Serious organized crime has become one of our biggest social problems. In January, 35 shootings and 16 explosions were reported in Sweden. And the police are now waging an intense battle against the criminal gangs that also involve children in serious organized crime. But even in civil society there are forces that want to contribute to breaking development.
– We need a public sector that is strong, but just as much we need to strengthen civil society. We need to sit at the same table. We cannot compete with each other, but we have to complement each other and we have to systematize this work, says Christoffer Bohman who is head of investigations within the Police.
More investments and greater support are needed around the preventive work within civil society, says Bohman. Because even if the police authority fulfills an important function, efforts must also be made to reach out to the families who live in social exclusion if one is to be able to break the trend in the long term.
– Today I put people in jail, I investigate crimes. But there are ten in line. We have to stop making children stand in line somewhere. And that’s where the parents play such an incredibly important role, says Bohman.
The association trains women in vulnerable areas
An initiator who works with precisely this type of preventive work is Anja Nordenfelt, who is the founder of the non-profit association Mamma united. The association’s work is about integrating women in socially vulnerable areas by conducting educational activities that aim to create greater trust in authorities such as social services and the police.
– You can be afraid that the social services will take your child, so the parents back away and the children start raising themselves and that can often end very badly. We must now rethink how we reach out to these areas that are in such great need of support, help and tools so that we can reduce the occurrence of children ending up in crime, says Nordenfelt.
Watch the clip in the player above.