This thesis aimed to find out how gang violence had been reported in the Swedish newspapers Dagens Nyheter and Aftonbladet between 2010-2021 and if there had been any changes during the selected time period. The articles for the thesis were chosen through a probability sample technique called systematic sample. There were around 8000 articles in total that were found while using our searchterms. Then every tenth article was chosen for coding from each year. A total number of 811 articles were collected, 466 from Dagens Nyheter and 345 from Aftonbladet. The thesis found that there was no significant difference between the newspapers in the way of reporting about gang violence during the time period. Both Dagens Nyheter and Aftonbladet reported a lot about the criminal actions that the gangs had committed and the newspapers had a tendency to report the crimes that were of a violent nature. The reporting of the gang members showed that they often did not mention their age, gender or ethnicity. Both newspapers also used different words in their reporting, both for gang violence and the gang members, which could make it hard to know the difference between acts done by gangs and by other criminals.

Ungdomsbrottsligheten är ett aktuellt samhällsproblem eftersom ungdomar representerar vår framtid och därav blir det av vikt att olika myndigheter har en välfungerande samverkan och har en tydlig ansvarsfördelning under hela processen. Denna kvalitativa intervjustudie syftar till att undersöka polisers upplevelser av samverkan med socialtjänst i arbete med ungdomar som är involverade i organiserad brottslighet. Den kvalitativa datainsamlingsmetoden som användes i studien var semistrukturerade intervjuer med sju poliser i en kommun i Sverige. Samtliga respondenter hade erfarenhet av arbetet med ungdomar som är involverade i organiserad brottslighet och den insamlade empirin analyserades genom en tematisk analys. I resultatet belystes till en början flera samverkansmetoder mellan polis och socialtjänst i arbetet med målgruppen. En negativ bild av samverkan genomgående bland respondenterna där även flera hinder och potential för utveckling av samverkan identifierades i svaren. De största hinder som identifierades berörde sekretesslagstiftningen och de olika organisationernas ansvarstagande. Flera respondenter menade att en lösning på dessa hinder kunde ske genom samlokalisering och en mildare sekretesslagstiftning. / Youth crime is a current social problem because young people represent our future and, therefore it is important that different authorities have a well-functioning collaboration and have a clear division of responsibilities throughout the process. This qualitative interviewstudy aims to investigate police officers´ perceptions of cooperation with the social service that aims to support gang-involved youth. The qualitative data collection method used in this study was semi-structured interviews which were conducted with seven police officers´in a medium sized municipality. All of the respondents had experiences of working with youth who are involved in organized crime, and the empirical data that was collected was analyzed through a thematic analysis. The result showed several cooperation methods that are being used when working with the targeted group between police officers and the social services.The result also showed a negative view of cooperation among all police officers where several obstacles and potential for the development of cooperation were identified. The main obstacles that were identified touched upon the privacy legislation and the organizations acting upon their responsibility. Several respondents claimed that one solution to these obstacles could be co-location and a changes to the privacy legislation.

I denna uppsats försöker jag förklara vad ungdomsbrottslighet innebär, vilka faktorer gör så att man som ungdom utför brottsliga handlingar och hamnar i kriminella gäng samt hur man på bästa sätt kan förebygga ungdomsbrottslighet. Jag har gjort en litteraturöversikt och sedan behandlat informationen med hjälp av två tidigare teorier, sociala bandteorin och inlärningsteorin. För att få mina frågeställningar besvarade har jag fokuserat på ungdomar och hur det kommer sig att de väljer en kriminell väg. I diskussion och resultat stycket presenterar jag vad jag kommit fram till i analysdelen och analyserar resultatet med dem valde teorierna. I uppsatsen tar jag även upp om det finns någon koppling mellan maskulinitet och brottslighet och iså fall vilken.

Tidigare forskning visar på att ett effektivt sätt att minimera ungdomskriminalitet är att arbeta förebyggande. Syftet med studien var därför att undersöka vilka preventiva insatser som används för att motverka att ungdomar involveras i gängkriminalitet. Studien genomfördes utifrån en kvalitativ ansats med hjälp av semistrukturerade intervjuer. Urvalet bestod av sex stycken professionella inom socialtjänsten som hade erfarenhet av att arbeta med ungdomar i kriminella nätverk. För att tolka studiens resultat användes systemteori och teorin om sociala band. Med hjälp av tematisk analys har studiens material analyserats och behandlats. Resultatet visade att det preventiva arbetet med ungdomar är komplext och behöver utgå ifrån både ett individ- och helhetsperspektiv. För att identifiera och motverka gängkriminalitet bland unga behöver socialarbetare även ha kunskap om risk- och skyddsfaktorer samt främja relationsskapandet i arbetet. Slutsatsen som drogs var att det preventiva arbetet behöver prioriteras i samhället och att forskningen om preventiva insatser behöver utvecklas. / Previous research indicates that preventive interventions is an effective way to reduce gangrelated crimes. The purpose of the study was to investigate which preventive measures are used to prevent juvenile delinquency. The study was conducted with a qualitative approach with the help of semi-structured interviews with six social workers. All with experience of working with juvenile delinquency. The theoretical framework for this study was systems theory and social bond theory. With a thematic analysis, the collected data and results were analysed. Results showed that preventive work with adolescents is complex and needs to have an individual and holistic approach. In order to identify and counter juvenile delinquency, social workers also need to have knowledge of risk and safety factors, and promote a relationship-grounded practice. The conclusion was that preventive work needs to be more prioritised in society and that research on preventive measures needs to be developed.

In 2023 Sweden experienced a large increase in organized crime which resulted in a series of explosions and gun-violence mainly between two criminal organizations. This received major attention from both the political arena and news outlets. The purpose of this study is to explore how Swedish news media construct their articles about the criminal organizations and perpetrators during the wave of ‘gang-violence’ during 2023. Using a qualitative critical discourse analysis the two largest evening newspapers in Sweden were analyzed. The results indicate that the criminal gangs and their leaders are constructed as well organized and systematic in their activities while the average members are constructed as disorganized, if described at all. The leaders are constructed in ways similar to celebrities or leaders of their own military. The youth members are constructed as victims of the gangs at the same frequency as they are average members. Finally, the potential effects this discourse may lead to is also discussed.

Tidigare forskning har påvisat att tidiga förebyggande insatser är en effektiv metod för att motverka gängkriminaliteten bland unga. Idag har en stor ökning skett av ungdomar som hamnar i gängkriminalitet. Därmed är syftet med den här studien att undersöka socialarbetets roll i det preventiva arbetet mot gängkriminalitet bland unga i Sverige samt socialarbetares uppfattning kring de preventiva aspekterna. Studien är utformad utifrån en kvalitativ forskningsmetod och utgörs av en intervjustudie. Studiens valda analysmetod består av kvalitativ analys. Den insamlade empirin består av urvalet från 4 intervjuer som behandlar socialarbetares upplevelser och synpunkter av det preventiva arbetet med unga från åldrarna 12-19 som befinner sig i risk och utsatthet för gängkriminalitet. Teorierna som använts för att tolka resultatet är Beckers (1963) stämplingsteori och Hirschis (2001) teori om sociala band. Resultatet markerar att det finns stora behov av förebyggande insatser utifrån socialarbetares handlingsutrymme samt utifrån ungas behov. Gängkriminalitet är en ständig utvecklande samhällsproblematik som har behov av kontinuerlig utveckling av insatser för att tidigt kunna förebygga. Dessa insatser behöver främst bestå av flexibelt anpassat stöd som utformas utifrån den ungas önskemål och behov för effektiva resultat. Arbetet ska även i sådan stor utsträckning som möjligt grunda sig på frivillighets principen. Dessutom har det visat på att motivationsarbete och samtal varit betydelsefulla faktorer kring vägledningen för unga. Andra faktorer som inverkat positivt på det förebyggande arbetet har varit samverkan mellan olika myndigheter och verksamheter som exempelvis skola och fritid. Genom att stärka ungdomars sociala relationer kan man motverka destruktivt beteende och minska riskfaktorn att begå brott. Man har även sett en bristande aspekt kring vetenskapligt stöd av de nuvarande förebyggande insatser, därmed har man inte kunnat säkerställa effekterna. Det har gjort att man förlitar sig på andra professionellas förkunskaper och åsikter om insatser. Därmed har man haft en fortsatt implementering på samma insatser som funnits under en lång tid. Slutligen ansåg respondenterna att det behövs en ökad satsning i det preventiva arbetet för att socialarbetare ska ha möjligheten att motverka gängkriminalitet.

<p>The purpose with this study was to describe and analyse the daily activities of a criminal group in a southern suburb of Stockholm, Norra Botkyrka, and their attitude to drugs, the police, crimes in general, accomplices and their plans for the future. The study is a combination of different qualitative methods that is built on unobtrusive methods and interviews that was carried out during winter in 2006 and spring in 2007 and six interviews. My interest to carry out this study was grounded on my several years of experience as a prison and probation officer in the prison. I chose to “live” with a group of criminals and participated in some of their social activities.</p><p>The respondents that I chose to call “anti-heroes” proudly tell me about their criminal lifestyle that characterizes of violence, drugs, crimes and conflict where this people show no regret. The readers of this study will be able to do an insight into the criminals’ daily activities. I choose to describe the respondents tough and “tragically” growth and their attitude to the drugs, conflicts, the police, accomplices, women, future and their spot in society. The results of this study will show that the majority of the respondents had a bad growth and comes from torn families, where the most of them began early with drugs and crimes. The organisation of the gang gives a shifting view from what appears to be an organised and structured gang to a disorderly gang with a lot of conflicts. The respondents are so hardly anchored to their criminal lifestyle that an adjustment to normal life, for the majority of them, is next to impossible.</p>

The purpose with this study was to describe and analyse the daily activities of a criminal group in a southern suburb of Stockholm, Norra Botkyrka, and their attitude to drugs, the police, crimes in general, accomplices and their plans for the future. The study is a combination of different qualitative methods that is built on unobtrusive methods and interviews that was carried out during winter in 2006 and spring in 2007 and six interviews. My interest to carry out this study was grounded on my several years of experience as a prison and probation officer in the prison. I chose to “live” with a group of criminals and participated in some of their social activities. The respondents that I chose to call “anti-heroes” proudly tell me about their criminal lifestyle that characterizes of violence, drugs, crimes and conflict where this people show no regret. The readers of this study will be able to do an insight into the criminals’ daily activities. I choose to describe the respondents tough and “tragically” growth and their attitude to the drugs, conflicts, the police, accomplices, women, future and their spot in society. The results of this study will show that the majority of the respondents had a bad growth and comes from torn families, where the most of them began early with drugs and crimes. The organisation of the gang gives a shifting view from what appears to be an organised and structured gang to a disorderly gang with a lot of conflicts. The respondents are so hardly anchored to their criminal lifestyle that an adjustment to normal life, for the majority of them, is next to impossible.

In the aftermath of the conflict between motorcycle clubs Hells Angels and Bandidos in the 90´s, with shootings that resulted in many casulties it seems that they have been silent since then. When a new conflict between gangs from the suburbs emerge it seems that they had taken the place of the motorcycle clubs in news media as the worst criminals in Sweden. The fact that motorcycle clubs are larger in number and tend to more criminal activities than the suburban networks, this study aims to make a greater understanding of how the two types of gangs are constructed and their representation in news media in the year of 2019.  Studies shows that suburban gangs sprout from especially vulnarble areas, that have low income and are the most immigrant-dense areas in Sweden. On the opposit side of suburban gangs, the motorcycle clubs show more of swedish-born members. It is interesting to see what type of representation the two different gangs get in news media. And how the representation and the construction differs depending on which gang that is described.  To go deeper in the analysis we used a critical discourse analysis (CDA) as a tool to answer our aim of this studie. The result was not surprising as the suburban gangs were constructed more often as the Other and seen as a problem caused by the immigration wave of 2015. The motorcycle club members was constructed more as individuals caught in the moment and triggered for some reason on a personal level. Motorcycle clubs were also constructed as a brotherhood where you could find comradeship and a sense of family.

Tidigare forskning har visat att media har stor påverkan på hur samhället ser på kriminalitet och gäng. Gängkriminalitet är ett aktuellt och stort ämne i svensk media i dagsläget på grund av våldet och skjutningarna som gängkriminaliteten associeras med idag, som får storuppmärksamhet i media. Syftet med denna uppsats är att undersöka hur kriminella gäng och individer med koppling till kriminella gäng konstrueras och positioneras i den nyhetsmediala samhällsdebatten ur ett intersektionellt perspektiv samt utifrån den kritiska diskursanalysen. Detta genomförs genom att kritiskt granska innehållet i artiklar publicerade i Aftonbladet och Svenska Dagbladet. Resultatet visar bland annat på att svensk media konstruerar gäng som hänsynslösa och våldsamma. Miljön som gängen rör sig inom beskrivs som en gangstermiljö som är fylld med narkotika och vapen. Män är det mest framträdande könet när media skriver om gängmedlemmar, och segregation, klasskillnader och svag integration är faktorer som anses påverka till gängmedlemskap. Uppsatsen visar på hur svensk nyhetsmedia skildrar och framställer gängkriminella, och på hur detta bidrar till att konstruera och reproducera identiteter för gängkriminella. Studien bidrar med att synliggöra diskurserna om gängkriminella samt hur detta skapas och stärks av svensk nyhetsmedia. / Gang crime is a current and major topic in the Swedish media at the moment due to the violence and shootings that gang crime is associated with today, and it receives a lot of attention in the media. The purpose of this study is to examine how criminal gangs and gang members are constructed and positioned in the news media from an intersectional perspective and based on the critical discourse analysis. This is done by critically reviewing the content of articles published in Aftonbladet and Svenska Dagbladet during the period January 2019 to April 2023. The results show, among other things, that the Swedish media constructs gangs as ruthless and violent. The environment the gangs operate in is described as a gangster environment filled with drugs and weapons. Men are the most prominent gender when the media writes about gang members. Segregation, class differences and weak integration are factors considered to influence gang membership. The essay shows how the Swedish news media portrays gangs and gang members, and how this contributes to construct and reproducing identities for gang criminals. / <p>2023-01-01</p>