Evidence for the crime drop: survey findings from two Finnish cities between 1992 and 2013

Abstract

In this article, results from self-report studies in two Finnish cities, Helsinki and Turku, are presented. The aims are to compare the prevalence of youth crime between these cities and changes in delinquency during the observation period. In Helsinki, the surveys took place in 1992, 2006 and 2013, and in Turku, the surveys took place in 1992, 2001, and 2013. With the exception of the Turku 2001 survey, all datasets have been collected under the auspices of the International Self-Report Delinquency Study (ISRD). The most recent survey, ISRD3, targeted comprehensive school pupils from grades 7–9 (ages 13–16), while some of the former studies excluded 7th and/or 8th grades. The results show that (1) the delinquency rates are generally higher in Helsinki than in Turku and (2) the prevalence of both property- and violence-related crimes has decreased, while drug use manifested fluctuating or increasing trends. Overall, the findings are consistent with the observation that there has been a relatively general crime drop in the Western world since the 1990s.

Keywords::

• juvenile delinquency
• youth crime
• crime drop
• self-report method
• ISRD3
• Finland

Acknowledgements

The Finnish ISRD data collection has been organized by the criminological unit of the Finnish National Research Institute of Legal Policy. The author thanks the ISRD3 Steering Committee member, research director Janne Kivivuori, as well as senior researchers Venla Salmi and Mikko Aaltonen and others in the Finnish ISRD3 team for cooperation and support in this research.

Notes

¹ For assault, the most recent item can be regarded as slightly more encompassing and broader than the earlier ones (because it only presupposed an injury, not that the victim would have needed to see a doctor). However, the effect of this change is hard to interpret, for visible signs of an injury may indicate even more severe violence than consulting a doctor (which can be motivated, e.g. by ensuring insurance compensation or evidence for possible criminal justice proceedings).

² Note also the long 12-year interval between the 2001 and 2013 measurements in Turku. For example, the reduction in the prevalence of weapon carrying would indicate an average annual decrease of approximately 2 percentage points.

Additional information

Funding

The author has received funding from Kone Foundation. The Finnish ISRD3 data collection has been funded by the Finnish National Research Institute of Legal Policy and the Finnish Ministry of Justice.