”Mitt mål blev snabbt att bli en respekterad gangster” : En studie om tidigare kriminellas syn på bakomliggande faktorer till en påbörjad och avslutad kriminell karriär

Sammanfattning: The aim of the study is to investigate why the individual begins a criminal career, why individuals choose to end the criminal career, and whether they view their previous crime as a result of the surrounding society or take personal responsibility. Qualitative interviews have been conducted. The sample consists of individuals who have left the criminal path and done so at least 3 years ago. The results of the study resulted in social ties within e.g., schooling, socializing, the residential area and the family are underlying factors that can be linked to the reasons for starting a criminal career. The family can also be considered a central factor in the reasons why a former criminal ends his criminal life. The conclusion that can be drawn from the results of the study shows that regardless of influencing factors, it is not individual events that are decisive if the individual neither begins nor ends a criminal career. It is the interplay of these underlying factors or events that will drive further behavioural changes in the individual.