Securitizing Childhood - Childhood and Youth in Finnish Crime Prevention Programmes

This article addresses the issue of how children and young people are constructed and governed in Finland's crime prevention and securitizing programmes and projects. The analysed data consists of abstracts and appraisals of 88 local securitizing programs. The results of the analysis suggest that, in many ways, the programmes reflect a post-recession situation in Finnish society. Children and young people are dominantly positioned as 'risks' or as 'exposed to risks' and the goals and means of the programmes are connected with intensifying their control. The results suggest that the status of security speech and crime prevention technologies within the entity of governing childhood and youth require critical consideration.