NEW ARTICLE written by Post Doctoral Researcher, Lucie Margot Ducarre, Marit Skivenes, and Linda Gröning from the Faculty of Law.
A new commentary published in the Bergen Journal of Criminal Law and Criminal Justice examines how recent developments in crime prevention are reshaping child welfare and juvenile justice across the Nordic countries.
The Nordic countries are often held up as models for strong welfare systems and child-centered social policy. In recent years, however, rising concern over youth violence, gang-related crime, and radicalization has led to tougher political responses. These shifts are putting pressure on long-standing child-centered approaches and raising questions about whether current policies still meet international children’s rights standards.
A main argument of the commentary is that youth crime and serious behavioral challenges cannot be addressed by any single system or discipline. Effective prevention requires cooperation across law, social sciences, psychology, education, and health, as well as participation by children themselves. The authors emphasize the importance of early, well-coordinated responses across agencies and caution against relying too heavily on criminal justice tools. They argue that Criminal law should remain a last resort. At the same time, children’s fundamental rights must be consistently reflected in policy design and everyday practice.
The article is open-access and available here.
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