Gang crime is one of the hottest topics in the Swedish public debate today. At the same time, people’s trust in how the media reports on the topic is low. Trust in news media is important in any democratic society. Understanding how trust in news media is affected by the reporting on a controversial issue is therefore important in maintaining a functional democracy. This paper examines how politically active young adults perceive news on gang crime in Sweden, and how it correlates to their own trust in news media. Also, we study potential differences between two political youth wings, and what role the sender plays in the perception of – and trust in – news on gang crime. Through ten interviews, we find that the sender is paramount in the interviewees’ evaluation of trust in an article on gang crime. However, the information, what sources are quoted, and descriptions are also contributing attributes. Further, we discover that people develop personal strategies to assess their trust in a news piece on gang crime. Applying the theoretical frameworks of Kohring and Matthes (2007) and Strömbäck et al. (2020), we develop an understanding of how attributes contributing to trust in individual news pieces can be viewed in the context of more general trust in news media. In line with previous research, this study highlights the difficulty of defining general trust in terms of distinct factors. We propose that attributes affecting trust in individual articles can be attributes affecting general trust in news media, if occurring as prolonged trends, but call for further research on this hypothesis. In a societal context, this paper also shows that there is still consensus on what makes news trustworthy, even on a topic as highly politicized as gang crime.

Nyrekryteringen inom gängbrottslighet är ett växande problem i samhället och många unga personer rekryteras i tidig ålder. I Malmö är områdespolisernas främsta uppgift att stoppa nyrekryteringen av barn och unga. Det brottsförebyggande arbetet i Sverige pågår på flera olika plan, särskilt när det gäller gängkriminalitet. Denna studie ämnar synliggöra områdespolisers perspektiv på nyrekryteringen av gängbrottslighet i Malmö. För att uppfylla syftet utgick studien från två frågeställningar som behandlar områdespolisernas brottspreventiva arbete och eventuella förbättringsmöjligheter. Det genomfördes sex semistrukturerade intervjuer med personer som har arbetat eller arbetar som områdespolis i Malmö. Resultatet visar att områdespoliserna arbetar brottspreventivt genom att skapa relationer, visa engagemang, samverka med aktörer samt identifiera unga som beter sig avvikande. De upplevda förbättringsmöjligheterna handlar om behovet av tydligare riktlinjer och mål, bättre förankring mellan praktik och forskning samt bättre förutsättningar för att kunna utföra sitt dagliga arbete. / Recruitment within gang crime is a growing problem in society and a lot of young people are recruited at an early age. The main task of the community police officers in Malmö is to stop young people from getting recruited by gangs. Crime prevention work in Sweden takes place on several different levels, especially when it comes to gang crime. The intention of this study is to enlighten the community police officers perspective on recruitment in Malmö. In order to fulfill the purpose, the study is based on two questions that deal with the crime prevention work of the community police officers and possible opportunities for improvement. Six semi-structured interviews were made with community police officers in Malmö. The results show that the community police officers work to prevent crime by creating relationships, showing commitment, cooperating with different actors and identifying young people who behave deviant. The results also show that clearer guidelines and goals, better connection between practice and research and better conditions for being able to do their daily work, are things that can be improved.