Jens Lapidus on the deadly wave of violence in Sweden

During Tuesday, the Tidö parties announced that a “camera offensive will stop the gangs”.

Is it legal to just set up multiple cameras?

– It is not. That’s why you have to go out and look at this. It can be said that there are two regulations for surveillance cameras. One is for private individuals and the other is for the public environment. As a rule, private individuals can set up whatever cameras they want, on their own house and so on, but you can’t direct them wherever you want. On the other hand, when it comes to municipalities and regions, there has been quite a complicated bureaucracy where they have to apply to a privacy protection board to be allowed to do so. That is what the government wants to remove. They want to get more cameras up and they want to use facial recognition on some of the cameras, says Jens Lapidus.

Youth prisons

Last week, Minister of Justice Gunnar Strömmer (M) announced that the Correctional Service was tasked with starting work on youth prisons, which must be ready for use by 2026 at the latest.

Adult prisons have not worked, why should youth prisons work?

– If you go back a bit historically, historically we had youth prisons, so we had youth prisons in Sweden up until 20-25 years ago. Then it was changed to closed youth care at SIS homes instead. Actually, we go back to something that we have had. In Denmark and Finland, for example, people under the age of 18 can be sentenced, of course only in exceptional cases. says Lapidus.

He continues:

– I think that there will be specific departments in existing institutions with extra institutions where people under the age of 18 can end up. It’s about safety and having physical buildings that can hold these people. Sis homes have no walls. But in prisons you have walls, a different type of surveillance, different rules when it comes to the use of mobile phones. I think that’s what you want to get at. But we must not create animals. If you put children in prisons, there is a risk that something much worse will come out. Care efforts must be maintained.

Play about the military

Recently, there has been a lot of talk about the military assisting the police in the fight against violence. Among other things, opposition leader Magdalena Andersson (S) has demanded that the military be deployed. Viewer Adam wonders what the military will contribute.

What exactly do they mean that the military should support the police with against gang crime?

– I also jumped in when the play came. It is a completely new issue for Sweden. Only the police are allowed to use violence. The military is allowed to do so in one exception, and that is in the event of terrorist attacks. But otherwise, the military is supposed to use violence when a foreign power comes. Therefore, the military cannot be used to help the police arrest people or other things where violence is required, says Jens Lapidus.

He continues:

– In the first level, it is not about the military running around shooting and arresting people. However, they can relieve the police in other ways. When there are search missions and other things that do not involve any use of violence. There is also a special law that deals with how to cooperate with helicopters. If it does not involve the risk of violence, the military can help with this. But don’t run around grabbing people. It won’t be like in Rio.

The process around new laws

Many bills that will help in the work against violence are currently out for consultation. Viewer Rickard thinks the process is going too slowly.

How can we speed up the process around laws?

– I think we have received many new laws in a short time, both under the previous and current government. But. In Sweden, we have a legislative process which entails that we first investigate, you cannot go in from one day to another and change a law. It can take quite a long time. Then it is sent for referral and various authorities and bodies must be allowed to comment on this, so that the people concerned and experts can have their views. Then it will be tested by the Legislative Council and after that we can get it through.

But there is a fast track.

– One is that you take an ongoing investigation and then give additional directives to it. Then you can interfere in a process. You can also request that the process be expedited.