SOCIAL WELFARE SECRETARY GOING TO TOWN

For the last couple of years a group of local policemen in Malmö have made a survey of robbery committed by children and teenagers in the city. The group has worked with young criminals under the age of eighteen. Robberies increased drastically in 1995-1996.

To rob persons in the same age is common. Young criminals extort mobile phones, money, jewellery, clothes and even shoes from other teenagers and use more or less violent methods or threats. To rob someone of your own age seems to be about showing power and to disgrace the victim, rather than about money or valuables. Teenagers have also been known to rob the elderly and handicapped.

In addition to robbery, the local police have been able to connect teenagers to pick pocketing and bag snatching. The local police have through their work managed to arrest several of the teenagers in the city district having committed robbery. By arresting a main character, the leader of a gang, teenagers in the same circle of friends might be deterred. It is, however, likely that new groups of teenagers are created relatively fast and that they take over the role as young robbers.

In the city district Centrum in Malmö one social welfare secretary is working preventively with teenagers. The target group is teenagers found to be in the danger-zone of becoming criminals and/or showing other destructive behavioural patterns. Other destructive behavioural patterns might for example be teenagers occupied with what one in the future might fear will result in a criminal behaviour or teenagers being friends with criminals and therefore are at risk of being influenced negatively by these friends.

To improve the possibilities of a meaningful occupation and recreational activities grown-ups need to be involved and function as a support. "The social welfare secretary going into town" is a grown-up who, by carrying out visiting work, is able to get in contact with teenagers in need of recreational activities as an alternative to criminal activities.