Ungdomskriminalitet mellem online og offline

AbstractThe digitalisation of everyday life has reshaped how young people engage in both normative and deviant behaviour. While online crime has received growing attention, little is known about how it intersects with offline offending. Based on data from the Youth Profile Survey 2022-23, which concerns lower secondary students (grades 7-9) in seven Danish municipalities, this study explores how contemporary youth crime unfolds across offline, online, and hybrid domains. By employing latent class analysis (LCA) and logistic regression analysis, four different groups of youth are identified and characterised: Non-offenders – the majority, which reports no engagement in any form of offending; Minor offenders – the second largest group, which is primarily involved in low-level offline crimes such as shoplifting and petty vandalism; Digitally destructive offenders – a smaller group,which is engaged mainly in online crimes, particularly hacking and system attacks, with limited offline offending apart from vandalism; and Risk-taking deviants – the smallest group, involved in a broadrange of online and offline crimes including fraud, scams, and violence.The findings reveal that hybrid forms of crime – where digital andphysical offending intersect -characterize the more deviant groups.These patterns challenge previous typologies and suggest that digital technologies not only enable new forms of crime but also blur the boundaries between online and offline youth behaviour. By linking risk and protective factors such as loneliness, online activity, substance use, sports participation, and part-time work, the study underscores the need to adapt crime prevention strategies to the hybrid realities of contemporary youth. Youth Crime Online and Offline: A Study of Behavioral Types and Risk Factors among Danish Adolescents.