Människan bakom brottet : En kvalitativ studie om den individuella upplevelsen av att återfalla i brott

Sammanfattning: Despite the fact that society is investing substantial resources in individuals not to relapse into crime, then relapse is still a large percentage of new crimes. Crime is something that all societies are dealing with and at all social levels. By punishing individuals they are excluded from the society. This serves as a form of social control. It has been shown that there is no solution to the problem. Punitive legal system generates stigma. Social reactions to crime are designed as an individual problem and not as a social problem. The correctional treatment is the fourth largest authority in Sweden and the main goal is to prevent relapse in crime. Despite this 41 % fall into crime again within 3 years. The study aims to examine the experiences of recidivism and to promote understanding of individual perceptions of factors that were critical to relapse into crime. A qualitative method was used because the objective was to access the subjective experiences. The study is based on six interviews with individuals who relapsed into crime. The theoretical framework is broad. This is because different theories get different conclusions. Theorists as George Herbert Mead, Charles Horton Cooley, Erving Goffman, Thomas J. Scheff, Peter L. Berger and Thomas Luckmann are relevant for the interpretative work in this study. The conclusion made is that group identity, social integration and loneliness are important to study when trying to find why individuals relapse into crime.   Keywords: crime, relapse, socialization, stigma, self, criminal self, social bonds