Humiliation robbery

What does the data show?

Objective observations — not interpretations

• The term emerged in Swedish media and political debate around 2019–2021. There is no legal definition: robbery is regulated in chapter 8, sections 5–6 of the Penal Code, and humiliating elements may affect the classification (aggravated robbery) and the penal value, but they are not recorded as a separate category.
• As a result, it is impossible to say how many humiliation robberies occur per year. Claims about increases or decreases in this specific phenomenon have no statistical basis — what exists is robbery statistics plus one qualitative mapping of the elements involved.
• Brå 2021:19 examined robberies against people under 18 in 2015–2019 and coded the preliminary investigations against six constructed categories of power exertion and humiliation. Where only boys were suspected, such elements appeared in just over a third of the investigations; where at least one girl was suspected, in roughly two thirds.
• Reported youth robberies more than doubled between 2015 and 2019 — but the share involving humiliation elements did not rise over the same period; if anything it fell. Volume and character are two separate questions that are often conflated in the debate.
• The situational picture is clear: robberies mostly occur after school between 15:00 and 22:00, near shopping centres, public-transport hubs, schools and sports facilities. Typical takings are mobile phones, branded clothing and wireless earphones. Motives are money, status within the group, excitement or an underlying conflict.
• The consequences for victims are substantial. Brå's interviews with parents describe fear, avoidance behaviour and in some cases a wish to move — effects that appear in no crime statistic.

Definitions

How the numbers are counted — and what they do not cover

Robbery

Taking property from another person by violence or by a threat of violence implying imminent danger. Penal Code, chapter 8, section 5.

Aggravated robbery

Robbery deemed aggravated, for instance where the violence was life-threatening, caused severe bodily harm, or where the offender showed exceptional brutality. Penal Code, chapter 8, section 6.Humiliating elements may form part of the 'exceptional brutality' assessment, but are not recorded separately in the statistics.

Humiliation robbery (förnedringsrån)

A colloquial and media term for robberies in which the offenders subject the victim to humiliation beyond the theft itself. There is no legal definition and no official statistical category.Brå explicitly states that both a legal definition and prior research are lacking.

Power exertion and humiliation elements (Brå 2021:19)

Six categories constructed by Brå to code preliminary investigations: obstruction of justice (övergrepp i rättssak), excessive violence, control, demonstration of power with humiliating elements, filming and photographing during the robbery, and verbal abuse.

Youth robbery

In Brå 2021:19: reported robberies where the victim is under 18. The definition is based on the victim's age, not the offender's.

Aggravating circumstance

A circumstance increasing the penal value under chapter 29, section 2 of the Penal Code, such as an intent to violate the victim's security and trust, or the victim being defenceless.

Frequently asked questions

Short answers to what is most often discussed