Search

In this article, we present findings of crime media research conducted in Finland during recent years. As this body of research has mainly been published in Finnish, the core results have not been available for international audiences until now. The amount of crime news reporting has consistently increased both in the newspapers and in television news broadcasts during the last decades. A series of representative surveys also show that the majority of people read and view crime news on a regular basis and are thus constantly exposed to these media messages. We conclude our article by contrasting crime news trends with the development of fear of crime in Finland, and by discussing possible links and explanations to the relationship.

Cross-national studies of homicide are dominated by theories that focus on inequality and other structural factors as the source of variation in the level of lethal violence. As a nation with a comparatively high homicide rate in the presence of a strong welfare state, Finland represents a puzzle to this paradigm. The apparent weakness of the structural approach opens the door for cultural explanations. As the basic step in this path, the purpose of this research is to examine the historical origins of the Finnish problem with lethal violence. The authors find that the homicide patterns responsible for the exceptional status of Finland are of relatively recent origin. The authors conclude the study by proposing that specific features of the Finnish welfare state inadvertently sustain a subculture of alcohol-related lethal violence.

Interpersonal trust has recently emerged at the centre of research in social science as an important component of social capital. Earlier, it has been theorized that exposure to media cultivates a suspicious and distrusting ‘mean–world’ outlook on life (cultivation theory). In this article, we aim to bind these separate but obviously interconnected theoretical discussions in a combined empirical analysis, by exploring several potential correlates of social trust. As criminologists, our main interest lies in the possible association between victimization, fear of crime, use of crime news media and trust. We categorize victimization experiences as either persistent or occasional ones. In addition, we add a set of social and structural factors to our analysis. Our cross–sectional survey data consists of a nationally representative sample of 15–16 year–old Finnish adolescents (N = 5142). The results of the multivariate analyses indicate that both victimization and fear of crime are related to lower levels of interpersonal trust. As expected, there is a more robust association between persistent victimization and the level of trust than is the case with occasional victimization. Viewing regularly television crime reality programmes is also robustly related to lower levels of trust, a finding that supports the cultivation theory. Of social interaction variables, social support and supervision by parents and teachers are positively related to trust. Contrary to this, participation in civic life (such as religious and various secular associations) is not related to social trust among Finnish adolescents. This and other results are here discussed applying social capital theory and cultivation theory of media effects.

Historical criminology has described the underworld role of Fagin—an adult who forces, seduces or teaches minors to commit crimes for him. In contemporary debates, it is sometimes feared that adolescents cunningly evade criminal law by recruiting younger children to commit offences for them. The present article reports findings from three studies charting the prevalence and correlates of proxy crime among Finnish juvenile offenders. First, a preliminary study is briefly described, pinpointing shoplifting as a typical proxy crime. Second, the prevalence and correlates of proxy shoplifting are described by using a nationally representative community sample (N = 6,279). Of all 15-16-year-old respondents, 7.2 per cent had shoplifted for someone else. Third, a qualitative dataset including convicted property offenders (N = 12) is re-analysed from the point of view of how proxy crime may initiate serious criminal careers. The study suggests that while proxy crime may sometimes play a role at the onset of criminal careers, it is predominantly an inter-adolescent phenomenon, reflecting coercive and altruistic motives.

The history of criminology is examined comparatively for four countries or regions: the United States, Latin America, Scandinavia, and the United Kingdom. Each case history considers a common set of analytic dimensions: origin and takeoff (time, discipline, political context); changing shapes (themes, theoretical orientations, data); changing organization (associations, journals, position in universities, government and nonprofit institutes); and the political-economic environment of criminology. Commonalities across national and regional developments and particularities of each region speak to the conditions of criminology. Globalization is at work, partly under US guidance, but academic exports are challenged and adapted to nation-level political, ideological, and institutional contexts.

In this article, we explore the relationship between the use of crime news and fear of violence through multivariate analyses. Our main objective is to examine whether exposure to crime news is related to avoidance behaviour and fear of crime when personal and vicarious victimization experiences, as well as a number of other relevant factors, are held constant. Using the 2003 sweep of the Finnish National Victimization Surveys, we focus on two types of crime news exposure: exposure to crime‐related tabloid headlines, and the scope of exposure to different sources of crime news. Our main finding is that reading tabloid front pages is associated with both avoidance behaviour and with higher levels of worry about becoming a victim of violence. We also found that people who expose themselves to many sources of crime news are more likely to fear violence. As an interesting by‐product of our analyses, we observed that being unemployed was quite strongly associated with fear of violence.

Social capital has emerged as a widely used concept both in empirical studies and in theoretical debate in social science. In the field of criminology, several studies have found support for the association between various forms of social capital and criminal behaviour. This study examines the association between social capital and self-reported delinquency when structural and individual-level factors are controlled. Indicators of social capital, family structure, economic situation, self-control, cognitive ability and participation in delinquent behaviour are explored in a nationally representative sample of 15-16-year-old Finnish adolescents ( N = 5142). The results of the multivariate analysis indicate that (as indicators of social capital) low parental support, low teacher control and low interpersonal trust are associated with delinquent behaviour when structural and individual-level variables, including self-control, are controlled. Parental control, teacher support and intergenerational closure are associated with delinquency only in bivariate models. It seems that parents’ weak ties connecting the adolescent to the part-time labour market do not protect him or her from the risk of delinquency. Compared with social capital and structural indicators, the level of self-control seems to have a stronger association with the risk of delinquent behaviour. Cognitive ability also emerges as a robust correlate of delinquency. The article concludes by discussing the need to take individual-level propensities into account when examining the effects of social capital.

This article examines the social composition of homicide offenders and victims in Finland between 1960 and 2000. While many prior analyses have been based on victim-based cause-of-death statistics or aggregated rates of geographical units, the present data allowed the analysis of offender and victim populations at individual level. Both the rates and patterns of homicidal behaviour were analysed from the point of view of participants’ social characteristics. It was discovered that the social anchoring of homicide remained stable in the relative sense that the typical victims and offenders were males from the lowest stratum. However, the absolute societal position of the lowest stratum male transformed as he was made economically redundant, a change that was reflected in homicide populations. The article concludes with a discussion of the paradox between the rise of the welfare state and the expected but unrealized pacification of the lowest stratum male. Four suppressing mechanisms are suggested: alcohol availability, social selection effects, cultural factors and the unintended consequences of social policy measures. The last category refers to changes in social patterns of homicide, which made the reduction of homicide rates more difficult, meaning that the present homicide situation is particularly resistant to efforts of situational crime prevention.

Background: Depression has previously been found to be closely connected to adolescent delinquency, but little is known about how depression is related to different types of delinquency. Aim To investigate patterns of criminal behaviour according to depression among repeatedly delinquent adolescents. Method The sample was 14- to 16-year-old repeatedly delinquent adolescents (n 3679) taking part in the Finnish School Health Promotion Study, surveyed for versatility and specialization of delinquency in relation to depression. Results Patterns of criminal behaviour differed between depressed and non-depressed delinquent adolescents. The delinquent behaviour of depressed adolescents was more versatile than that of non-depressed adolescents who mainly specialized in one offence type. Non-depressed delinquent boys had most often specialized in violence. Most depressed delinquent boys had committed a variety of offences, but among those who did specialize the specialist category was violent offences. Non-depressed delinquent girls had specialized in shoplifting. Among depressed delinquent girls vandalism was the most typical offence. Conclusion: Differences in the delinquent behaviour of depressed and non-depressed delinquent adolescents suggest the value of including clinical assessment, and treatment for some, in an appropriately comprehensive pattern of management. Language: en

■ AimsThe article examines the links between alcohol consumption, drinking habits and the high homicide rates in Finland today from the point of view of the structure of homicides and the social status of the people involved in them. The Finnish situation is compared with that in the other Nordic Countries, especially with Sweden.■ MethodsThe links between alcohol and homicidal crime are examined from the point of view of three main factors: the relative and absolute numbers of intoxicated offenders and victims, and regular substance abusers among offenders, and the patterns of victim-offender relationships. By combining the information, a general picture is formed of the significance and absolute levels of alcohol-connected homicides and what kinds of population groups are responsible for these crimes in each of the Nordic Countries.■ ResultsAlthough the Finnish annual homicide rate is triple that of other Nordic Countries, the social background and structure of homicidal crime are very similar in Finland, Sweden and Norway. In all the three Nordic Countries the crimes are committed mainly by alcoholic, unemployed men living on the fringe of society. It also seems that the difference in the crime level between Finland and its Scandinavian neighbours is mainly caused by the alcohol-related violence of this group; the volume of other types of homicide is more or less the same.■ ConclusionAlcohol may seem to explain the higher Finnish homicide rates compared to other Nordic Countries, however, the comparative levels of alcohol consumption and violent crime are very similar in Finland, Sweden and Norway. Consequently, it is unlikely that the differences in the homicide rates would be caused directly by the differences in the general drinking cultures. Instead of looking for general cultural behaviour models to explain the higher rate of homicide, one should ask why middle-aged alcoholics appear in larger numbers in Finland than in other Nordic countries, and why they behave more violently.

A large number (N 50,569) of 14-16 year old Finnish adolescents taking part in the School Health Promotion Study were surveyed for delinquent behaviour in relation to depression. The results indicate a robust association between delinquency and depression. Among girls risk for depression varied between 1.3 and 3.1 according to various antisocial behaviours (the equivalent risk among boys was 1.3-2.5). Depression increased according to the frequency of delinquent behaviour. The results emphasize the importance of comprehensive clinical assessment and treatment of delinquent adolescents.

In the early 1960s, 15% of Finnish homicide offenders committed suicide after the crime. In 1998–2000, this ratio was 6%. The downward trend was due to the increase in non-suicidal homicide, as well as to a substantial decrease in the general homicide-suicide rate. Over the time span, the rate of suicidal homicide offenders per 100,000 population was halved. The decrease took place in the two most significant homicide-suicide types (that is, those of intimate-partner homicides and parent-child killings) and, within these crime types, in crimes committed by men. The present article describes the prevalence and trend of homicide-suicide in Finland, and examines the socio-economic correlates of this phenomenon. The findings indicate that the percentage and the rate of homicide-suicide have been consistently highest among middle classes and lowest among the unemployed and working classes. Victim-offender relationship, stressful life events, and alcohol consumption are discussed as explanations for this stable...

This paper describes the Finnish homicide trend between 1950 and 1999. The homicide rate decreased steadily and reached the lowest level of the century in the late 1960s. In the early 1970s, an abrupt increase in the homicide rate took place. The paper examines this rate shift by first disaggregating and then comparing the homicides of pre-increase years (1965-69) and increase years (1970-74). A database including all cases of interpersonal lethal violence between 1965 and 1974 is utilized. The analysis indicates increase of homicide reflected mainly male-to-male conflicts, the participants of which were increasingly often under the influence of alcohol. In a tentative interpretation, the homicide rate shift of the early 1970s is attributed to three factors: (1) a sudden liberalization of alcohol that the policy in 1969and the consequent increase of alcohol consumption, (2) weekend extension to Saturdays and (3) the coincidence in time of these political reforms with large scale social transformation and ...

The aim of this study was to explore the relationship between sleep, including both qualitative and quantitative aspects, and delinquent behaviour while controlling for psychopathic features of adolescents and parental supervision at bedtime. We analysed data from a nationally representative sample of 4855 Finnish adolescents (mean age 15.3 years, 51% females). Sleep problems, hours of sleep and delinquency were evaluated via self-report. Psychopathic features were measured with the Antisocial Process Screening Device - Self-Report. In negative binomial regressions, gender and sleep-related variables acted as predictors for both property and violent crime after controlling for psychopathic features and parental supervision at bedtime. The results suggest that both sleep problems (at least three times per week, at least for a year) and an insufficient amount of sleep (less than 7 h) are associated with property crime and violent behaviour, and the relationship is not explained by gender, degree of parental supervision at bedtime or co-occurring psychopathic features. These results suggest that sleep difficulties and insufficient amount of sleep are associated with delinquent behaviour in adolescents. The significance of addressing sleep-related problems, both qualitative and quantitative, among adolescents is thus highlighted. Implications for a prevention technique of delinquent behaviour are discussed. Language: en

To examine gradual change in debt problems, divorce and income among men in Finland before and after a first conviction for driving under the influence (DUI).A register-based longitudinal study conducted in Finland between 1999 and 2013.A nationally representative sample of 70,659 Finnish males born between 1918 and 1983, and a subsample of males (n = 1782) who had their first DUI conviction during 2005-2012.Descriptive statistics showing the socio-demographic and economic determinants of DUI. The main analysis was based on a longitudinal, within-individual setting. The impact of DUI on debt problems, divorce and income was analysed using random effects regression models.DUI offenders were more likely to be younger and to have lower education and income than the non-DUI group. Criminal convictions were also more common among DUI offenders. Debt problems, divorce and loss of income were more likely after the DUI incident than before. The already increasing level of debt problems accelerated after the incident and divorce rates increased after the DUI incident, whereas the decrease in income was gradual over the whole observation period.Among men in Finland, DUI offences are more common among vulnerable social groups. The first drunk-driving conviction among men in Finland constitutes a significant life event that appears to increase the likelihood of financial problems and divorce.

The Antisocial Process Screening Device- Self-Report (APSD-SR) is a self-report measure for assessment of psychopathic traits in adolescents. The present study aimed to investigate the factor structure and internal consistency of the APSD-SR in a sample of 4855 Finnish community adolescents. A three-factor structure with factors representing impulsivity (IMP), narcissism (NAR) and callous-unemotional (CU) features was found. Internal consistency indices ranged from moderate to good. The findings provide promising data on applicability of the APSD-SR instrument to Scandinavian youth. Results have implications for researchers and clinicians interested in measuring adolescent psychopathy.

Among lay people as well as among scholars it is sometimes assumed that adolescent work deters juvenile delinquency. In contrast, existing research suggests that there is a positive association between adolescent parttime work and delinquency. This study assesses this claim and examines in a nationally representative sample of 15-16-yearold Finnish adolescents ( n = 4347), the association between work during the school year and self-reported delinquency and victimization, and explore whether the possible associations are general or based on some subcategory of delinquent behaThere viour/victimization. The results of multivariate analyses indicate that intensive weekly working is significantly positively associated with delinquent behaviour. When gender, disposable allowances and various factors suggested by control, strain and differential association theories were controlled for, intensive work (10 hours or more remained a significant predictor of the following types of delinquency: beating up someone, d...

This study examines the association between self-reported delinquent behaviour and psychosomatic symptoms in a nationally representative sample of 15-16-year old Finnish adolescents. Some theorists have suggested that psychosomatic symptoms are related to inability to break culturally given norms. If this is so, delinquents should have less symptoms than non-delinquents. To assess this idea, two hypotheses are formulated: delinquency is associated with decreased symptoms (the 'hydraulic' hypothesis), or delinquency is associated with increased symptoms (the 'stress' hypothesis). In support of the second hypothesis, the results indicate that delinquency and psychosomatic symptoms are positively associated. The effect of delinquency on symptoms is robust in the presence of a number of control variables. The findings are discussed i.a. from the point of view of increasing research interest in the positive effects of delinquency. While positive effects are likely to exist in specific contexts, delinquency as ...

According to Zimring & Hawkins, the exceptionally high level of homicide in the USA is unrelated to the nation's overall crime problem. In contrast to this statement, a critical review of their evidence suggests that criminal activity may explain a significant share of the excess levels of lethal violence in the USA. As a first step towards testing this hypothesis, we have created a uniform victim-level data file of information on the method and the situational context of homicide cases in Finland and the USA. In support of the hypothesis, we find that homicides that occur in the context of another crime are much more prevalent in the USA than in Finland. This difference accounts for 35% of the overall gap in the homicide rate between these two nations. Moreover, our research indicates that the effect of the criminal context cannot be reduced to the 'instrument effect', i.e. the fact that handguns are much more prevalent in the USA. In light of these findings, it would be premature, in terms both of theor...

This article examines the prevalence and correlates of shoplifting phases among Finnish adolescents. The data are based on the Finnish Self-Report Delinquency Study (FSRD-96) whose target population consisted of 9th grade (15-16-year-old) students. The identification of phases was based both on behavioural sequences and subjective interpretations. Consequently a shoplifting phase was defined in a relative fashion as a period during which the respondent shoplifted more often than usually. Of the respondents, 23 per cent had experienced at least one such period. The typical (modal) shoplzfting phase began at the age of 13 and ended at the age of 14. It lasted for 26 weeks and amounted to 15 thefts. Among the correlates of phasic shoplifting behaviour were participation in other offences and low level of parental control.

We examined whether the occurrence of violence changed among Finnish adolescents between 1999 and 2009. The study was based on the nationwide Adolescent Health and Lifestyle Survey from samples of 12- to 18-year-olds. The number of respondents was 8136 in 1999 and 5516 in 2009. The proportion of adolescents reporting violence was 7.9% in 1999 and 6.2% in 2009 ( P < 0.000). In both of the study years, the violence occurrence rate varied by age and sex, with boys reporting higher rates in all age groups. The results did not support our hypothesis of a general increase in violence among adolescents.

Due to differences in definitions, data sources and criminal justice procedures, comparing homicides between countries is not without problems. To overcome these limitations, we have constructed a joint European Homicide Monitor (EHM). So far, Finland, the Netherlands and Sweden constitute the basis of the database. In this contribution, we give an overview of this new data set. In doing so, we elaborate on methodological issues that arose when constructing this data set and discuss the feasibility of constructing an international and comparable homicide data set. Preliminary results show that the EHM as a joint database provides unique opportunities to closely monitor homicide across Europe.

The chapter deals with homicidal crime in Finland. It is based on existing research literature, the data of the Finnish Homicide Monitoring System (FHMS), and the main statistical data sources. Homicidal crime has been a central topic in modern Finnish criminology and forensic psychiatry since the early-1900s; the existing studies on homicide trends, the different characteristics of the crime as well as their explanations cover the period from the sixteenth century till today. Estimations on crime levels before the eighteenth century are based mainly on court records; an unbroken series of cause-of-death data of the annual number of victims of intentional homicides is available from the mid-1750s onward; court statistics data are available since the 1890s and police statistics data since the 1920s. The FHMS was created in 2002; it includes detailed information on homicides, homicide offenders, and homicide victims. During the last two centuries, homicide rates have been considerably higher and more volatile in Finland than in other parts of Scandinavia or in Western Europe; a very distinct characteristic of homicidal crime in Finland during this period has been the close linkage between the crimes and alcohol consumption situations; compared with Western Europe and North America also the age-structure of homicidal crime is in Finland today substantially older and the role of ethnic minorities in violent crime significantly smaller; about 80% of all homicides in Finland today consist of violence between middle-aged, unemployed male alcoholics. Explaining the difference between the Finnish and Scandinavian homicide rates has been a central topic in modern Finnish homicide research; explanations include, among other factors: the heritage of the Finnish wars, the more drastic socioeconomic and political modernization processes of the twentieth century, the less active and integrative employment policies of the more recent decades, and the different cultural traditions – especially those of alcohol use.

In this chapter we review recent European homicide research from the point of view of criminological theory. European research on homicide tends to be dominated by social structural explanations such as strain theory and social disorganization theory. Examples of alternative perspectives include evolutionary psychology and feminist theories of violence. Given that a single study may include elements from multiple theoretical perspectives, some studies will be discussed under more than one heading. For example, historical research informed by the theory of the civilizing process (Elias 2004 [1939]) contains elements of what later came to be known as self-control theory and institutional (anomie) theory. Focussing on the contemporary theoretical scene, this chapter draws on a systematic search of European homicide research published since 2000 in mainstream criminological peer-reviewed journals.

Since the 1960s, homicides against children have decreased dramatically in Finland. The article examines this decrease by disaggregating the trend in five child homicide types between 1960-1974 and 2003-2009. There were several factors reducing the motivation and opportunity to commit most child homicide types during the period. Some were results of active social policies, some were byproducts of the policies, and some were related to the change of the moral climate. Most of the factors were interdependent. However, one type of child homicide has been resistant to any of the factors and the decreasing general trend: maternal filicide-suicides.