IJAB: Please explain what your organisation does and what background you have.
Lena Nyberg: I am the Director of the Swedish Agency for Youth and Civil Society (MUCF). I studied law at Stockholm University and was previously the Children’s Ombudsman for Sweden. I also worked for the city of Stockholm and for the Government on issues such as children’s and adolescents’ living conditions.
Changes in crime in recent years
IJAB: There have been problems with gangs, crime and gun ownership in Sweden for many years. Young people in particular are involved in crimes such as drug dealing, fraud and even murder at an ever younger age. Why has the situation changed so drastically and even worsened in recent years? Why are offenders becoming younger, some even under 18?
Lena Nyberg: When it comes to the involvement of children and adolescents in organised crime, Sweden’s situation is indeed very dark. In 2024, the number of children under the age of 15 who are suspected of involvement in murder plots has more than tripled year on year.
Juvenile involvement in criminal networks is quite different from those forms of juvenile delinquency we are familiar with, where young offenders operate in criminal youth gangs. Youth gangs often consist of friends of the same age who commit crimes together. By contrast, criminal networks are hierarchical, are built on a sophisticated system of contacts and have access to drugs and weapons.
The main reason why criminal networks use children and young people is to reduce the risk for older gang members. Young recruits take big risks handling drugs or weapons, allowing older gang members to keep a safe distance. Another reason why they like to recruit young people is that they often accept lower compensation. Also, the current practice of lenient sentencing for young people contributes to the increasing presence of children in organised crime.
IJAB: Is there a link between migration and youth crime? What does this tell us about Swedish politics and society?
Lena Nyberg: In the general debate, it is said that the trend towards more organised crime and violence is related to a lack of integration and a high level of migration, crowded housing and segregation, as well as a lack of behavioural norms among boys who do not feel that they are accepted in Swedish society. Problems with criminal networks often occur in vulnerable areas where criminals have great influence. Children who grow up in these environments are vulnerable to several risk factors on a more structural level. These can involve exclusion, the negative consequences of segregation, and experiences of discrimination and poverty.
The physical environment in residential areas and overcrowding can also have an impact. Children are spending their free time outdoors, unsupervised, in a public environment that they share with criminals.
IJAB: How has youth work changed in recent years in response to these developments, and how are young people recruited by gangs?
Lena Nyberg: Children and adolescents are being recruited into organised crime both on digital forums and in their everyday environments. When it comes to in-person contacts, studies have shown that it is primarily children who recruit other children into criminal networks. Typically, a youngster in his/her early to mid teens will recruit a slightly younger child.
Children and adolescents who are involved in gang crime are commonly exposed to a combination of risk factors. We often witness proximity to crime in their residential area. For children who live in an area with many risk factors and who spend their days in an environment populated by criminally active individuals, crime easily becomes a natural part of life. To some children, established criminals in the area appear as role models, who suggest to them that crime is profitable, lends status and personal success.
Lately, recruitment has shifted to the digital space. What previously took place in residential areas and over a longer period of time is now happening virtually at a much higher speed. Criminal networks can connect with virtually any young user of these forums.
While a messy social background is a common feature, we also see how ordinary young people with a well-functioning family life, who attend school, have leisure activities, live at home and are completely unknown to the police are getting involved in serious crime.
The role of MUCF in violence prevention
IJAB: How does your organisation support youth work in preventing violence?
Lena Nyberg: MUCF has a government mandate to ensure that young people have access to meaningful and character-building leisure activities. Our services include training and awareness-raising initiatives for youth workers, which we provide through digital training courses, handbooks and online seminars.
A key prerequisite to ensuring that youth work has positive effects is active violence prevention. Proactive and methodical conversations about behavioural norms with young people, and actively intervening in and stopping all forms of violence help create a safe environment for young people.
MUCF has been tasked by the Government to produce and disseminate knowledge and working methods with a focus on violence prevention. The main target groups are youth workers and sports coaches. To this end, MUCF offers materials and guidance for holding workshops teaching how to recognise forms of violence and vulnerable target groups, as well as concepts for violence prevention and practical examples of situations that may arise when working to prevent violence in unstructured leisure activities.
MUCF also liaises between actors at the national level when it comes to young people at risk and crime among young people. The two most common pathways for crime prevention among children and adolescents are collaboration between school, social services, police and leisure (SSPF) and social intervention groups (SIG), representatives of which include the police force, Sweden’s National Board of Health and Welfare, the Swedish National Council for Crime Prevention, the National Agency for Education, the Swedish Association of Local Authorities and Regions, and MUCF.
Looking into the future
IJAB: If we take a look into the future, what do you think is needed, especially for youth work, for youth crime statistics to fall again, giving young people a better chance of a more orderly future?
Lena Nyberg: Children and adolescents in criminal networks are enormously vulnerable. Even their families are at risk of being exposed to threats and violence. I really want to underline that it is our common responsibility to protect children, and that a wide range of different actions is needed to stop criminal networks from exploiting young people.
Preventing children and adolescents from being drawn into gang crime is one of society's most pressing challenges. They need access to safe and meaningful leisure activities in a sports or cultural environment, for instance, as these often have a significant protective effect.
Besides organised activities, unstructured leisure activities for young people in youth centres and other meeting places can counteract the feeling of exclusion and replace it with a sense of belonging, and a sense that society cares about them.
This requires, however, that these meeting places are not dominated by boys and young men exhibiting problematic, anti-social behaviour. Instead, open leisure centres must connect with a mixed group of young people with a variety of backgrounds and interests.
IJAB: Thank you!
