Unge på kant med loven: Taler vi til dem eller med dem?

When young people commit crimes, they must take responsibility and change course. But can they do that if they are not involved in finding a way forward themselves?

Criminologist Katrine Barnekow Rasmussen examines how the welfare state engages with young people who have committed offences.

The young people referred to Ungdomskriminalitetsnævnet have previously been registered as victims seven times as often as their peers. At the same time, her observations suggest that, generally, the boards do not succeed in engaging them in a restorative way.

‘Restorative practice’ is based on those affected being heard and involved in making amends for the harm. Expectations of responsibility are accompanied by support, and adults, too, must consider their own role.

This raises a broader question about our view of humanity, says Katrine Barnekow Rasmussen, an assistant professor at Copenhagen Centre for Criminology at the University of Copenhagen: How do we treat someone who has hurt others as a person with the potential to change? And what does this require of the institutions that must both help and make decisions?

On stage

Katrine Barnekow Rasmussen is an assistant professor at Copenhagen Centre for Criminology at the Faculty of Law, University of Copenhagen. Her research focuses in particular on how, as a society, we produce, address and prevent offences committed by children and young people.

She also works as a chief consultant at Den Kriminalpræventive Enhed in Albertslund Municipality. Since 2017, the unit has worked to promote relationship-building and restorative practice as a framework for supporting wellbeing and managing conflicts across the municipality, and Katrine has had overall responsibility for this work.

Programme for 5 November 2026

At 17.00 The doors open, and Universitetsbiblioteket welcomes guests with a glass of wine or water, included in the ticket price.At 17.30 A conversation on stage for approximately 45 minutes, followed by questions from the audience (without a break).At 19.00 Universitetsbiblioteket closes.

Also as a podcast

This evening’s conversation will be recorded and released as a podcast the following week. You can find the full series on all podcast platforms by searching for ‘Verden forsøgt forklaret’.

Verden forsøgt forklaret is a series of conversations about what shapes our shared world

Each week’s guest offers research-based perspectives on themes from public debate – the things we talk about, vote on, disagree about and come together around. Learn more alongside some of the country’s leading researchers as they share their perspectives on what is going on in current discussions about issues that matter, from the intimate stage at the historic Københavns Universitetsbibliotek in Fiolstræde.

The series is produced by the University of Copenhagen with support from the Novo Nordisk Foundation.