A village is needed to raise a child : A case study on how juvenile delinquency is understood in Örkelljunga municipality

Juvenile delinquency is acknowledged as a social problem but the research is often focused to larger cities. The purpose of the study was to elucidate the understanding of professionals of the problem of juvenile delinquency in a smaller town like Örkelljunga municipality. We also wanted to investigate how the understanding of juvenile delinquency is used, is disseminated and contributes to developing practices in the work against juvenile delinquency. To be able to answer the purpose of this study, we decided to do a case study. The selection of interviewees was made through snowball selection and qualitative interviews were conducted. We also reviewed meeting documents from a local project working on crime in the municipality. The conclusion in our study is that the professional social workers in Örkelljunga have created a natural practice that strives to involve and nurture young people into a life without crime. This is done through relationship-building projects in which young people on glide are involved in a context of positive role models