by Stefano Piazza
According to a recent survey by the Swedish Police National Operations Department (Noa), some 600 criminal gang members based abroad are responsible for the crime wave that has been sweeping Sweden for some time. In 2022, the number of shootings in Sweden reached 391, the highest recorded in the period between 2017 and 2023. In 2023, the number decreased slightly. In addition, 53 of the 363 shootings that year were fatal, nine fewer than in the previous year, while the number of confirmed homicides in Sweden in the past 10 years peaked in 2020, when 124 homicides were recorded. The number jumped from 2014 to 2015, but has remained just above 100 since then. In 2023, 121 homicides were confirmed. A significant majority of the victims were men. Dramatically, the total number of reported cases of sexual offenses increased from 2012 to 2021, before declining slightly in 2022. While more than 16,000 sexual offenses were reported in 2013, there were nearly 24,000 in 2023. The highest number of these cases were sexual harassment, followed by rape. Notably, the number of reported cases of rape increased over the period, from 6,000 in 2012 to 9,300 in 2023.
“The people mapped consist of actors in the highest and middle strata of the criminal hierarchy and are Swedish citizens or have other strong ties to Sweden. They live in a total of 57 countries around the world. Some of them are in Europe, Spain, many in the Balkans, but there are also the Middle East, North Africa and some in South America,” says National Police Chief Petra Lundh. Police say they have settled abroad to engage in lucrative criminal activities, such as drug trafficking, but also to escape the Swedish legal system, but the problem is that many of them have dual citizenship. About 150 of the 600 or so are in prison, while the others are wanted internationally. According to Petra Lundh, “International cooperation works well both within the EU and Europol and Interpol. But the structure of organized crime makes access to the top layer of gangs difficult.”
Swedish gangs now work in all 12 Police Districts in Norway. Concerns about Swedish criminal gangs are now also growing in Norway, where criminal gangs operating throughout the country are linked to numerous serious violent crimes. “This is a serious problem, and we are afraid that the development we have seen in Sweden could rub off on us,” says Kjetil Tunold, Section Chief of the Criminal Police’s Organized Crime Department. One of the cases in which Swedish criminal gang involvement is suspected is the explosion at a house in an apartment complex in Dröbak, south of Oslo, last fall. Three Swedes with gang ties were charged with attempted murder after the incident. According to Tomas Staerk, Chief of Investigations for the Eastern Norwegian Police District, several Swedish criminal networks have been established in the area, “We are concerned about the massive use of violence and the fact that Swedish gangs will recruit vulnerable young people to join them.” According to the Norwegian Police’s National Threat Report on criminal networks, some well-known Swedish drug networks may be linked to the importation and distribution of narcotics in Norway, as well as dozens of related crimes, e.g., money laundering, assaults and murders. In view of the seriousness of the situation, the Norwegian Police have asked for the government’s support to initiate joint patrols with the Swedish Police in border areas especially those particularly exposed to Swedish gang crime, especially drug trafficking. In the application, Norwegian Police districts on the border with Värmland, Dalarna and Jämtland describe the situation as “extraordinary.” According to the Norwegian Criminal Police, there is a risk of a trend toward increasing violence. Kjetil Tunold points out, “If the level of violence increases in one place, it can spread in such a way that people respond in kind. It becomes a kind of spiral of violence.”
Minor alarm
Oslo has long been considered a safe city, but police are reporting a significant increase in crimes committed by minors, many of them more violent than in the past. The number of reported crimes has increased by 18 percent since the end of the pandemic. During the pandemic period, crime levels had decreased, but a steady rise has been observed since then, particularly among young people. According to the newspaper Aftenposten, in the first half of 2023, 1,744 reported cases involved defendants between the ages of 10 and 17. Many of them are repeat offenders, and the Police are concerned that some may be prone to extremely violent behavior or even commit murder. Behind this phenomenon are gangs and organized crime groups that recruit young people, taking advantage of the fact that in Norway those under 18 cannot be incarcerated. These young people receive professional supervision or help only when they commit serious crimes, and in such cases they may be detained in juvenile centers. Recently Oslo has seen an increase in stabbings, while Kristiansand Police have reported incidents of aggravated violence committed by girls as young as 13. It seems to be becoming common to randomly assault people, with the attacks being filmed and shared on social media.