There has been widespread gang crime in Sweden for twenty years, but the situation has escalated in the last couple of years.
Since Christmas, there have been shootings and bombings almost every day in Stockholm alone, it appears From the Swedish Broadcasting Corporation’s SVT compilation (you will switch to another service).
We investigated the impact of gang crime in Sweden from four perspectives.
1. What is the latest wave of violence in Stockholm about?
The Swedish police are very tight-lipped when describing the backgrounds of the clashes. However, the country’s media have found out which parties there are in the conflicts.
In Stockholm’s biggest wave of violence, two gangs in particular are said to be facing each other. The leader of one is known as “Kurdikettu” (Kurdiska räven) and the other as “Greek” or “24-year-old”.
According to Swedish media, the Greek criminal organization has dominated the drug trade in Sundsvall, northern Sweden. The gangs’ hatred started when Kurdikettu tried to take over Sundsvall’s drug trade.
The violence started with what happened in Sundsvall on December 2 for attempted murder (you switch to another service).
The violence has continued almost daily since Christmas Day. The violence is concentrated in the Stockholm area, which is the main area of activity for both gangs.
At the same time, there are many other criminal gangs in Sweden that have mutual conflicts. Newspaper Aftonbladet (you switch to another service) has listed three other ongoing gang confrontations in the Stockholm area.
Rap artist Nils “Einár” Grönberg the murder in October 2021 has been connected to the murder in Rinkeby on Christmas Day. The murder that happened in Vällingby on New Year’s Eve is related to a dispute between two gangs operating in Hässelby. In addition, there is a fight between two local gangs in Farsta.
2. How have the authorities managed to get the problem under control?
SVT’s reporter specializing in gang crime Diamant Salihu says in an interview with that the police have had little success in holding perpetrators of violence accountable. In fatal shooting cases, only every fifth suspect is brought to court.
Salihu is demanding more resources for the police.
There have also been successes. Just half a year ago, Malmö was the center of gang violence in Sweden. Recently, there has been almost no news of shootings there.
According to Salihu, international police cooperation managed to catch the communication between criminals, and many crime bosses were caught. According to Salihu, there is now a crime vacuum in Malmö, which will be filled soon.
According to Salihu, the criminal gangs in Sweden have been weakly organized, which means that the situation in Sweden cannot be compared to, for example, Italy’s organized crime, the mafia.
However, a new feature is the leadership of gangs from abroad. For example, according to the Swedish police, Kurdikettu is currently in Turkey, from where he manages his subordinates living in Sweden.
According to Diamant Salihu, the bad relations between Sweden and Turkey have led to the fact that Turkey is currently a safe haven (you switch to another service) for Swedish-Turkish criminals.
The Greek is also abroad these days, from where he runs his organization.
3. What attracts young people to gangs?
A considerable part of the members of criminal gangs are second-generation immigrants. They were born in Sweden, but their repatriation has failed.
There is a lot of money in the drug trade, and among many marginalized young people there is an attitude towards life in pursuit of a luxury style.
Gang members are mostly young men who are attracted by appeals to honor and bravery. It is also difficult to stop the conflict between the Greikkalainen and Kurdiketu gangs, because the “honor” of the gangs requires that every act of violence against them must be avenged. Backing off is not an option.
The saddest thing is that the perpetrators and victims of violence have become even younger, under the age of 18. Teenage boys (you move to another service) pressured by various means to commit murder. As rewards, the boys get money and a higher position in the gang’s hierarchy.
According to Salihu, there are also criminal clans formed by families with foreign backgrounds in Sweden, but their activities are of a different type. They rarely use open violence, and their main activity is money laundering, says Salihu.
4. How do you try to prevent violence?
In Sweden, there has been a lot of talk recently about segregation, i.e. the segregation of the immigrant population into separate residential areas. Segregation is attempted to be alleviated with, for example, housing policy.
Sweden’s new the right-wing government has promised (you will switch to another service) gives the police more resources and toughens the punishments for those who commit gang crime.
Diamant Salihu was on January 21 In SVT’s chat program (you switch to another service), in which he answered audience questions about gang violence. In the program, he said that he thinks there should be a comprehensive awakening of the whole society in Sweden, where gang activity would be tackled holistically.
In his opinion, the young people’s parents, siblings, school, social services, mental health treatment and the police should be involved in this.
Salihu believed that the cycle could be broken, but it would take time, perhaps even decades.
You can listen to more about the topic on radio news, Radio 1 and Radio Suomi at 7.