Arbetarklassen och kriminalitet : En studie om arbetarklassens fångar på Härlanda kriminalvårdsanstalt och  kriminalitet i skuggan av kapitalismen under moderniseringens  frammarsch

Sammanfattning: Industrialization and urbanization brought  major societal changes. For the individual, these changes meant an adjustment beyond the ordinary. Not everyone had the conditions required to adapt and take part in what modernization entailed. Those who were well off also had the means required to succeed in the new society. Those who were already vulnerable, however, came to be hit hard by the changes that emerged.The struggling working class became overrepresented among inmates in prisons.The purpose of this study has been to find out why the working class has been overrepresented by examining the factors behind their crime, how their life history can explain their situation and the socio-economic factors that may be the basis for the imprisonment.The study refers analyses six  of the inmates at Härlanda Kriminalvårdsanstalt during the early 20th century. The sources used include prisoner scrolls and biography books that are available at the National Archives in Gothenburg.The results of the empirical study show that the causes behind the working class crime have been poverty and the difficulty of establishing societal goals.The study is based on Marxist criminology's explanation of crime and the public debate on working class crime during the time period.