Denna rapport har haft som övergripande syfte att på aggregerad nivå analysera om och hur företag i fyra riskbranscher som har erhållit medel från det offentliga (benämns hädanefter offentlig finansierade branscher) - 1) personlig assistans, 2) hälso-och sjukvård/vård och omsorg, 3) tandvård och 4) avfallshantering - skiljer sig från företag i andra delar av näringslivet med avseende på redovisningsbaserade nyckeltal och ett antal riskindikatorer som i tidigare forskning, tillsynsarbete och rättsliga avgöranden har kopplats till ekonomiska oegentligheter, svag bolagsstyrning och förhöjd finansiell risk. Analysen bygger på omfattande registerdata för samtliga svenska aktiebolag under perioden 2020–2023 och genomförs genom systematiska jämförelser med två jämförelsegrupper: restaurang-och cateringverksamhet, som utgör en etablerad riskbransch utan vidare offentlig finansiering, samt företag i övriga branscher i det svenska näringslivet.

Ett tydligt och genomgående resultat i rapporten är att företagen i de offentligt finansierade branscherna, sett till grundläggande redovisningsbaserade nyckeltal, i huvudsak inte uppvisar en svagare finansiell ställning än jämförelsegrupperna. Tvärtom framstår dessa företag, i genomsnitt, som relativt finansiellt starka. I det matchade urvalet visar jämförelser av medelvärden att företagen i de offentligt finansierade branscherna är större, mer lönsamma, mer likvida och mindre skuldsatta än både restaurang-och cateringföretag och företag i övriga branscher. Ett visst undantag återfinns i avfallshantering, där skuldsättningen är något högre än i övriga studerade branscher. När analysen fördjupas och fokus riktas mot rapportens tolv riskindikatorer framträder en mer nyanserad bild. Riskindikatorerna avser bland annat kapitalstruktur, bolagsstyrning, revisionsförhållanden samt redovisnings- och skattebeteende. Resultaten visar inte att de offentligt finansierade branscherna generellt uppvisar högre risknivåer än jämförelsegrupperna. Tvärtom signalerar flertalet indikatorer lägre eller likvärdig risk.

Rising youth gang involvement in the Nordic countries has become a growing concern, particularly due to its association with crime and other problem behaviours. This study is the first to examine the prevalence and risk factors of street gang involvement among adolescents from nine cities in five Nordic countries. Using comparative, cross-national probability city samples from the fourth wave of the International Self-Reported Delinquency Study (ISRD4), the analysis includes data from 9039 adolescents aged 13-17 from Denmark (n = 1094), Finland (n = 2037), Iceland (n = 3007), Norway (n = 1559), and Sweden (n = 1342). Based on the Eurogang measurement, the findings highlight significant differences in gang involvement across cities, with Stockholm exhibiting the highest prevalence of youth gang involvement (16%). These differences persisted after adjusting for individual-level risk factors. Adolescents involved in gangs reported higher levels of peer delinquency, pro-delinquency attitudes, lifetime assault, as well as lower levels of parental control and self-control. In contrast, family strain and perceived discrimination were associated with street gang involvement only at the city level. The study discusses the implications of these findings for policy and prevention strategies, emphasising the need for targeted interventions to curb the rise of gang involvement among youth in the Nordic region.

While there is a substantial research literature on Western ‘foreign fighters’ – those young men and women from Europe, North America, Australia and elsewhere who traveled to Syria and Iraq, from around 2011–2017, to join jihadist groups engaged in combat – there is a dearth of comparative studies examining the backgrounds of these fighters. National variations in the levels of recruitment have been measured and samples examined to determine the demographics of these fighters, indicating some national variations in who went, how, and maybe why. More fulsome comparative data is needed, however, to detect and measure such differences to gain insight into the factors conditioning the radicalization of these foreign fighters. Calling on original and unique datasets, this study presents the results of a comparative analysis of Canadian and Swedish foreign fighters. In each case the findings are compared with other domestic jihadists as well to delineate if those drawn to fight in Syria and Iraq differ. Clear differences emerge in the basic demographics of these national samples, highlighting some empirical and interpretive issues in need of further analysis.

Global evidence indicates minimal connection between immigration and crime. Nordic research, however, has been generally carried out on individuals and shows that immigrants are over-represented in crime. This has led to claims that high crime rates are due to immigration. We directed our study towards these claims by analyzing immigrant population prevalence, defined as the percent of foreign-born individuals, and violent crime in Swedish municipalities between 2000 and 2020. Nearly all municipalities had higher violent crime rates in 2020 relative to 2000. To discern whether drastic increases in municipality-level crime rates could be connected to municipality-level immigrant population prevalence, a retrospective case–control design was used to select 20 municipalities with the highest increase in reported violent crime rates and 20 municipalities with the lowest increase in reported violent crime rates. Immigrant population prevalence had little association with high rates of reported violent crime. The average association between immigrant population prevalence and violent crime rates calculated from all municipalities was also weak and non-significant (p > 0.05). Municipalities with a high increase in crime tended to have more crime correlates than municipalities with a low increase in crime. However, more research is needed on the impact of migration in small towns, especially those that have experienced economic and social stagnation.

The objective was to assess the effectiveness of psychosocial interventions in preventing gang membership and gang-related crime among children and young adults under the age of 30. We performed a systematic review and synthesized interventions targeting universal, selective, and indicated populations published between January 2000 and April 2023. We included 42 (seven randomized, 12 nonrandomized, 23 controlled interrupted time series) studies evaluating 33 unique psychosocial interventions. Synthesis without meta-analysis found a preventive effect of psychosocial interventions in middle schools on gang membership. Furthermore, meta-analysis found that focused deterrence strategies prevented gang-involved violence, and that psychosocial support during probation decreased crime recidivism. This systematic review found significant effects of four psychosocial interventions compared to control in reducing future criminality, especially gun violence, among children and young adults. The findings are discussed regarding policy implications and ethical considerations. 

Knowledge of factors contributing to cybercrime threats is needed to plan effective prevention strategies to combat the increasingly common occurrence of cybercrime. This scoping review summarizes current status of the literature published on the demographic, socioeconomic, and technological determinants of cybercrime offenders and victims in Nordic countries. The review followed Arksey and O’Malley’s methodology and the PRISMA-ScR guidelines, leading to the selection of 16 articles published between 2013 and 2022 for critical appraisal and data extraction. Only two studies focused on cybercrime offenders. The majority of studies (n = 10) were conducted in Finland and the dominant types of crime were harassment and online hate. Age, gender, living alone, immigration background, income, and education played different roles in determining victimization for different types of cybercrime. Associations between victimization and technological factors such as computer skills, protective measures, and specific platforms have also been identified. This review contributes to the emerging research area of cybercrime in Nordic countries by mapping the context of cybercrime and highlighting areas where further research is needed to ensure the protection of individuals in an increasingly digitalized world. 

BACKGROUND: Penetrating trauma to the head and neck (HN) has increased during the past decade in Sweden. This aim of this study was to characterize these injuries and to evaluate the outcome in patients treated at a tertiary trauma centre.

METHODS: Swedish trauma registry (SweTrau) data was extracted on patients with HN injuries admitted to Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, between 2011 and 2019. Outcome information was extracted from hospital records, with primary endpoints focusing of physiological outcome measures and secondary endpoints on surgical and radiological outcomes.

RESULTS: Of 1436 penetrating trauma patients, 329 patients with penetrating HN injuries were identified. 20% (n=66) suffered a gunshot wound (GSW), 73% (n=240) a stab wound (SW), and 7% (n=23) other trauma mechanisms (OTM). The median age for GSW, SW and OTM were 25, 33, and 21, respectively. Assault was primary intent, GSW (81.8%, n=54) and SW (65.8%, n=158). Patients suffering GSWs had severer injuries, worse admission GCS-M and higher intubation rate at the injury site. Most GSW patients underwent major surgery (59.1%) as an initial procedure and more likely had intracranial haemorrhage (ICH) (21.2%). The 30-day mortality: 45.5% (n=30) for GSWs, 5.4% (n=13) for SWs and 0% (n=0) for OTMs. There was a yearly increase in incidence and mortality for GSW and SW.

CONCLUSION: Between 2011 and 2019, there was an increasing yearly trend of incidence and mortality from penetrating HN trauma in Stockholm, Sweden. GSW patients suffered more severe injuries, ICHs, and underwent more surgical interventions compared to SW and OTM.

This study investigates 30 lone actors in Sweden with a register-based design using a group of male lone actors and two reference groups: same-sex siblings and other male violent extremists. We compare lone actors to the reference groups along social background, criminal background, and co-offending relations (1995 –2016), and mental health (1980–2016). Our results show that lone actors are primarily born in Sweden to two Swedish-born parents. They have a high degree of criminality and co-offending, indicating that they are not completely loners in their criminal behaviour. They have higher enrolment in secondary education than the reference groups, but lower enrolment in higher education than other male violent extremists. Additionally, they suffer considerably more from mental disorders compared to the reference groups. An analysis of criminality and in- and outpatient hospitalisation over the life course indicates that lone actors may have had problems in their transition into middle age.