In the past year, we have seen a wave of violence that is unprecedented in Swedish history, according to prosecutor Lisa Dos Santos. At the same time, more and more young people are getting involved in gang crime. Now she directs a clear call to parents.
– Take control of children’s mobile phones, she says.
The recent wave of violence has shown that more and more young people are being lured into gang crime. That’s what the police warned about earlier this year. And it is on the mobile apps that they meet, according to prosecutor Lisa dos Santos, who has prosecuted several high-profile cases against criminal gangs. Among other things concerning a highly publicized crime where a 13-year-old was found executed in a wooded area in Haninge in Stockholm.
Now she urges parents to take control of their children’s mobile phones.
– The shortest route between the gangs and the children is the mobile phone, she says.
– That’s where they meet in different group chats, many times in common apps like we have, sometimes in less common apps like Signal. Take control of children’s mobile phones, she continues.
It is also on the children’s mobile phones as role models and the “Gangster culture” is available for the children to take part in. She has previously told TV4 Nyheterna that the gangs are very visible in many young people’s everyday lives with tough brands and specific style where she notes that young people feel a certain sense of adventure and excitement in crime.
– If you want to take control of it, my advice is to look over the children’s mobile phone and shut down a bunch of apps, she says.
Can be recruited lightning fast
Being recruited via group chats is fast, according to Dos Santos. It is enough for a young guy or girl to have a connection with an older gang criminal – and a few hours later missions are underway.
– It goes lightning fast when the group chats are created and older people draw in younger people, she says.
This year, several young boys have been murdered: shot dead, killed with a knife or found beaten to death – as a direct result of the gang violence, as TV4 previously reported. The police estimate that roughly 1,700 people under the age of 18 are part of the criminal milieu and that around 1,000 new ones join annually.