The government proposes that the military should support the Police Authority to stop the ongoing wave of violence. Leif GW Persson says their support will not make a difference when it comes to catching and prosecuting the most criminals.
What they can help with is, for example, logistics, transport and some forensic analysis. They also have a more widespread intelligence operation.
– The military has a higher level of competence regarding intelligence activities.
But it still doesn’t make a marginal difference in clarification, says Persson.
“Underestimated new recruitment”
Leif GW Persson gives his view of the wave of violence in TV4’s News morning. He is asked if harsher punishments can overcome the problem.
– The idea behind it is that if you can put people in the “finkan” then in any case they can’t keep fighting outside the prison. It is called the incapacitation effect. How big that effect will be depends on the new recruitment. The first mistake was grossly underestimating recruitment.
– The second catch in that line of reasoning is that it requires a high degree of clarification of these crimes. At the end of the day, we have to have someone who can be prosecuted. When it comes to explosions and people shooting at doors, the clearance is close to zero percent.
– When it comes to fatal shootings, the clearance rate is around 20 percent.
Need a functioning police
What is needed is a functioning police authority that can be at the forefront when it comes to criminal investigations, says Persson.
– On the occasions when you have managed to overtake those who are getting sick, then it will be a completely different outcome. But those examples are very few, I have only found two such during the year, says Leif GW Persson.
Persson also believes that the secret eavesdropping without concrete criminal suspicion that the police have now gained access to will lead to a “marginal” difference, which he estimates to be five percent increased clarification.
– None of these measures come free of charge. This is a classic design detail in dictatorships, that people are allowed to be eavesdropped on without suspicion of a crime.