As the wave of violence washes over the country, social services come into contact with many children and young people who are in the criminal environment. Lina Blombergsson, head of department for city-wide social issues at the City of Stockholm, says that more and more young people are being identified who are not ready to leave the criminal life.
— It’s not about wanting or not. Then we go in anyway, and we have an increase in placements of children because of this. We are also seeing an increase in worried parents seeking support because their children are being drawn into serious crime.
Lack of space at home
A problem with the young people who do not want to leave crime is that they have become difficult to place. They would have to be placed in government so-called Sis homes, where they can be kept locked up.
— There are almost all the time between 50 and 60 children in the queue for Sis. These young people have major problems, and can be dangerous both for the public and themselves, says Åsa Furén-Thulin, head of the social services section at Sweden’s Municipalities and Regions (SKR).
Sis’ own report on the location situation in recent months shows that every week there have been around 30-60 children in the queue for the Sis homes.
The lack of space has been going on for a long time and has worsened.
— It needs to be small groups and densely staffed. It is incredibly difficult to get hold of staff, and these young people require extremely competent staff.
The next step is HVB homes, which take place on behalf of the municipality for those who need social service interventions such as care or treatment. After the wave of refugees in 2015, there were over 2,800 HVB homes in the country. Today, the number has decreased to 698.
— It is very difficult to get them into HVB homes as well. The HVB homes feel that they cannot protect the children, they are not allowed to take the computers from them and are not allowed to check if there are weapons or drugs in the room, she says and continues:
— When the homes feel that they cannot protect the children, they usually say no because it also affects the other children there.
There are almost always between 50 and 60 children in the queue for Sis, according to Sweden’s Municipalities and Regions (SKR). Stock image “Creates a lot of frustration”
HVB home is based on voluntariness and self-determination. In those homes, the young people must not be locked up, even if they may pose a danger to their own life or that of others.
— They can just go out the door and knit. Above all, there is heavy pressure on these young people through all digital channels. Tragically, there is recruitment towards the HVB homes because they are allowed to keep digital tools, says Åsa Furén-Thulin.
Lina Blombergsson testifies that the young people simply run away from the HVB homes.
It creates a lot of frustration in the social services throughout the country right now, she says.
— It also creates a lot of frustration at the HVB homes. They are not equipped to have these target groups, and do not have the conditions to handle them.
Big challenges
Lina Blombergsson believes that the best for the young criminals would be a family home with treatment. But it may only become relevant after some time in the Sis home, when the situation has calmed down and they themselves want to participate.
— When it comes to deadly violence with these high threat images, no family dares to have them, and it is also not appropriate. Then we have to have them locked up first.
Åsa Furén-Thulin describes the situation overall, combined with the wave of violence, as catastrophic. More Sis places are needed, the drainage systems need to be improved and the HVB homes need to be allowed to use restrictive measures, such as taking mobile phones from the young people, according to her.
A meeting is planned shortly between SKR, the big cities and Sis where she hopes that the big cities will be able to support Sis, for example with premises.
— But I’m not very positive, it’s a very difficult problem to solve.