The Finnish police wants to help Sweden, which is suffering from gang violence, but ultimately the western neighbor is responsible for its own problems.
Chairman of the Federation of Finnish Police Organizations Jonne Rinne believes that the police have the ability and the state has the will to help Sweden eradicate gang crime. Neighboring countries are still not the solution to the problem, which is due to at least two reasons.
First, the resources come quickly. Interviewed on morning on Friday, Rinne points out that Finland has the fewest police officers relative to the population in Europe.
– Even at the moment, we have challenges to cope with the statutory tasks set for the police. I dare to claim that the Finnish police cannot find the keys to solving the situation in Sweden in these resources.
Secondly, it is a cold fact that Sweden is ultimately responsible for itself.
– You have to remember that every country has its own police force. Their most important task is to take care of the country’s internal security, says Rinne.
Former Prime Minister of Sweden Magdalena Andersson previously proposed that Sweden, which suffers from gang crime, could request police assistance from the other Nordic countries.
Crime knows no borders, and Finland cooperates a lot with Sweden as well.
On a general level, Rinne has a very positive attitude towards international cooperation. The transmission of information from one authority to another is of paramount importance, he says.
Gang crime has changed its form
Yesterday, Thursday, the current Prime Minister of Sweden Ulf Kristersson said that Sweden has ended up in this situation because of an irresponsible immigration policy and failed integration.
Elsewhere, we are feverishly thinking about how to avoid the same problems.
Director General of the Immigration Department of the Ministry of the Interior Minna Hulkkonen says that the issue is being considered a lot both at the EU level and especially in each country separately. Member states exchange information closely.
– We are trying to find out the reasons why the situation in Sweden is now as serious as it is. Of course, we are trying to find ways to prevent such a development from happening in Finland, Hulkkonen told in the morning.
From the point of view of border control, it is not directly about immigration or the illegal border crossings that are happening right now. In Sweden, the bad seeds were sown a long time ago.
– First of all, we are talking about people who have already come earlier. There is an immigrant background there, but it is a much bigger social problem than immigration, reminded the head of the international cooperation unit of the Border Guard Matti Pitkäniitty Up in the morning.
Traditionally, young people involved in gangs have been first- or second-generation immigrants from difficult home situations. However, there has been a change here, says the person who investigates youth crime at the Stockholm police Luay Mohageb.
Now also Swedish boys and girls from middle-class families born in Sweden or young people from middle-class families with an immigrant background have started to join criminal gangs.