Ett klick från kriminalitet : En kvalitativ studie om hur sociala medier används som verktyg för rekrytering av unga till kriminella nätverk

Sammanfattning

This study examined how the Swedish Police Authority perceives and describes the use of social media as a tool for recruiting young people into criminal networks. Recruitment of young people into criminal activity has increasingly shifted to digital environments, while Swedish research has to a limited extent addressed how this recruitment takes place in practice. Against this background, the study aimed to contribute in-depth knowledge of the strategies that, from a policing perspective, are considered to underlie digital recruitment. This study was conducted using a qualitative approach and was based on five semi-structured interviews with police employees who, into their professional roles, work with crime prevention, at-risk youth, and digital environments. The empirical material was analyzed using thematic analysis in accordance with Braun and Clarke, combined with an abductive approach in which empirical data and theory interacted. Akers’ social learning theory served as the theoretical framework to understand how norms, behaviors, and attitudes related to criminality may be learned and reinforced through social media. The results showed that social media function as a central arena for exposure to, contact with, and normalization of criminal behavior. Recruitment often begins on open platforms such as Snapchat and TikTok and subsequently transition to more closed and encrypted applications. The findings also demonstrated how criminal lifestyles are normalized through repeated exposure, imitation of role models, and social reinforcement in the form of status and validation. These processes contribute to criminal behavior being perceived as accepted and less deviant, particularly among young people in vulnerable life situations. Overall, the study contributes to an increased understanding of how social media operate as effective recruitment tools for criminal networks and highlights the need for preventive efforts to be adapted to the digital environments where young people spend much of their time.