devices and tools that are often connected to the internet, it would be naive to think that the criminal world would act differently.
Have judicial evidential requirements in criminal cases changed, and if so, what significance may such changes have had on the development of the person-based clearance rate?
Have criminal matters which the justice system has to handle become more difficult to clear, and if so, how has this affected the person-based clearance rate?
The goal of this study is to increase knowledge regarding the support which is offered to defectors around the country and to contribute to the development of efforts which will enable more people to leave criminal groups.
In 2014, the Swedish National Council for Crime Prevention (Brå) was instructed by the Government to conduct a study focused on fraud and the work to combat this type of crime. The reason given was that both victim surveys and reported crime statistics indicate that fraud is on the increase.
The greatest volumes of illegal money appear in economic crimes. Greater focus may thus be placed on combatting economic crimes, verifying cash flows within the financial system, and investigating where this money goes.
This report presents the overall results of the 2015 Swedish Crime Survey (NTU). The survey covers exposure to crime, insecurity, trust in the criminal justice system, and victims’ contacts with the justice system.
The level of victimisation among all elected representatives is higher for the 2014 election year than for 2012. This is the third survey to measure the extent and consequences of harassment, threats, and violence experienced by elected representatives.
Brå has been instructed by the Government to analyse how different factors may have influenced performance in the justice system in respect of investigation and prosecution. The instruction comprises three subareas of which one, the subject of this interim report, is the use of limitations of investigation.
This report analyses all cases of completed murder, manslaughter, and assault with a lethal outcome of which the police were aware from 1990–2014. The purpose is to describe lethal violence in Sweden, both with a focus on the general trends and with a specific focus on lethal violence with firearms.
This final report of project ARIEL is an exploratory study on the infiltration of organised crime groups in legal businesses, featuring a list of risk factors derived from an unprecedented cross-national comparative analysis.
The subject of this report is match-fixing, the manipulation of matches for the purpose of realising winnings on the gambling market. Sporting associations, the gambling industry, the justice system, and the media have paid increasing attention to the phenomenon in recent years.
This study covers occupational activities in Swedish prisons and evaluates the positive effects of occupational activities on the inmates and how they can be developed.
The National Council's (Brå) evaluation of the previous Government' investment in increasing the number of police showed that a rather small percentage of resources went to strengthening emergency response activities, particularly to their work with initial investigation measures.
In this article we compare the number of reported offences per 1,000 of population in Sweden, and the proportion of cleared offences, with the corresponding figures for five other European countries.
What are the consequences of the interdependency of the authorities within the welfare system when it comes to preventing and fighting crime? The focus of this study is on incorrect certificates which are used to commit benefit offences and fraud.
In December 2013, The Swedish National Council for Crime Prevention (Brå) was commissioned by the Government to follow up: • how well the emergency phones are being made available • the extent to which they have come into practical use anaverted danger • how the phones have affected victims’ sense of security and confidence in the criminal justice system.Unabridged original, in Swedish: Larmtelefoner för hotade (2015:7)
This report presents the overall results of the 2014 Swedish Crime Survey (NTU). Approximately 12,000 persons have answered the questions, giving a response rate of 61 per cent.Unabridged original, in Swedish: Nationella trygghetsundersökningen 2014 (2015:1)
On 1 October 2011 a new penal provision on unlawful persecution was introduced in the Swedish Penal Code. The aim of the new provision was to incorporate the cases of repeated offences by one person against another, which did not fulfil the criteria for gross violation of integrity and gross violation of a woman’s integrity.
In July 2010, a number of amendments were made to the Young Offenders Act, the overall aim being for the police to investigate a greater proportion of criminal offences committed by children, and to do so more efficiently.
Systems of criminal sanctions around the world comprise both custodia and non-custodial sanctions. But what impact do custodial versus non-custodial sanctions have on the re-offending of those convicted of offences?
The Swedish National Council for Crime Prevention (Brå) has evaluated the initiative referred to as “20,000 Police”. The initiative involved the Swedish Police being expanded with the addition of approximately 2,500 new officers during the period 2006–2010 with the objective of improving the organisation’s results.
For the second year running, a national survey has been conducted in order to measure the extent and development as well as the consequences of threats, violence and harassment experienced by elected representatives.
This is a report on the overall results of the Swedish Crime Survey (SCS) of 2013. Nearly 13,000 people responded to questions about exposure to crime, insecurity, confidence in the criminal justice system and victims’ contact with the criminal justice system.
In 2010, the Swedish Parliament passed a bill focused on increasing the severity of the sentences imposed for serious violent offences. Brå (the Swedish National Council for Crime Prevention) has evaluated what effect the sentencing reform had produced.
Who corrupts, in which sectors of society can we find the bribe givers and what are they looking to accomplish? Who are the targets of corruption, where are the persons who receive improper offers, what is being offered and how do the attempts at bribery take place?
The purpose of this report is to listen to what employees within the police force believe stands in the way of increasing the clearance rate, primarily for volume crime, irrespective of the increased number of police officers.
This study is based on the perceptions and opinions of the crime prevention work obtained from a large group of police officers. In two separate surveys, almost 350 local police chiefs and officers on patrol duty, among others, answered the question concerning which problems they feel are the biggest and where they feel there is room for improvement.
Following the 2006 parliamentary elections, the new Centre-Right Swedish Government announced that the country would have 20,000 police officers by 2010. That involved an increase of more than 2,500 in the total number of officers during the intervening years. This report discusses whether the results have improved to the extent that can be expected given the magnitude of the effort.
The surveys were conducted every second year between 1995 and 2005, and the periodicity of the survey was then shifted to every third year. The most recent survey was conducted in 2011.Sweden is thus one of only a few European countries that is able to describe trends in juvenile delinquency in this age-group other than by means of crime statistics alone. The studies provide a basis for studying the prevalence of participation in crime and problem behaviours during the period 1995—2011.
Crime and the fear of crime are social issues that are attracting an increasing amount of attention, and the demands being made on society´s capacity to prevent these problems are increasing. There is also a growing need to monitor and analyze crime and the fear of crime.
An evaluation of the working methods employed by the Karin Project, a project that specializes in helping women, men and child victims of violence, threats or sexual abuse by a closely related person. The project also supports children who have witnessed violence, and it can assist people who have been reported to the police.
Most countries have adopted legislation for protecting against the export of certain older cultural objects. This report aims to identify obstacles to applications for permission to export cultural objects
Hate crime 2011 presents details from police reports with various identified hate crime motives and exposure to racist/xenophobic and homophobic hate crimes.
A summary of three studies about probation in general, community service and the so-called layman supervision, which constitutes a central part of the non-institutional care system in Sweden.
This report presents a systematic review, including a number of statistical meta-analyses, of the impact of bullying on later offending and depression, with regard to both the bullies and those exposed to bullying.
This report contains a comparative, descriptive analysis of the 1 577 homicide cases committed in Finland, Sweden and the Netherlands during the years 2003—2006. Differences and similarities have been studied with regards to rates and structural characteristics, giving answers to the questions of where, when and how homicide takes place as well as who the victims and perpetrators are.
In recent years, Brå has made extensive changes in the hate crime statistics, particularly in the report for 2008, where there was a change in how hate crime is defined. Some small changes have also been introduced for this year's hate crime report.
Security guards, place managers and defensible space are among the most used and discussed alternative forms of public surveillance, aimed at reducing and controlling crime in public spaces. But how well do they work? What does the research tell us?
The potential gains from treatment programs for juvenile offenders are of significant interest to the crime policy debate. This is even more the case if the youths in question have been placed in secure correctional facilities.
This study is based on self-report surveys of theft, violence and other problem behaviours (such as truancy and drug use) among school students in year nine (aged fifteen).
The Swedish Crime Survey covers a broad range of issues. This report presents the overall results relating to victimization, fear of crime and public confidence in the criminal justice system.-
A report on how the police can work to prevent violence and alcohol abuse among young people. This is a summary of the Swedish report Utvärdering av Kronobergsmodellen, report no 2009:5.
Much attention has been paid in both criminology and psychology to the importance of self-control in regulating individual's antisocial, delinquent or criminal behaviour. Many programs have also been introduced to improve self-control. But how well do they work?
Interventions to prevent criminal behaviour among offenders are vital in modern societies criminal policies. A number of programs have been implemented and some of them focus on violent offender specifically.But how well do they work?
Each year, hundreds of thousands of people are recruited and transported for the purpose of exploitation. The majority are women and girls, and the main purpose is sexual exploitation.
Bullying has probably been a problem among children throughout the history of mankind. The past few decades have witnessed a steady increase in the number of programmes to combat bullying that have been developed and tested in school settings. But how well do they work?
Mentoring constitutes a method of preventing criminality and other destructive behaviours that is becoming the focus of an increasing amount of attention. The method usually involves a more experienced individual providing a young person with special needs with support, advice and guidance in order to improve the latter´s chances in life. But how well does it work?
Early family/parent training (EFPT) programmes constitute a set of methods for reducing children's behavioural problems and later delinquency that for some time have been the focus of increasing attention. But how well do they work?
Finding one's bearings in relation to a constantly growing body of research and drawing one's own conclusions is often difficult. This also applies to research on the effects produced by measures intended to combat crime. Systematic meta-analyses are one means of helping people to pick their way through the jungle of research findings.
Finding one´s bearings in relation to a constantly growing body of research and drawing one´s own conclusions is often difficult. This also applies to research on the effects produced by measures intended to combat crime.
This report is an English summary of the Swedish report Brott under ytan, report no 2007:5, and deals with crimes against historical sites and remains.
There has been an expansion in the use of electronic monitoring in the criminal justice arena in many countries. Sweden was one of the first countries in Europe to introduce electronic monitoring in 1994, as a way of serving short prison sentences.
This is a report presenting a case study which has formed part of a larger project, financed by the 2004 AGIS programme of the European Commission. It had the objective of developing a risk-based methodology for the analysis of the long-term threat from organised crime.
There are people who are repeatedly harassed or persecuted by another person, who threatens them, makes unwelcome visits, phones repeatedly and sends letters or e-mails with offensive contents. This is stalking.
In June of 2005 the Swedish National Council for Crime Prevention (Brottsförebyggande rådet — Brå) was commissioned by the Swedish Government to produce a knowledge base relating to the phenomenon known as stalking, i.e. where one person is repeatedly harassed by another individual.
Electronic monitoring has been used for over two decades in connection with coercive criminal procedural measures or the sanctioning of criminal activity. This document presents the technical and legal factors that should be taken into consideration when contemplating the use of electronic monitoring for crime prevention purposes.
In general terms mediation may be described as a method of conflict resolution whereby two parties to a dispute attempt to resolve their differences together with an independent and impartial mediator. This summary of a Swedish report on mediation, offers an overview of the current state of knowledge.
The number of young offenders being sentenced to the care of the social services has increased five-fold over the past 25 years. The current report represents an update of this work, and is intended to provide an up to date picture of the content of the sanction whereby youths are remanded into the care of the social services.
Intolerance of minorities — which may take such forms as discrimination, harassment, vilification, threats, and physical violence — is a serious social problem.
This report examines frauds against personal insurance in both the private and public sectors, and against all of the social benefits administered by the Swedish Social Insurance Administration (Försäkringskassan).
The International Crime Victimisation Survey, ICVS, is currently the most trustworthy source for comparing crime in different countries. The present report summarises and collates the results of the most recent survey, which was carried out in 1996.
In Sweden, the use of surveillance cameras is subject to a greater level of regulation than in many other countries; as a rule, for example, a permit is required from the county administrative board before such cameras can be used in most areas to which the general public has access. In this report, the National Council for Crime Prevention presents the first Swedish case studies of the use of surveillance cameras for the purposes of crime prevention, as well as a compilation of previous, primarily international, experiences in this area.
This study takes as its point of departure the need for a description of reported consummated rape offences (i.e. excluding offences recorded as attempted rape).
In the spring of 2002, the National Prison and Probation Administration was instructed by the Swedish Government to implement a three-year initiative to combat drug abuse among prison and probation service clients.
The government has assigned the task of evaluating this trial project to the National Council for Crime Prevention (Brå) in consultation with the National Prison and Probation Administration (Kriminalvårdsstyrelsen). This, the second progress report from this evaluation, describes the inmates' social situation following their participation in the EM release programme.
In 1999, legislation was introduced requiring external auditors of Swedish joint-stock companies to report to the public prosecutor suspicions of economic offences committed by managing directors or company board members. This report examines both the auditors' attitudes towards this reporting requirement and its effects.
Questions of crime prevention tend usually however to be directed at traditional offences, such as theft, and at specific problem areas, such as youth crime, that are also dominated by traditional forms of crime. The current report is unusual in the sense that it focuses on another type of crime altogether, namely white-collar crime or economic crime, which is the term commonly used in Sweden.
Some are exposed to crime more often than others — repeat victimisation. A small group of offenders are responsible for a large proportion of all the offences committed. The same relationship is found in relation to the victims of crime; a small group of victims are exposed to crime repeatedly, and are therefore the victims of a large proportion of all the crime committed. Thus the colloquialism that lightning never strikes twice does not apply to the distribution of criminal victimisation. The repeated exposure to crime experienced by a small group of victims is found in relation to several different types of offence, including assault, robbery, car-related crime, and break-ins at schools and in shops.
The organisation known as KRIS (Criminals' Return Into Society), was formed in Stockholm in 1997 on the initiative of four individuals with a long history of involvement in crime and drug abuse. The basic idea was to form an association of people with similar experiences, which could provide a supportive network for individuals wishing to leave a life of crime and drug abuse behind them. By the spring of 2002, the national federation formed in 2000 had come to include 23 local KRIS-associations, divided into five different regions. The National Council for Crime Prevention (Brå) has surveyed the work of the four largest associations within the KRIS organisation.
In 2001 a pilot project was initiated employing electronic monitoring for those sentenced to a prison term of at least two years. They are given the opportunity to serve the final part of their sentence — up to a maximum of four months — outside prison under electronic monitoring, also known as the EM-release programme. The National Council for Crime Prevention has been commissioned by the government to evaluate this pilot project. This first report describes the project in relation to those who started an EM-release during the first eight months of the programme.
The Law on the Restraining Orders was introduced with the objective of better protecting individuals who are being persecuted and harassed. The law was introduced as a part of efforts being made to restrict incidents of violence perpetrated against women in the context of intimate relationships. The National Council for Crime Prevention has evaluated the law and its effects.
A large proportion of all drug abusers will sooner or later come into contact with the prison service. This means that the prison system constitutes one possible arena upon which to focus society´s efforts to combat drug abuse. Against this background, in 2002, the National Prison and Probation Administration was commissioned by the Swedish Government to initiate a special effort to combat drug abuse among prison service clients.
The Lugna Gatan programme in Stockholm started in 1994. The basic idea is to reduce levels of violence, vandalism and other forms of offending among youths in the county of Stockholm by means of activities run by young persons who themselves have experience of asocial behaviour and of not fitting in. This study illuminates two types of activity included in the Lugna Gatan programme.
The Cognitive Skills programme was developed in Canada during the 1980s. It provides the participants with new techniques for examining and altering the way they think, thereby facilitating a change in behaviour. It was introduced for use in the Swedish prison and probation service in 1995. The evaluation of Cognitive Skills conducted by the National Council for Crime Prevention (Brå) illuminates the use of the programme in Sweden from four different perspectives.
The main objective of this study is to make a contribution towards increasing levels of knowledge on crimes of assault reported to the police where the victims are women involved in an intimate relationship with the assailant (i.e. a husband, cohabitee, boyfriend or ‘ex´).
In 1999, certain changes were made to the sanctioning system for young offenders in order to augment and clarify the sanction of remand to the care of the social services. The changes were intended to better satisfy the criminal justice principles of predictability, proportionality and consistency. This is an evaluation of the changes that were made.
It is would be wrong to characterise the road haulage industry as an unmitigated problem area characterised by extensive economic crime. But this does not mean that there aren't a number of problems that lorry drivers and hauliers are constantly trying to deal with. This report is based on in-depth interviews with 36 hauliers and long-distance lorry drivers in Sweden and Norway.
The company BT Kemi had been manufacturing pesticides in the former sugar plant in Teckomatorp since 1965. The local population soon began reporting the leakage of chemicals into a nearby river and that the plant was emitting a nasty odour, which led various agencies to act to tighten environmental standards. The company was able to successfully circumvent and delay the implementation of these standards, however, by exploiting weaknesses in the environmental legislation.This report analyses which actors played a role in this process, which problems and solutions were presented in the debate and which of these issues then exerted influence when the new, tightened legislation came to be formulated.
Since the mid 1970s, the clear-up rate has fallen. This drop has been particularly marked and consistent since the beginning of the 1980s. At its peak in 1982, the clear-up rate lay at 41 per cent, since when it has fallen successively, reaching a low of 23 per cent in 1996. The clearance rate for the year 2000 was 26 per cent. This is an analysis of possible explanations.
The term economic crime is usually employed to refer to offences committed by businesses; crimes motivated by profit that take place within the framework of a legitimate business enterprise. In Sweden, in practice this means tax offences, accountancy offences and offences against creditors. These are the types of crime that account for the largest volumes of offence reports and convictions in the area of economic offending.
This report examines the question of how the criminal law works in practice as a means of controlling potentially harmful activities. The empirical data are in part comprised of a questionnaire survey of local authority supervisory agencies, county administrative boards, police and prosecutors, and in part on two further questionnaires.
The concept of hate crimes is today used increasingly often as a generic term referring to crimes of a racist, xenophobic and homophobic nature. Characteristic of such crimes is that they involve a violation of human rights and run contrary to fundamental social values that regard all human beings as equals. This study describes the measures taken to prioritise hate crimes, focusing primarily on the work of the justice system.
There are substantial differences in the crime levels in Sweden's local authority areas, as can be seen from the official statistics of reported offences produced by the National Council for Crime Prevention. Comparisons based on these statistics do not always present a fair picture however. This report presents the results from a statistical study which compares crime levels in Sweden's local authority areas in a more sophisticated way than has been attempted before.
The very nature of the term ‘organised crime´ indicates that this is a type of offending conducted in more organised forms than crime in general. It involves groups of people, large or small, collaborating in order to participate in criminal activities. Their professionalism presupposes planning, a division of labour, leadership, communication and financing. But what is the nature of organised crime in Sweden?
In order to generate effective measures against shop robberies, it is necessary to have reliable information relating to crimes of this kind. To date, the available knowledge on shop robberies remains relatively limited. The principle objective of the current study has been to improve knowledge on robberies of shops and stores.
The report series Swedish Crime Trends has been published since 1976. In this year's report sixteen researchers at the National Council for Crime Prevention describe and analyse trends across a variety of offence categories, with the emphasis placed on the years 1998-2000.
The Exit project was initiated in 1998 by a person who had himself broken his ties to the White Power movement a few years earlier. The project's objectives are to help young people wishing to break out of racist and nazi groups. The National Council for Crime Prevention has been tasked by the government to follow up and evaluate the work conducted by the Exit project.
The objective of this study is to examine how the prison service works to prepare prisoners for release on parole and to facilitate readjustment to life outside prison. The study follows a group of prison service clients from a point one month prior to their release from prison on parole until approximately six months after their release.
The term repeat victimisation refers to a situation where the same person or object (such as a school or shop) is exposed to several criminal offences within a certain period of time. Research from other countries has shown that this type of victimisation is relatively common. In Sweden, however, the available knowledge on repeat victimisation is limited. The objective of this study is to add to what is known about repeat victimisation in Sweden, and to elucidate the significance of such knowledge for crime prevention work.
The objective of the community police reform was to change the traditional and often reactive working practices employed by the police. The reform emphasise crime prevention activities and local co-operation. The National Council for Crime Prevention has examined the community police reform and evaluated the work conducted by the police to combat everyday crime.
The hope of the National Council is that this anthology will function as a bridge between Swedish economic crime research and research being conducted elsewhere in the international community. It constitutes a means of enabling Swedish scholars to reach out to an international audience as well as enabling academics from other countries to make an impression on our own research. It is also intended to stimulate a wider audience to take an interest in this area of research.
Relatively little is known about acts of lethal violence committed against women within the context of an intimate relationship in Sweden. How many victims are there of this type of offence, for example? On the basis of data covering all cases of lethal violence reported to the police during the 1990s, this compilation has been made of all information relating to cases of lethal violence against women in intimate relationships.
The question of escapes and criminal offences occurring in association with prison leave is a contentious issue, which is brought to the fore at regular intervals. As a rule, the question is brought up when attention becomes focused on a serious crime committed in connection with prison leave. The report illuminates how the institution of prison leave has emerged and evolved, and what has been done over the years in order to reduce the risk of misconduct in association with prison leave.
Among the provisions contained within the Swedish Penal Code, there is one that is of particular significance in relation to crimes of a racist or xenophobic nature. The law was introduced in 1948 and has existed in its current form since 1988. This law relates to the protection of groups, not of individuals. During the 1990s, there was a dramatic increase in the number of reported offences recorded by the police as agitation against a national or ethnic group.
This study is based on cross-sectional self-report surveys of delinquency, carried out among ninth grade pupils in 1995, 1997 and 1999. The objectives of the report are to describe the prevalence of delinquency among ninth grade boys and girls as well as developments over time (1995-1999) in the proportions of pupils reporting participation in such behaviours. The study also aims to illustrate the extent to which the pupils are themselves victimised.
On a September day in 1995, a young man was found stabbed to death in shrubbery near the centre of a small town in Skåne, southern Sweden, called Klippan. The man turned out to be an asylum-seeker from the Ivory Coast. This is a study of the processes and factors that led to the murder, as well as of open expressions of racism and Nazism in the area.
The National Council for Crime Prevention (Brå) has carried out a study of juvenile robbery in Malmö and Stockholm. The study is partly based on statistics relating to robberies reported to the police during the latter part of the 1990s, and partly on a questionnaire survey administered in the autumn of 1999.
This report presents and discusses international research into economic crime. The presentation includes concrete research findings as well as both attendant theoretical perspectives and other prominent themes. The principle focus is directed at internationally recognised, empirically based research, primarily produced in the Anglo-Saxon countries.
The Act (1998:408) prohibiting the purchase of sexual services came into effect on January 1st 1999, criminalising anyone who purchases or attempts to purchase a casual sexual relation. Persons committing such acts may be penalised by means of fines or a maximum of six months imprisonment. The aim of this study is to chart the way this new law has been implemented.
One of the more important tasks of crime policy is to reduce the level of recruitment into criminal lifestyles. In order to achieve this, it is important to identify as quickly as possible those offences whose appearance early on in a criminal career indicates a long and serious subsequent career in delinquency. The principle objective of this study is to identify those debut offences which indicate a high risk for a continued criminal career, and those indicating a lower risk. It is thus a question of identifying what are generally known as ‘strategic offences´.
The number of persons prosecuted for drug offences during a five-year period from the introduction of the more severe punishment in 1993 has risen by 40 percent compared with the previous five-year period. Those who have been prosecuted have largely committed minor drug offences. The present report evaluates the consequences of the legislative changes made in 1988 and 1993 for the justice system's action against drug misuse.
Official conviction statistics indicate that there are relatively large differences between counties as regards the proportion of district court judgements resulting in prison sentences. During the three year period from 1995-1997, this proportion lay at an average of 23 per cent for the whole of Sweden. The current study is based on the country´s district courts and examines the differences between them.
Since 1965, the societal response to young offending has been regulated primarily by the Act (1964:167) containing specific provisions for young offenders (LUL). Over the past two decades, a number of reforms to this law have been passed. The aim of this report is to describe developments in the sanction system over the past two decades, and in particular to highlight the effects of reforms to the LUL.
Mediation with crime is a way of bringing perpetrators together with their victims in the presence of an impartial mediator. The theoretical point of departure for mediation is that perpetrators shall be given an opportunity to understand and take responsibility for the consequences of their offences. In addition, the opportunity shall be given for victims to work through the experience of being a victim, and for the immediate community to reinforce social control. The National Council for Crime Prevention has evaluated the trial with mediation projects for youthful offenders in different parts of the country.
In Sweden, the number of reported assaults against children aged 0 to 6 registered by the police has increased substantially during the 1990s. Offences committed by a perpetrator known to the child more than doubled, for example, between the years 1990 and 1998 (from 330 to 709 reported offences). The study's objective is to provide new insights into this form of crime and also to attempt to discover the causes behind the substantial increase in the number of reported assaults against children registered by the police during the 1990s.
Early in 1998 the Ministry of Justice gave the National Council for Crime Prevention the task of initiating and evaluating mediation trials for young offenders. The final results are to be revealed in March 2000. The purpose of the present report is to examine the effects that mediation can have on young offenders. The present study deals with offenders' experiences and perceptions of mediation, together with their insights into the consequences for the victims of their actions.
The National Council for Crime Prevention has been requested to chart the efforts made by the prison and probation service and other relevant administrations to ensure that prisoners have accommodation, any necessary financial support, work, and opportunities for education, vocational training, and treatment for substance abuse on release. The survey is to take account of efforts made prior to and after release from prison.
The Swedish National Council for Crime Prevention (Brottsförebyggande rådet — Brå) has the task of producing the official statistics for the Swedish justice system in a way that allows for the conduct of cross-national comparisons.
In the summer of 1997, the Ministry of Justice assigned the Committee for Crime Prevention Work to support Helsingborg's municipality in its efforts to develop a local crime prevention plan of action to deal with criminality among the motorcycle gangs. The municipality also wanted the Committee's support in making a survey of what was known about criminal motorcycle gangs. The Committee handed over the assignment to the National Council for Crime Prevention.
In the last few years, young people's experimental use of narcotics has often attracted attention in Sweden. Findings from annual surveys of young people's drug habits indicate that the use of drugs among youth has increased. In the public debate regarding this issue, it has been emphasised that forceful efforts must be made to thwart this negative trend in development. Furthermore, in the Government authorities' directives for the police, the fight against narcotics has been given a high priority. This report presents the results of two investigations of the police's preventive strategies as regards the narcotics problem among youth.
The National Council for Crime Prevention (Brå) was requested by the government to evaluate the 1994 legislative changes concerning various aspects of the offence of gross drunken driving. The evaluation was required to take account of the costs and consequences of the changes, to give special attention to whether traffic safety had been improved, to ascertain whether the courts' choice of sanction had been influenced by the changed legislation and whether the rate of relapse into drunken driving had changed.
