Gameful Relating: How Young Offenders Gain Agency in Criminal Rehabilitation and Restorative Justice

When young people in Denmark are suspected of a serious crime, a great apparatus of sanctions and social programmes is set in motion. This article explores how young offenders navigate rehabilitation and restorative justice interventions in Denmark. Through the concept of ‘gameful relating’, the article illustrates how criminalized young people interact with professionals in the rehabilitation system to regain a sense of agency. Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork, the analysis focuses on one case, namely 15-year-old Karl and his participation in victim–offender mediation and broader crime-prevention schemes. The findings highlight how young people like Karl utilize cunning and playful social strategies to create a navigational space for themselves in their constrained and precarious life situations in the aftermath of crime.