Inadequate interventions when children are suspected of serious crimes

The Swedish NAO has examined state interventions for children suspected of serious crimes. The audit covers the Government, the National Board of Health and Welfare, the Swedish Police Authority, the Swedish Prosecution Authority, the National Board of Institutional Care and the Swedish Prison and Probation Service. The audit also covers the agencies’ collaboration with municipal social services.

The audit shows that, out of the children who have been registered as suspects of a serious crime

• 90 per cent are suspected of new crimes within three-and-a-half years – despite having received social interventions, being known to the police and having been investigated by the judicial system
• less than one in ten manage to obtain basic eligibility for higher education.

The overall conclusion is that overall state efforts to stop serious crime among children are not sufficiently effective. Developments in society place new demands on all involved actors, and the state has not fulfilled its responsibility in this respect.

The problems are partly due to the fact that national governance in the area is too weak. For example, knowledge-enhancing support and guidance from the national level are needed to link together initiatives from different sectors of society. Also, collective follow-up and a clearer focus on transferring knowledge and experience between the actors are needed to strengthen the common effort.

“Weak national governance has forced various local solutions. This is resource-intensive, ineffective and impedes the common effort,” comments Auditor General Helena Lindberg.

The Swedish NAO considers that the state needs to ensure that there are structures, tools and resources at the overarching level to respond to both the behaviour and needs of these children.

“If the actors are to stop criminal behaviour among children, they need to act more proactively and uniformly across the entire country. For this to happen, however, they must first develop the structures and tools for their common work,” explains Helena Fröberg, project leader of the audit.

The Government also needs to ensure that all parts of the system work. This concerns ensuring that the agencies develop areas of their work, but also improving access to safe placements and quality-assured treatments at homes for care or residence and within the National Board of Institutional Care.