Facts: Enhanced penalties
This is what the government wants to introduce:
Penalty discounts for 18-21 year olds must be removed completely
A lowering of the age of criminal jurisdiction must be considered
Increased penalties for, among other things, weapons offences, abuse in legal proceedings, threats, robbery and extortion
The Criminal Code must be revised and punishment scales for, among other things, violent and sexual crimes must be tightened
Courts must more often sentence to prison
Today’s form of quantity discount is to be abolished
Recidivism must be punished more severely
Conditional release must only be granted if there are special reasons
New penalty, custodial sentence, for convicts who pose a danger to society after serving their sentence
Double punishment for crimes linked to criminal networks
Source: The Tidö Agreement
Minister of Justice Gunnar Strömmer (M) will deliver a long series of proposals against crime in the coming years.
“It is a significant challenge, but it is entirely possible and realistic,” he says in a TT interview.
The first bills will be presented at the beginning of 2023. One is about allowing the police to use secret wiretapping against criminal networks to detect serious crimes, without an investigation into a crime that has already been committed. The bill is based on an investigation that the previous S government appointed.
In January, the new government is aiming for a bill on several stiffening penalties. They are based on a legislative council referral from the previous government.
– We are very unprestigious, if there is good material on the shelf, then we use it to do things that go in the right direction as quickly as possible, says Strömmer.
According to him, it is important “not to lose momentum”.
Turn up
The bill proposes, among other things, that the minimum sentence for robbery be raised from one year to 1.5 years in prison. A special penalty scale is introduced for drug sales with imprisonment for a minimum of six months and a maximum of three years. Punishments for, among other things, illegal threats and extortion are also being tightened.
“I foresee that we will probably increase the punishment further in a number of the cases where there will still be a certain increase in the punishment,” says Strömmer.
An important example is the previous government’s proposal for a penalty enhancement provision that gives the court the opportunity to impose higher penalties for crimes linked to gang settlement.
It is not enough according to Strömmer, who wants to see a general doubling of the punishment for such crimes. Such a bill must be part of a major investigation into crime and punishment that the government will appoint in 2023.
In the bill in January, a lowering of the requirement for mandatory detention for crimes with a minimum sentence of 1.5 years is proposed, compared to today’s two years.
Here, too, the government wants to go further.
— We want to go down to twelve months and we will do that. But it must take place within the framework of a new investigation, says Strömmer.
A jump start?
The governing parties have promised a jump start against the gangs, but much that needs to be investigated will take at least a couple of years to materialize.
Strömmer wishes that the previous government investigated more tightening of the law.
“Then we would have had a lot more legislative basis to proceed with immediately,” he says.
For example, the new government wants to abolish the penalty discount completely for criminals aged 18-21.
— Unfortunately, it needs to be investigated again. There, I had hoped that you would be able to step into the department and find a fresh investigative basis, says Strömmer.
— We have to start that job from scratch.
So far, the new government has appointed two investigations. One about the police being allowed to set up temporary visitation zones. The second about an opportunity to use anonymous witnesses.
Lack of cells
In addition to quickly producing legislative proposals, it will be a challenge to obtain enough prison and remand places. The Correctional Service has already warned of the effects of the penalty increases that will come in the bill in January alone.
— I am fully aware of that aspect of politics. It will not have a restraining effect on our pace of reform, says Strömmer.
— We must expand the correctional service at the pace that is necessary.
Strömmer adds that it may also become relevant that more sentences are served with foot shackles and that Sweden rents prison facilities abroad.
Several of the proposals in the government’s reform agenda are controversial among lawyers. Strömmer welcomes a debate on the balance between effective law enforcement and personal privacy.
TT: What kind of reaction do you expect from the legal profession?
“A large part of the agenda we are now moving forward with is requested by the police, the Attorney General and others,” says Strömmer.
— I perceive that there is very good support for this direction.
Waving the flag
A controversial proposal is that criminals who are dangerous to society should be kept in custody in addition to the punishment scale that exists for the crime committed. Strömmer states that it should be investigated “according to all the rules of art.”
According to him, a custodial sentence could, for example, be relevant for people who are very prone to relapse and are guilty of very serious sexual crimes, but where life imprisonment is not part of the punishment scale.
“Then you could combine a harsh punishment with detention for a fixed period of time,” says Strömmer.
— I think it’s easy to see the need for it.
A bill that the government presents in February criminalizes participation in a terrorist organization.
TT: Will waving PKK flags be banned?
— It is the participation that is the criminal. You can imagine people who wave those flags without having a connection to a terrorist organization. It is an important distinction, says Strömmer.
— Then what different evidence is used to substantiate that participation, that’s another five.
There, a flag can play a role, according to Strömmer.