Bränder och stenkastning i Herrgården

The purpose of this thesis is to demonstrate how the theory of collective efficacy can be used to increase our understanding of why boys and young men attack the police and construct fires in arson attacks under riot like circumstances in the subarea Herrgården of Rosengård in the city of Malmö, Sweden. The theory is applied through a comparative case study where a total of 62 interviews were performed in Herrgården and another subarea of Rosengård, Törnrosen. The result is an indication of a low degree of collective efficacy in Herrgården that can help explain why the violence takes place there. Residents of Herrgården express fear and frustration over the situation, feeling that they themselves, the police and society in general is powerless to deal with the problem. To improve the situation this thesis argues that society must show a greater commitment to resolve the problems, with improvement in housing and police relation building being two of the main suggestions.