Randomized experiments in Scandinavian criminal justice: Reviewing the past and looking to the future

Randomized controlled trials are reported on with increasing frequency within the criminological literature. This development, which is commonly seen as being a part of a global shift towards evidence-based policies, relies heavily on reviews of American research. However, other regions face distinct challenges and employ distinct policy solutions, potentially undermining the uniformity of this trend. In particular, the Scandinavian nations (Denmark, Norway and Sweden), with distinct penal philosophies, may offer a counter-narrative. Here, we conduct a multi-lingual systematic review of crime-related experiments in Scandinavia. Findings show that only eight experiments with an offending or delinquency outcome were published before 2015, six of which focused primarily on medical or psychological treatments. We suggest this distribution is driven by unique, regional epistemological traditions and conclude by outlining distinctive opportunities for experimental criminology in Scandinavia.