Nordic countries join forces to combat the spread of Swedish gang crime

By Johan Ahlander

STOCKHOLM (Reuters) – The Nordic countries will strengthen their police cooperation and set up a central contact point in Stockholm to prevent the serious problem of gang crime in Sweden from spreading to Norway, Finland and Denmark, the Swedish government said on Wednesday.

Swedish gangs have long been among the most violent in Europe. But this year, ten Swedes – more than half of them minors – were charged with attempted murder or possession of weapons, sparking concern and sharp criticism in Denmark.

Swedish Justice Minister Gunnar Strommer told Reuters that Sweden and Denmark would each station police officers in their respective countries in response.

“One important reason for this is that we can exchange information in real time between our countries,” said Strommer. “This allows us to identify early on which children and young people are at risk of being drawn into these criminal networks and prevent this.”

In addition, a Nordic hub for police officers from Finland, Norway and Denmark will be set up in Stockholm. Norwegian and Finnish officers are already there and the Danes are expected to join them in a few weeks.

Swedish gang members have been hired by Danish gangs to carry out violent attacks on rivals, and Danish Justice Minister Peter Hummelgaard said there had been 25 such cases since April alone.

He called them “child soldiers” and said that there was a “sick” culture of violence in Sweden that was not wanted in Denmark.

Poor integration of immigrants

“The reality at the moment is that not only Denmark, but also large parts of the Nordic countries are feeling the consequences of Sweden's long-standing failed immigration and legal policy, and we take this extremely seriously,” Hummelgaard said at a press conference on Wednesday.

Strommer said that Denmark also bears some responsibility for its own gangs, but broadly agreed with the criticism of Sweden's gang problem.

Sweden had one of the most generous immigration policies in the Western world for several decades, but has tightened them significantly in recent years after experiencing a sharp rise in crime, largely attributed to the lack of integration of immigrants.

Sweden has the highest per capita rate of gun violence in the European Union. Last year, 55 people were shot dead in 363 separate incidents in a country of just 10 million people. By comparison, the other three Nordic countries together had just six fatal shootings.

According to police, Swedish gangs have in some cases helped troubled teenagers as young as 14 to escape from youth homes and commit contract killings in exchange for new clothes, cash and drugs.

Norway has said Swedish criminal networks are now active in all parts of the country. The gangs' presence has become more visible due to higher drug prices and less competition, Norwegian police said in a recent letter to the government, seen by Reuters under Norway's Freedom of Information Act.

The EU's open borders make it easy for criminals to move around the Nordic countries. Nevertheless, Denmark tightened surveillance of its Swedish border this summer and began more active checks on train passengers from Sweden.

Sweden's centre-right government won the 2022 elections with a law and order and immigration reduction programme and governs with the support of the far-right Sweden Democrats. The country has taken in over two million people since the start of the millennium; about 20 percent of the population was born abroad.

(Reporting by Johan Ahlander in Stockholm with additional reporting by Stine Jacobsen in Copenhagen and Terje Solsvik in Oslo; editing by Mark Heinrich)