Young people and organized crime in focus at Almedalen seminar

Currently in Sweden, criminal gangs recruit new members already in their early teens. The police state that social media are central channels in this context, where "Crimefluencers" use advertising styled videos to attract young people with status in the form of money, brotherhood and guns.

“In addition, a new report shows that society's efforts for young criminals do not seem to help. When 90 percent relapse into crime, we have to identify how we can work in new ways,” says Mathias Hallberg, Professor and chair of U-FOLD, Uppsala University's forum for research on drug addiction.

As part of the work to find new ways, U-FOLD is arranging the seminar Young people and organized crime: How can we reverse the trend? at Almedalen Week 2024. The meeting place brings together Swedish expertise to discuss the current situation and to identify useful strategies to reverse negative trends.

“On Tuesday 25 June, we will gather a strong panel that will both comment on the current debate and initiate new questions. Onsite in Visby, we also hope to welcome politicians, journalists and an engaged public who can contribute in amplifying this topic on society's agenda and spreading avalible knowledge further."

text: Annica Hulth, Magnus Alsne, photo: Mikael Wallerstedt, Marcus Holmqvist a o