Paula Wahlgren

Paula Wahlgren is a Lecturer in the Social Pedagogy program at Linnaeus University's Department of Education, Faculty of Social Sciences. She serves as Director of Studies for the Social Pedagogy program, specializing in youth and substance abuse care. Her academic work centers on criminology and social pedagogy, with strong connections to the Research in Inclusion, Democracy and Equity (RIDE) environment that focuses on special education and social education research.

Dr. Wahlgren earned her PhD in Criminology from Stockholm University in 2014 with her dissertation "The law-abiding: On school crime prevention education" (De laglydiga: Om skolans brottsförebyggande fostran). Her educational background bridges criminology with educational sciences, providing a strong foundation for her interdisciplinary research approach.

Wahlgren's research primarily focuses on crime prevention policy throughout historical and contemporary contexts. She examines how crime prevention intersects with welfare policies, educational systems, and municipal governance. Her work explores the historical roots of collaborative crime prevention approaches, analyzing how schools, police, and social services have functioned as preventive institutions. She investigates the conceptual shifts in understanding crime as either a social problem or an order maintenance issue, with particular attention to democratic education as a preventive strategy.

Analysis of Wahlgren's recent publications (2014-2024) reveals a consistent focus on the historical and conceptual development of crime prevention in Swedish society. Her work spans multiple dimensions including school-based prevention, police reform, municipal crime prevention strategies, and the relationship between welfare policies and crime control. A notable trend is her examination of how crime prevention has evolved from social engineering approaches to more post-political frameworks, with increasing emphasis on partnerships and cross-sectoral collaboration.

Wahlgren actively contributes to the academic community through her involvement in significant research projects. She currently leads work on "Crossing boundaries in social work," which examines security-promoting and crime-preventing partnerships in particularly vulnerable areas in Sweden. This project reflects her ongoing commitment to understanding how different sectors can effectively collaborate on crime prevention initiatives.