“I fell in love with the wrong thing”

The Swedish gang of criminals recognized the difference between Sweden and Denmark. It was a wake-up call.

Saturday 26 August: A 30-year-old man was shot dead At Christiania Sanctuary in Copenhagen. Police believe he was the victim of a confrontation between criminal motorcycle gangs.

Just over two weeks later, the Danish government launched its project 39 measures In New “gangster pack”“gangster pack”Measures to combat gang crimes. gang = criminal gang To eliminate gang crimes.

– We want to avoid Swedish conditions, Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said.

In Sweden, there are many indications that they want Danish terms. At least in some areas.

Wants Danish punishment for Swedish crime Ending the Swedish guerrilla war?

Swedish politicians are making a pilgrimage to Denmark to see what they have done. They will copy several things:

He has become a role model

David Susdal is a criminologist at Lund University in Sweden. There, the Dane researches cross-border crimes.

-We used to be the bad boy in class. Within a few years we became very popular. I don’t know if it’s worth it or not,” Susdal says of his home country.

Because Denmark is known to be strict in dealing with both immigration policy and criminal policy and the use of words.

The Swedish government also promised to remain so.

Susdal says it is interesting that it took two weeks after the shootings in Christiania for the Danish government to come up with a new package of measures against gang crime. It’s the gang’s fourth pack since 2009.

-It’s work on steroids. But it’s also symbolic politics, Susdal says.

Danish punishment for Swedish criminals

He says that the new Swedish measures are radical in the eyes of the Swedes.

– It breaks with their long history of balancing personal integrity with state power. But from the Danish point of view, it is not particularly extreme. It has been everyday life for a long time. The youth discount, for example, belongs to history in Denmark, Susdal says.

A very particular murder case that received a lot of attention in Sweden:

Five young men linked to the so-called “Rinkeby Death Squad” were convicted of killing two people from a rival gang in 2019. The murders took place in Herlev, Denmark, and were investigated and sentenced in accordance with Danish law.

The youngest, both 17, were sentenced to 16 years each. At home in Sweden They will receive a maximum of four years in a closed youth institution. Those over the age of 18 who have been sentenced to life imprisonment can also count on an adversary if they are sentenced to home confinement. In Denmark it was the opposite. Gang crime carries a double penalty.

Susdal recognizes that the level of punishment increases for young offenders. But he says there is no evidence that dual penalties and visiting zones help.

My criticism is that when you look at Denmark, you fall in love with the wrong things, like punishment. “I don’t think the Danish punishment for Swedish crimes, which Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson is talking about, has such a big impact,” Susdal says.

However, he has some clear views on what the Swedes have done wrong and what they are doing Can Learn from Denmark.

From heaven to nightmare

Susdal points out that gang crimes in Sweden began to escalate ten years ago. The police saw him.

But the police and political leadership said this would pass, even though they were presented with numbers that showed them they would go from paradise to nightmare, Susdal says.

It is also believed that the Swedes have put an end to the debate on immigration-related issues.

– When the police chief warned of the presence of 40 crime clans in Sweden, there was a discussion about the use of a word that some believe is racist, rather than about the problem itself, Susdal says.

He says there has been a change in Sweden. But the criminologist believes that the Swedish elite still does not speak out about the major structural problems in society.

– Many of those who lead the conversation do not face the problems themselves. The criminologist believes that calling people racist or stupid when talking about problems limits the possibility of helping those living in vulnerable areas.

Has general disability disappeared?

He believes that the main explanation for the fact that gang crime has gotten completely out of control is linked to the welfare state itself, what the Swedes call public disability.

– It’s not just about immigration, it’s also about privatizing people with disabilities and leaving vulnerable areas in a bad state in a way that you don’t see in Denmark and Norway. It created dreamlike conditions for gang crimes, Susdal says.

He cites the privatization of the Swedish school as one example. It created very big differences in quality. Aftenposten newspaper recently wrote that criminal gangs are also making money from the fact that health and other public services are being privatized in many places.

In Denmark, they took drastic measures and started demolishing what they called ghettos.

But what should Sweden learn from Denmark?

In the 1990s, Denmark was subject to extremely violent clashes between criminal motorcycle gangs. Then, they had what were called gang packs against gang violence.

– Guerrilla wars mean that you have gained political and police experience. The police have a steely grip on the gangs. Susdal says having skilled police, who act quickly, is one of the most important things.

In addition, he believes that the Swedes should learn from what Denmark has done in the field of prevention.

Follow-up and early intervention towards children is important. And betting on leakage programs.

Aftenposten previously reported how a group of boys aged between 7 and 12 were tracked in Copenhagen over several years to prevent them from ending up in crime, like older brothers.

Susdal believes that the Danish state is more visible in vulnerable areas. Rather than it being a matter of good legal policy, he believes it is a matter of Denmark having broader and better social and welfare policy.

– But don’t statistics show that Danish “gangster shows”, including tough penalties and visiting zones, are helping to solve the problem?

– This is the logical way of thinking. This is what politicians often say. But this is not true. Susdal says no research has been done to show this.

– Very one-sided

Criminologist Man Jerel agrees with the latter. He is Swedish, but lives in Norway and is associated with the universities of Malmo and Oslo.

– In Sweden, the focus is now almost exclusively on harsher penalties, more police officers, and police having more tools. Most of them are needed. It would be too one-sided, Jerrell says.

He also shares the view that Swedish politicians have woken up too late.

Is Denmark a good role model for Sweden?

– Yes, but you shouldn’t exaggerate it. We don’t actually know what Denmark did that worked. All we know is that Denmark managed to stop the development. Jerrell says they haven’t done any good evaluations of it.

He does not agree with “people’s disabilities” disappearing.

-The fact that too much privatization has made society weaker in weak areas. But I’m not sure this has made it more difficult for those living in vulnerable areas in Sweden compared to Denmark and Norway.

Gerrell believes that the main reason Swedish gang crime is spiraling out of control is two things:

-We received much more immigration from Norway and Denmark and we were not able to integrate everyone. Sweden’s reaction was too late.

– What would you do if you were in the Swedish government?

The government has promised to add an additional NOK 21 billion each year to the police and judiciary. If they had spent an additional $21 billion on prevention, an additional 42,000 social workers could have been saved. It’s something to think about, Jerrell says.