In response to the rising trend of violent crime in younger ages, crime prevention is expanding beyond the criminal justice system to include Swedish schools and teachers, despite them lacking formal responsibility. Prior research indicates discrepancies between the schools’ formal and informal roles in this domain and the understanding of how teachers perceive these diverse expectations and the impact this has on their professional lives remains limited. This qualitative study applies literature on professionalism to explore teachers’ perception of societal expectations regarding their role in crime prevention and how these expectations manifest. Additionally, it examines the implications of these expectations for teachers' professional autonomy and identities. Drawing on 13 semi-structured interviews with teachers, the findings reveal that teachers experience significant societal pressure to engage in crime prevention. We found that individual autonomy is negatively affected, and that collective autonomy is in a declining state. Furthermore, the study reveals that teachers' professional identities are diverse, with some more affected by societal expectations than others. The results highlight a continuous balancing act between formal and informal demands, revealing a decline in trust towards the teacher profession. This poses challenges in fulfilling their mission and meeting societal expectations, notably in crime prevention efforts.