“Avhopparverksamhet är ju en brottsförebyggande metod. Men samhället måste ju se till att det blir av.” : En undersökning av möjligheterna till stöd för personer som vill lämna kriminella gäng eller våldsbejakande extremistiska grupper i ett län i Sverige

Sammanfattning: This qualitative study examines the prevalence of violent extremist groups and criminal gangs in a county in Sweden, and what support is available for people in the county who want to leave these groups. The participants consist of eight people who in their profession can meet people who want to leave criminal gangs or violent extremists. The participants work in six different professions and in four different municipalities. Through semi-structured interviews data were collected which were analyzed based on Thematic Analysis. The theoretical frame of reference for this study is Hirschi's theory of social bond. The results show that in the studied county there is some occurrence of violent extremism, but especially of criminal gangs. From what emerges, there is a lack of insight and awareness of this among different professional groups. Support for people who want to leave criminal gangs or violent extremism is very limited, there are no Exit programs and there are no routines and contact routes between the actors involved that may be relevant for these people. Protection may be available, but other support is lacking. The conclusion of this study is that increased knowledge, awareness and support and treatment interventions in this area are central to counteracting the increase, in particular, gang crime. The results of the study can contribute to the crime prevention work in the county by highlighting the existence of this problem and the need for support for this target group.