Copenhagen, Sept. 29, (dpa/GNA) – The military in Sweden could soon be called in to help reduce escalating gang violence, according to plans announced by Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson.
Eleven people have been shot dead this month, including bystanders. In addition, a young woman died in an explosion on Thursday.
Kristersson said he would meet national police chief Anders Thornberg and military commander-in-chief Micael Bydén on Friday to see how the armed forces could help the police in their fight against criminal gangs.
“We will hunt down the gangs and we will defeat the gangs,” the conservative prime minister said in a national address late on Thursday.
“We will bring them to justice. If they are Swedish citizens, they will be locked up with very long prison sentences. If they are foreign citizens, they will also be deported,” he said.
Sweden has been wrestling with rampant gang crime for years.
This month, violence has escalated once again, reportedly linked partly to a suspected conflict at the criminal Foxtrot network.
Kristersson blamed years of political naivety for the dramatic situation. “Irresponsible immigration policies and failed integration have led us here,” he said.
Exclusion and parallel societies provide a breeding ground for criminal gangs, he said. “There they can ruthlessly recruit children and train future murderers,” he said.
Swedish legislation was not designed for “gang warfare,” he said.
His government was now changing this, he said, both on the level of migration and judicial policy.
As examples, he pointed to the construction of new youth prisons to separate young offenders from adult criminals. Work was being done to ensure that all children learned the Swedish language, he said.
GNA