Konstruktionen av unga lagöverträdare i rättsliga dokument : En diskursanalys av tingsrättsdomar och socialtjänstens yttranden

Sammanfattning

This study examines how young offenders between ages 15-17 are linguistically constructed in court documents, with additional focus on statements and appendices submitted by social services to the court. The aim is to analyze which problem representations and subject positions emerge in the material, as well as how young offenders are interpellated through these constructions. The study also seeks to understand how theses linguistic representations can be related to social work and the assessments made within the legal process. The study was conducted using a qualitative discourse-analytical approach, in which the material was analyzed based on how young offenders are described and positioned in the text. The results show that young offenders are constructed through four dominant categories, identified by the authors through typification: Naive/Uninformed, In need of support, Risk-prone and Dangerous/Criminal. These categories should be understood as analytical simplifications, as they overlap in several cases. Furthermore, the analysis demonstrates how these constructions contribute to shaping understandings of the young individuals based on their actions and surrounding circumstances. The study thereby highlights how the language used by the district court and social services may influence how young offenders are understood within both social and legal contexts.