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Social Democrats promise psychiatric care to steer youth from crime
🇸🇪 Sweden /Crime & Justice

Social Democrats promise psychiatric care to steer youth from crime

From Dagens Nyheter · () Swedish

Translated from Swedish, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

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  • The Social Democrats in Stockholm are promising to expand a pilot project offering child and adolescent psychiatric care to young people seeking to leave criminal lifestyles.
  • The initiative, which began in 2024, involves collaboration between child and adolescent psychiatry (BUP) and social intervention groups (SIG) to support 13-17 year olds.
  • The party believes addressing underlying psychiatric issues like ADHD, common among those involved in crime, is key to preventing future gang involvement.

In Stockholm, the Social Democrats are pledging to broaden a successful pilot program that connects young individuals aiming to exit criminal life with child and adolescent psychiatric services. The initiative, launched in 2024, has seen BUP collaborate with social intervention groups (SIG) in several city districts.

If we can prevent even a few from becoming gang criminals, it has paid off.

— Alexander OjanneSocial Welfare Councilor Alexander Ojanne (S) on the program's potential impact.

Specialist doctor Susanna Terling observed that many young people, particularly boys, visited psychiatric clinics primarily for ADHD medication follow-ups without discussing their overall well-being. She noted their expensive clothing and occasional bulletproof vests, suggesting deeper issues.

Terling explained that psychiatric conditions like ADHD, often alongside oppositional defiant disorder and conduct disorder, are common among those involved in serious crime. Since these youths rarely seek help voluntarily, she and a colleague conceived the idea to "find another way to reach them."

They had expensive designer clothes and sometimes bulletproof vests. One understood that there was so much more behind it.

— Susanna TerlingSpecialist doctor Susanna Terling describing the young people she encountered.

The BUP unit for Severe Norm-Breaking Behavior (ANB) was established as a result. By 2025, it had engaged with 81 youths aged 13-17 through SIG. A recurring challenge has been the young people's low and fluctuating motivation, requiring conversations to start with less sensitive topics like sleep disturbances before addressing underlying reasons.

We needed to find another way to reach them, simply.

— Susanna TerlingSpecialist doctor Susanna Terling explaining the motivation behind the BUP-ANB unit.

The Social Democrats consider the pilot project a success and are campaigning to make BUP-ANB available to all interested municipalities from 2027, when the current pilot concludes. "We know that many who end up in crime, perhaps primarily gang crime, carry undiagnosed or untreated psychiatric problems. It increases the risk," said Social Welfare Councilor Alexander Ojanne (S).

Many have sleep disturbances, which is a bit less sensitive to talk about. You can start to unravel that. Then gradually approach the question of why you sleep poorly.

— Susanna TerlingSpecialist doctor Susanna Terling on how to engage with unmotivated youth.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Dagens Nyheter in Swedish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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