Crime Prevention, Support or Punishment? Introducing an Ambiguous System of Youth Justice in Denmark
| Published date | 01 December 2024 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/14732254241239016 |
| Author | Ann Karina Henriksen,Tea Torbenfeldt Bengtsson,Theresa Dyrvig Henriksen |
| Date | 01 December 2024 |
| Subject Matter | Original Articles |
https://doi.org/10.1177/14732254241239016
Youth Justice
2024, Vol. 24(3) 463 –479
© The Author(s) 2024
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DOI: 10.1177/14732254241239016
journals.sagepub.com/home/yjj
Crime Prevention, Support or
Punishment? Introducing an
Ambiguous System of Youth
Justice in Denmark
Ann Karina Henriksen , Tea Torbenfeldt
Bengtsson and Theresa Dyrvig Henriksen
Abstract
International research on youth justice systems has highlighted diversion as a key element in early crime
prevention and deterrence. In Denmark, a youth justice reform was introduced in 2019 that restructured
how the justice system responds to children and youths who are suspected or convicted of a crime. With
the introduction of a Youth Crime Board (YCB) and a Youth Probation Service (YPS), the new reform aims
to increase the speed and intensity of system responses to offences committed by children and youths.
Based on legislation, policy papers, hearings on the new reform and the first evaluations of the reform, we
analyse three key elements: the YCB, the sanctions and the YPS. We find that the 2019 youth justice reform
constitutes an ambiguous system of youth justice with elements of diversion and punishment, and we argue
that the reform integrates punitive elements into the delivery of treatment and support.
Keywords
child welfare, criminal justice, diversion, Nordic, punishment
Introduction
The Nordic welfare states are known for their low crime rates, low incarceration rates for
minors and child welfare systems that offer free and extensive services to children and
families (Enell et al., 2022). The Nordic approach to youth justice is based on the princi-
ples of early and generalised crime prevention, diversion into child welfare and lenient
sentencing of minors, and the age of criminal responsibility is 15 years throughout Nordic
countries (Enell et al., 2022). These features reflect the concept of Nordic penal excep-
tionalism (Pratt and Eriksson, 2014), which designates a criminal justice system that cen-
tres on rehabilitation and humane forms of custodial punishment.
Corresponding author:
Ann Karina Henriksen, University College Copenhagen, Kronprinsesse Sofies Vej 35, 2000 Frederiksberg, Denmark.
Email: ankh@kp.dk
1239016YJJ0010.1177/14732254241239016Youth JusticeHenriksen et al.
research-article2024
Original Article
464 Youth Justice 24(3)
Nordic penal exceptionalism differs significantly from the punitive approaches of
many other European juvenile justice systems. For decades, many European countries
followed a trend towards harsher sentencing and a greater emphasis on punishment and
control in response to issues such as public safety concerns (Goldson and Muncie, 2006;
Snacken, 2010). However, these measures have been criticised as ineffective for reducing
youth crime or promoting positive outcomes for young people. Some scholars, such as
Snacken (2010) and Haines et al. (2013), have called for alternative approaches that pri-
oritise the rights and well-being of young people. In recent years, several Western coun-
tries have taken a more lenient stance on youth crime in a move away from the decades of
tough-on-crime policies for youth (Motz et al., 2020). In the United States, for example,
the Supreme Court ruled that juveniles are less culpable than adults (Scott et al., 2015).
Following this ruling, a number of states changed their legislation concerning the transfer
of youth from juvenile to adult court and raised the age of criminal majority (Loeffler and
Grundwald, 2015). In Europe, Scotland raised the minimum age of criminal responsibility
from 8 to 12 years in May 2019 (Scottish Government, 2019). Moreover, in the United
Kingdom, a turn towards a voluntary, child-centred perspective has led to a number of
diversion schemes, such as the Swansea Bureau in Wales, which is designed to divert low-
risk and first-time offenders out of formal processing in the UK Youth Justice System
(Haines et al., 2013).
In the current era of international development towards less punishment in youth jus-
tice, legal scholars argue that Denmark has embarked on a different, more punitive path
(Larsen, 2018; Storgaard, 2013). In 2019, Denmark introduced a reform under the head-
ing ‘All actions have consequences’ with the intention of reducing youth crime (Ministry
of Justice, 2017). The reform establishes a new system comprised of a Youth Crime Board
(YCB) and a Youth Probation Service (YPS) for children between 10 and 17 years of age
who are suspected of or involved in violent crime or serious, repeated offending. In this
article, we discuss how the reform results in new and increased contact with the justice
system for children aged 10–17 years, including through court-like proceedings, man-
dated interventions, and supervision by the YPS. We argue that this legislative reform and
the related measures constitute a punitive turn in Danish youth justice (see also Larsen
et al., 2023).
The Danish reform has been criticised by several organisations, including the Institute
for Human Rights, children’s nongovernmental organisations, and the Crime Preventive
Council (The Danish Justice Committee, 2018). Critiques highlight the de facto lowering
of the age of criminal responsibility and the potential for such a system of punishment and
control to contribute to the criminalisation of children and young people. Prior to the
reform, children under the age of 15 years were not charged with crimes or subject to any
kind of court proceeding. Concerns have been raised regarding the introduction of court-
like proceedings for children as young as 10 years old, the general lack of legal safeguards
and due legal processing, and the limited access to the appeals system. These concerns all
relate to obligations inscribed in the Convention of the Rights of the Child (UNCRC,
1989) and General Comments No. 24 (UNCRC, 2019), which state that legal guarantees
should also apply to children in the justice system, states should not lower the age of
criminal consent, and the recommended minimum age is 14 years. While Denmark has
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