Why do people get involved in crime? Why do they continue, and how do they exit? How do prison inmates understand their own life story? What are the similarities and differences across countries, continents and genders?
These questions are being explored by professor Sveinung Sandberg from the Department of Criminology and Sociology of Law at the University of Oslo.
The research project Life-Course Trajectories to Crime Globally (CRIMLIFE) is the world’s first large-scale, comparative study of criminal life-courses globally. In contrast to most existing research in the field, the focus is directed towards Eastern Europe, Africa, and Asia and not towards the West.
900 interviews with inmates
The project is an extension of the project Crime in Latin America (CRIMLA), which is also led by Sandberg. While CRIMLA has concentrated on Latin America, the new project gains a broader comparative perspective across four continents.
The main part of the project will consist of qualitative life history interviews with 300 inmates in six different countries: Norway, Czech Republic, Türkiye, Nigeria, India, and Colombia. To build trust and obtain more nuanced and better data, the participants will be interviewed several times. This will result in a total of 900 interviews. In parallel, quantitative surveys will be conducted in the same countries, aiming to collect data from at least 1,000 inmates per country.
The six countries differ considerably in political, economic, and cultural terms, and they face very different challenges related to crime.
– We are very curious about whether, and how, inmates’ life stories and paths into crime vary across different societal contexts, says Sandberg.
– Are there major differences, or are there patterns that recur across very different socioeconomic conditions, histories, and cultures? This might concern the role of the state, the role of the family, and the role of working life, he elaborates.
There is already quite a lot of research on Norwegian conditions, but the country is included in the study to obtain directly comparable data. The fact that crime is currently high on the political agenda makes this especially interesting, the professor believes:
– Perhaps Norway can learn something from what we find in other countries, and vice versa?
Half of the participants will be women
Previously criminological research literature on prison inmates mostly concerns men. This is especially the case outside the West. The reason is simple, Sandberg explains: Globally, only about five percent of inmates are women. In the CRIMLIFE project, however, half of the interview subjects will be women.
The selection of participants will also emphasize diversity in types of crime:
– The inmates are chosen to give us a broad range of what you might call ‘traditional’ crimes. Some will have been convicted of murder, some of robbery and extortion, and others of drug offenses, he explains.
CRIMLIFE (Life-Course Trajectories to Crime Globally)
- The world’s first large-scale, comparative study of criminal life-courses globally. Aiming to understand how people enter into, and exit from, crime. The project combines qualitative life-story interviews with quantitative surveys in prisons.
- Conducted in six countries spanning four continents: Norway, the Czech Republic, Türkiye, Nigeria, Bangladesh, and Colombia. The focus on the Global South is unique.
- Half of the interviewees will be women—an underrepresented group in criminological research.
- Project leader: Professor Sveinung Sandberg, Department of Criminology and Sociology of Law (IKRS), University of Oslo.
- Key team members: Researcher at IKRS David Goyes is the most important collaborator on the project. For the last four years, he has worked on CRIMLA. In the new study, he is responsible for academic coordination, together with Sandberg. Professors Torbjørn Skardhamar and Synøve Andersen at the Department of Sociology and Human Geography is responsible for the quantitative part of the study.
- Funding: Advanced Grant from the European Research Council (ERC): 2.5 million euros over five years.
About ERC Advanced Grants
- The European Research Council (ERC) funds groundbreaking research through competitive, long-term grants across all disciplines.
- ERC Advanced Grants target established researchers whose track records show they are leaders in their fields.
- Grants of up to €2.5 million are awarded for projects lasting up to five years.
How do inmates talk about their lives?
Interviewing prison inmates is not as difficult as one might think, according to the professor. The project in Latin America included a total of 1200 such interviews.
– From my experience, inmates are often very willing and eager to talk. They have plenty of time, and sometimes they are bored. Many feel they haven’t been heard before, so they appreciate the chance to share their story in this setting, Sandberg says.
Because the project also takes a life-history approach, the researchers are particularly interested in how people involved in crime narrate their lives, and whether those narratives vary across different contexts. This part of the study is tied to the research tradition of narrative criminology, which Sandberg has helped develop.
Some might speak proudly about what they’ve done, while others attempt to rationalize their actions.
Variations are of particular interest to the researchers:
– How do they understand crime and why they are in prison? Do they see it as a job, as isolated incidents driven by emotions or impulses, or is it linked to their identity as a part of «who they are»? How do they describe the role society, family, and work play in their lives?
A key idea in the project is that life trajectories shape life stories, but cultural narratives likewise influence the direction a life takes.
Strives to avoid academic colonialism
Data collection outside Norway will primarily be done by local partners. The project will employ local teams in four different countries, while Norway is covered from the University of Oslo. In Colombia, data has already been collected through CRIMLIFE.
The whole process will be coordinated from the University of Oslo, in collaboration with senior researcher David Goyes. Two postdoctoral researchers, a PhD candidate and a research assistant will be hired to collect and analyze the data and look for patterns across contexts.
Sandberg himself will travel out occasionally, to do fieldwork, conduct interviews and become familiar with the context and academic partners.
The organizational setup is carefully thought out. Partnering with local teams is not only expected to improve research quality but also to bolster research communities in other countries:
– Western researchers have faced significant criticism for gathering data globally without sufficient knowledge of local contexts, often sidestepping local academics, Sandberg points out.
– In this way, we are trying to avoid academic colonialism, while also expecting to obtain much better data. Having local knowledge, contacts, and an understanding of the context provides far better conditions for collecting good data than coming in from the outside, he explains.
May provide important insights
CRIMLIFE is first and foremost an academic project. Even so, the findings may also have practical significance.
– If the explanations for crime lie in structural factors such as the labor market or the role of the state, individual-level prevention will have little effect, Sandberg illustrates.
The project also has the potential to assist development and policymaking targeting crime globally. Because local teams are connected to the project, it is also likely to contribute to local academic and political discussions.