CCPCJ 34 Side event “Responding to youth criminality linked to transnational organized crime in the Nordic and Baltic regions”

5.5.2025 | News item

There is a growing concern across the Nordic and Baltic regions regarding youth criminality linked to organized crime, both national and transnational. Young people are increasingly being recruited by organized crime groups, becoming involved in criminal ecosystems, particularly within transnationally organized illicit drug markets. They are recruited to work within the criminal economy and to carry out violent acts, including across borders. Criminals exploit young people in particularly vulnerable situations and recruit them forcefully through social media.

Young person looking at peers


 

The criminal justice systems must face these challenges taking into consideration both aspects related to the developmental phase and context of the youth who are recruited as well as the modus operandi of the criminal groups recruiting them. The transnational links of these gangs and other organized criminal groups are complex and pose problems for criminal justice systems to respond effectively. This event will contribute to a better understanding of the issues through the presentations by HEUNI on preventive and responsive measures related to youth crime and GI-TOC on their recent research on the phenomenon.

Tuesday 20th May | 11:30 – 12:30 CET(Vienna, Oslo, Stockholm) | 12:30 – 13:30 EET (Helsinki, Tallinn)|MOE79, Vienna International Centre | Also online  

Registration

Speakers:
• Anna-Liisa Uisk, Head of Development and Crime Statistics Division, Department of Criminal Policy, Estonian Ministry of Justice and Digital Affairs

• Britt Østergaard Larsen, Senior Researcher at VIVE, The Danish Centre for Social Science Research.

• Brian Lee, Head of Programme, Observatory of Illicit Economies in Eurasia, Global Initiative against Transnational Organized Crime.

• Christine Namdar, Visiting Fellow at the Graduate School of Education (HGSE) at Harvard University and a Visiting Scholar at the Education Department at the University of Helsinki.

• Julia Korkman, Senior Programme Officer at HEUNI, Professor of Practice with the Faculty of Law, and Adjunct Professor in Legal Psychology at Åbo Akademi.  


Organised by HEUNI and GI-TOC. With support of Finland, Sweden, Norway and Denmark.

 
Access to justice Criminal justice Event Exploitation of adolescents and children SDG UN