Blog
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Ambiguities of algorithmic governance: social harm perspective
By Nea Lepinkäinen and Hanna Maria Malik Political systems face increasing pressure to deliver decisions at accelerated speed, and a failure to keep up with these rising standards deems the state bureaucracies the epitome of slowness, inflexibility and inefficiency. In other words, in modern societies, characterized by continuous acceleration, adherence to legalistic procedures collides with…
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Retreat or entrenchment: Drug policies in Iceland revisited
By Helgi Gunnlaugsson Many signs of a retreat in the control of drugs can be detected in Iceland in most recent years. Instead of a predominantly criminal justice response toward possession of drugs, abuse of drugs is increasingly being viewed as a public health problem. A case in point demonstrating a shift, minor possession of…
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Sexual crimes in the context of sentencing consistency – an example from Finland
By Tiina Malin Child sexual abuse (CSA) is a crime type that among other sexual offences repeatedly rouses heated public debates. Often the outcome in these discussions is that the public does not find the sentences of these crimes to be harsh enough. Moreover, the topic is regularly reported on by the media. When visiting…
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The “Violent Offender” Experience. Take-aways from the 2022 EFRJ conference
By Clara Rosa Sandbye In June 2022, I participated in my first international conference as a PhD fellow, organized by the European Forum for Restorative Justice (EFRJ). It took place in Sassari in northern Sardinia, Italy. Here, around 350 academics and practitioners of restorative justice from 41 different countries gathered to present, discuss, and form…
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Traffic crimes mostly increased in Finland during COVID-19 time
By Mika Sutela Empty roads inspired drivers to speed Serious speeding has increased on Finnish roads during the COVID-19 time. If we look at number of monthly causing a serious traffic hazard offences (i.e. about 50km/h speed over the limit) reported to the police in Finland in recent years, we can notice that there was…
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“Nobody wants queues” – Balancing the imperatives of security and trade at global hubs
By Martin Nøkleberg At the start of this year’s summer travel season, the European aviation industry faced disruptions and travel chaos. There are numerous factors contributing to the many delayed and cancelled flights and the hours-long queues for check-in and security controls. During the COVID-19 pandemic, airports and industry stakeholders, laid off tens of thousands…
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Police in the urban peripheries of the welfare state
By Kıvanç Atak Urban segregation and neighborhood disadvantage pose dire challenges to the welfare state ideals of social justice and equality. In Sweden, few institutions have taken as much attention as the police recent years, for better or worse, concerning the question of what should be done about the problems in relatively isolated and underserved…
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How to improve interpreter-mediated child interviews? Perceptions and experiences of forensic interviewers and interpreters
By Linnea Koponen When children are suspected having experienced or witnessed crime, such as abuse or maltreatment, they are often being interviewed by a police employee in a child forensic interview. We know from decades of research that children as young as 3-year-old can provide reliable testimonies if interviewed in an encouraging and non-leading way…
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Could it be my son? – Strategic himpathy work in rape trials
By Sara Uhnoo To investigate the effects of the new Swedish consent-based rape legislation on legal reasoning and practice, Åsa Wettergren, Moa Bladini, and I have observed rape trials, collected judgements, and interviewed around 70 judges, prosecutors, defence lawyers and victim’s counsels. During the interviews it struck us that they often referred to how their…
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Prison time is not of the essence
By Enes Al Weswasi After decades of declining numbers of offenders sentenced to prison in Sweden, the trend in recent years instead conveys the opposite: the number of inmates and the average sentence length is increasing. Consequently, the Swedish prison and probation Service predicts a 40% increase in prison capacity by 2030. The influx of…