Legislation is sluggish, violent crime continues to soar in Sweden

Last year, Sweden saw sixty-two people killed in shootings that took place between organised crime gangs, six times as many as in the three neighbouring Scandinavian countries combined. The situation is no better this year, with one fatal shooting every week. The police estimate that around 30 thousand people are members of criminal gangs in Sweden, and although most of them are Swedish citizens, practically all of of them, without exception, are criminals with an immigrant background. The centre-right liberal government that took office in the autumn has kept on the agenda the need for change regarding migration and gang crime, but there is no visible progress yet, which is something that voters also perceive.

Stockholm, 2015. szeptember 12. Egy rendõr tájékoztatja a stockholmi pályaudvarra érkezõ illegális bevándorlókat 2015. szeptember 12-én. Ezen a napon mintegy 250 migráns érkezett vonattal a svéd fõvárosba. (MTI/EPA/Jonas Ektsromer) Fotó: Jonas Ektsromer

"Arrest and imprison more people to stop gang crime," Swedish Justice Minister Gunnar Strommer demanded in an opinion piece published on Tuesday, jointly written by justice policy makers of the governing parties and of the pro-government Sweden Democrats. The right-wing politicians note that Sweden's criminal laws were largely designed in the 1960s and 1980s and have not been overhauled since then, while  Swedish society has fundamentally changed. It is a characteristic element in the legal philosophy of Sweden's welfare – and essentially law-abiding – society that until now the starting point adopted by courts was to send a convicted person behind bars only as a last resort, and if there is a lighter sentence for a particular crime, it must be applied.

However, while twenty years ago armed crime was virtually unknown in the Scandinavian country, shootings, stabbings and bombings have now become commonplace.

Left-wing governments have so far tried to portray gang crime as confined to "vulnerable neighborhoods", but bloody showdowns regularly take place outside these districts, often injuring innocent people. Moreover, while Swedish politicians have been attacking Hungary over rule of law issues for years, migrant criminals have come to take a role in decision-making: they have infiltrated political parties, seek to influence state and municipal decision-makers, silence witnesses and behave threateningly towards judges and prosecutors,  as the government politicians admit in their article, even adding that democracy and the rule of law are endangered in Sweden.

To reverse this trend, the Swedish governing parties have repeatedly pledged to make crucial changes – as they have done so in the campaign and numerous times since the formation of the government last September. Among other things, they would provide more resources to fight crime, want heavier penalties, for example by doubling the sentences for armed crimes, and promise tougher action against perjury and other abuses of justice. The government also wants to tighten the rules of detention, which have been rather liberal so far: arrest was only effected in cases of offences punishable by a minimum of two years.

Tough action is increasingly urgent, with criminal gangs gaining more ground and the majority of society feeling all the more threatened.

Although Swedes are quite discreet when it comes to expressing criticism, a representative survey published this week revealed that only one fifths of the respondents thought that the government is doing a good job in curbing violent crime, with 56 percent saying that the results of the government’s work are outright bad.

Even more striking is the fact that less then half of the voters of the right-wing government parties and the Swedish Democrats are satisfied with the government’s work to reduce gang warfare and shootings, the survey by Novus reveals, with even one in three supporters of the largest ruling party Moderates being dissatisfied with the government’s policy.

There is a clear majority of those who feel that there can be no talk of any results achieved by the government until the number of shootings decreases

Thorbjorn Sjostrom, head of research at Novus, told the political daily Svenska Dagbladet.

Although by taking a realistic look at the matter, it is clear that there is a causal link between mass immigration and the escalation in violent crime, most Swedes, along with politicians, have long been in complete denial. It is striking that an increasing number of people are voicing the view that migration is the cause of the gang wars that are rampant across Sweden.

81 percent of the voters of the Swedish Democrats believe that immigration is the primary cause of gang crime, compared with 49 per cent of Moderate Party voters, but the figure is close to 40 per cent considering all respondents.

Although the right-wing liberal cabinet in power since last autumn has promised immediate changes to curb crime, the relevant laws are drafted and adopted rather slowly. Meanwhile, the structural development of organized crime is reaching the level of the Italian mafias and the volume and ruthlessness of the showdowns are reminiscent of some South American countries.

Cover photo: A policeman informs illegal immigrants arriving at Stockholm railway station on 12 September 2015 (Photo: MTI/EPA/Jonas Ektsromer)