In recent years, an increase has been recorded in serious violence and offending, particularly among young people under 18. These trends and developments have attracted considerable political attention and are widely discussed in public debate. The discussion is characterised by significant disagreement about how Norwegian society should respond to these challenges.
In this situation, it is important to have a solid and broad knowledge base to build on. The research institutes NOVA and NIBR are collaborating on a dedicated UngKrim initiative through the Network for Research on Youth Crime.
Over many years, both research communities have built up extensive research about young people in general and of vulnerable groups of young people in particular. This is combined with research on follow-up regimes and penal sanctions aimed at young people who, for various reasons, come into conflict with society's norms and boundaries.
The police's annual surveys of young repeat offenders show that a large proportion have been exposed to violence, and several have been in contact with child welfare services. One purpose of the network is to view these different fields in conjunction with one another, and several of the researchers have expertise across these areas.
One aim of the initiative is to further develop the collaboration as an active and dynamic meeting place for researchers, in dialogue with authorities, the police and welfare services, parents, and children and young people themselves. The initiative will disseminate and further develop research-based knowledge through a series of open seminars.
More about the research
Preventive work aimed at children and young people
The research covers a broad range of social policy efforts related to school, upbringing, education, social services, mental healthcare, and child welfare services, and how these efforts function, and how they are perceived from different perspectives.
This includes public welfare services such as outreach services, municipal child welfare services, schools, and police, but also general initiatives such as youth clubs and municipal cultural policy. Such studies often incorporate key perspectives on social inequalities, such as the significance of class, gender and ethnicity.
Compulsory and sanction-based measures towards children and young people
We study the use of public sanction systems, such as compulsory child welfare placements and follow-up within the criminal justice chain. Among other things, we are conducting a follow-up evaluation of experiences with the "fast track" in criminal proceedings for young offenders.
The researchers have extensive expertise on youth groups that face particular challenges with crime and perceived insecurity, and which are of particularly high priority to the police.
Youth crime as a policy area
The research communities studies how this is governed and coordinated at state and municipal level, within ordinary governance dialogue, and within network collaborations such as SLT collaboration, youth sentencing, BTI (Better Coordinated Efforts), and interdisciplinary youth teams.
Contact
Participants
Selected projects and data sets
- Evaluation of the "Fast Track" for juvenile offenders
- Exploring Relationships of Trust and Distrust Between Youth Populations and Public Services in Vulnerable Areas (Ungtillit)
- Evaluation and Follow-up Research on Measures Against Youth Crime in the City of Oslo
- Knowledge on Technology-facilitated Sexual Abuse against Children and Adolescents – Offenders, the Offended, and Arenas
- National Safety Survey
- Evaluation of the Children's and Family Agency's Arena Flexible Team for Child Welfare
- Adolescent Physical Violence. Understanding Societal Trends and Life Outcomes for Perpetrators
- Poverty and Violence: Children’s Exposure to Violence in Light of the Family’s Economic Situation
