NCJ Number
183685
Date Published
2000
Length
3 pages
Annotation
An analysis of robbery of and by juveniles in Malmo and Stockholm, Sweden, used police statistics for the latter part of the 1990’s and information collected from a questionnaire survey administered in the fall of 1999 and answered by approximately 4,500 youths ages around 15 and 17 years.
Abstract
Police reports of robberies committed by juveniles have increased sharply. This increase may to some extent reflect a real rise in the number of robberies committed by juveniles; it may also reflect an increased propensity of victims to report such robberies. Just over 10 percent of the males and 5 percent of the females aged approximately 15 years reported that they had been robbed. Youths aged approximately 17 years reported similar figures. In addition, approximately 10 percent of the males and 5 percent of the females in both age groups reported having robbed other youths since they started attending secondary school. Suspected perpetrators were mostly males, who often came from relatively disadvantaged residential areas. Youths born outside Sweden were substantially over-represented. Police, other social institutions such as schools and parents, and local crime prevention all have roles in preventing juvenile robbery.