STOCKHOLM Police commissioner Carin Götblad has had a long career in the Swedish police. He already warned in 2010 that Sweden shows the same signs of gangs as in the United States.
Götblad suggested starting a special project for boys, because he felt that the special danger zone was precisely the boys who had difficulty getting through elementary school in order to get a passing certificate. Without it, the young person will practically fall on nothing.
Götblad was ahead of his time. He counters that by saying that often those who bring it up for the first time lack understanding. There is no harm in the sound.
Now it has been brought up in the discussions that Sweden has been shy about directing resources to a certain group. Rather, actions have been taken that affect everyone.
Götblad is outspoken. He talks about child killers and refers to the 13-year-old shooters and their victims of the same age who were also published in September. According to Götblad, Sweden now has a small group of children incapable of compassion, who can commit any kind of cruelty, even to their former friends.
In his opinion, two types of measures are now needed to curb violence: quick and long-lasting.
– Now the most important are short-term actions, that is, the police’s powers must be increased. It is ongoing and approved by the government. But much more is needed to end this. We have to catch the perpetrators, and it is not easy because many of the main perpetrators are abroad. But on Sunday, for example, we got the right to wiretap phone calls.
In Sweden, people under the age of 15 are not convicted of crimes, and there are no youth prisons in the country. People under the age of 18 can be sentenced to closed youth homes. Now, however, the government is preparing a law change, after which separate youth departments can be established in prisons.
– We must also be able to arrest young people, and that is really important. They are dangerous to themselves and society. And now I speak of those who murder.
For a longer time, the actions are not related to the police, but to families and parents.
– In the long term, the most important thing is to support and help families and parents, but also set demands on them. Parents must be involved. We know from experience that the results are bad if children are taken into care and placed in institutions – but especially early family work produces good results.
– The family has a great influence on the child’s standards. Therefore, parents whose parenting is flawed or whose lifestyle is completely reprehensible must be supported and helped.
According to Götblad, it’s about both support and help, but also demands.
– Girls and boys must have the same rights. It is necessary to say clearly no to crime. Parents must take care of their children. We must ensure a good school for all children. After all, these children have often been punished and expelled from school. That’s a big risk factor.
The principal would limit the parents’ say
Anna Hoffsten is the principal of Bredängen elementary school in Stockholm. The school teaches grades 1-9.
Hoffsten says that Bredäng belongs to the Skärholmen area, which according to the police’s classification is problematic. The school’s windows show traces of the fire that happened the previous weekend. Because of the fire, 12 residents had to be hospitalized and forty had to be evacuated. The cause of the fire is not clear, and at least so far the police have not connected it to gang violence.
According to the principal, the students have said that outside the school, adult gang members have lured young people to join, but so far at least they have failed.
Hoffsten needs more adults to support the students.
– Either so that we have more employees or so that there are more city youth workers who would focus on children’s leisure time. Here at the school, we strive to find ways of cooperation for 4th-6th graders, i.e. 10-12-year-olds, because we estimate that it is they who can be in the danger zone. They should have a good hobby in the afternoons, so that they don’t waste time in the corners of the market.
A little less than 90 percent of the students at Bredängen school get the elementary school leaving certificate, but the figure would be better if there were more special teachers. According to Hoffsten, the goal of every principal is that all students receive a passing certificate and be able to continue their studies.
According to Hoffsten, the cooperation between the police, social services and the school has become closer and improved in recent years. However, Hoffsten reminds that every authority has its own income angle: social work is key in prevention, while the police’s actions are focused on consequences.
He tells a recent example of the difficulties that are still encountered in cooperation. The school had made a report of concern about the student. It turned out that one of the parents had forbidden the sharing of information between social services and the school, and the case could not proceed. According to Police Chief Carin Götblad, this is what half of the parents whose children are offered support do.
According to Hoffsten, it would be crucial for the child if the authorities could share and combine information better than at present. For him, the parents’ right to refuse the support offered to the child is problematic. It leads to a very sharp limit when the difficulties of a child without support escalate and he has to be taken into care.
This phenomenon is related to the fact that the message has been spread in the Muslim world for years that the Swedish social authorities are kidnapping Muslim children.
8th graders live in a world of violence
Bredängen’s eighth graders are 13 and 14 years old, that is, exactly the same age as some of the gang members or victims. For these schoolchildren, violence is not just a news topic, as there have been shootings in nearby neighborhoods. You see a lot of policemen in everyday life, and your own habits have changed.
– I’m afraid to go out in the evening, and if I do, then with an adult, says the 13-year-old Elsa Bajraktari.
According to the girls, poor school performance may be one of the reasons why the expensive clothes and cell phones offered by gangs are attractive.
– If you feel bad, the goods might make you feel better, the girls guess.
Upperclassmen Dominique Niedrygos and Jonas Ahmed Jar know acquaintances who have drifted into gangs or close to them.
– When I was little, I was also tempted to steal candy, but I didn’t want to, because it’s not right, Jar says.
– I’ll say hi if we happen to see each other on the street, but that’s about it. I don’t want to be involved anymore, Niedrygos describes.
According to the boys, you can stay away from gangs if you want to. The word future is repeated in the answers. In problem situations, they talk to their parents.
– There must be a hobby in life, like football, a passion, says Niedrygos. He has decided to both do well in school and strive to become a professional soccer player.
– You have to look ahead, do something good with your life, Jar thinks.
Eighth graders don’t yet need to know why they want to grow up. If the decision had to be made now, the alternatives would be, for example, a doctor or economics.
What thoughts does the story evoke? The topic can be discussed until Friday, October 6 at 11 p.m.