It is a sunny autumn day in Värmland. We are in the middle of a Swedish rural idyll.
On the other side of the four-meter mesh fence is a place that looks like a cozy country house from a distance.
Sweden’s most violent youth live here in Klarälvsgården. In Sweden, a minor who has committed a murder does not end up in prison, but in just such a youth home, for treatment.
The age limit for criminal responsibility is the same 15 years in Finland and Sweden, but the practices differ significantly. In Finland, juvenile prisoners are generally placed in regular prisons in separate youth sections.
The punishments are also harsher in Finland. The maximum penalty for murder committed by a minor in Finland is 12 years in prison.
In Sweden, there are 21 youth homes intended for forced treatment of young people.
Three of them have prison-like conditions,
and Klarälvsgården, towering here in front of us, is one of them.
A boom has been placed at the end of the youth home’s parking area. Ignorant people are not wanted in the area.
We are on a rare visit, as news media are not usually allowed in youth homes.
We will be received at the gate Jonathan Eliassonmanager of Klarälvsgården.
Eliasson is a psychologist and has long experience in youth homes.
Right now, homes are needed more than ever.
– More young people are convicted of crimes than ever before, and they receive longer sentences than before. That is why there are a record number of young people in youth homes, and it is not possible to help everyone.
There are four buildings within the fences of Klarälvsgården, two of which serve as closed departments. 22 boys live here.
When walking around the area, it takes a while before you notice the special activities.
The buildings are equipped with armored windows,
and the downpipes of the houses are covered with barbed wire like the fence surrounding the area.
There are surveillance cameras on the outside walls and inside the rooms, and no door is opened without permission.
There are small fenced yard areas between the houses, where the young people play outside.
Gang crime has exploded in Sweden. Swedish youth organization according to estimates, 70 percent of shootings related to criminal gangs are committed by minors. In every fifth case, the perpetrator is under 15 years old.
Klarälvsgården is so far the only youth home in Sweden that specializes in helping young people break away from gang crime.
Gang disputes can be seen in the day-to-day life of the youth home, says Eliasson. Young people from different gangs are placed in different wards, and they are kept apart from each other. Otherwise, they would immediately be at each other’s throats, says Eliasson.
– For example, young people go to school at different times and by different routes.
From one department, you pass through the courtyard,
on the other side along the pedestrian bridge built between the houses.
In addition to convicted gang youths, there are other youths in Klarälvsgården. According to Eliasson, the home is usually the last placement for antisocial and young people suffering from serious psychosocial problems, such as those with drug problems and criminals.
The mission of the youth home is to help its residents get through the most challenging period of life.
– When the treatment is finished and they no longer fight, commit crimes or use drugs, they are transferred to the responsibility of other authorities.
Social authorities and the police can later help former gang members get new personal information, a secret place of residence and a new start in life.
In Sweden, it has recently been criticized that the punishments for serious crimes committed by minors are not sufficient and that the conditions in youth homes are too comfortable.
– Youth homes are called “Playstation camps” among juvenile delinquents, Neuding said.
Klarälvsgården cannot be called particularly cozy.
The premises are in need of renovation, and for safety reasons, all extra furniture has been removed from the living rooms of the closed department.
In one room, apart from a worn sofa, table and benches, there is only a television, and it is behind Plexiglas in a tin box.
Although the conditions are prison-like, everyday life resembles home conditions.
– Children are woken up in the morning and breakfast is eaten with them. At the same time, we go through the day’s program.
Young people of school age attend school in the area until lunchtime.
– There are a maximum of four students in one class. Working in larger groups is too restless, Eliasson explains.
After school, you can get vocational training. Young people can get, for example, a forklift card at Klarälvsgården.
– In the evenings, some receive individualized treatment. Young people can also go to the gym or do other sports, play video games or chat with the staff, says Eliasson.
Ten o’clock in the evening is bedtime.
– We set precise frameworks for life. There are people around who have the best interests of young people in mind. Many people benefit from not deciding their own lives anymore. Their choices and poor reasoning led them here.
In this video, you can see reminders of the virtues of life on the bulletin board in the lounge.
However, Eliasson does not consider the system a complete failure. Even if young people cared for in youth homes later commit new crimes, the number and severity of crimes decreases, according to him, after forced treatment.
According to Eliasson, the numbers show that young people need a lot of help even after release.
– These young people have distanced themselves far from how others live. They may not have a single person in their close circle who is not connected to criminal networks.
He also points out that good results have been obtained, especially with gang members.
– We have gotten young people at the bottom of the gang hierarchy, i.e. potential shooters of the future, to leave the gangs. We have also gotten a few people who worked in the highest management to distance themselves from their former lives.
In the video below, Eliasson tells what the residents of Klarälvsgården are like.
Eliasson also has ideas about how the current system should be developed. According to him, the facilities should be changed to be better for caring for violent young people.
– We also need a law under which we can carry out personal checks and searches, so that drugs or dangerous objects do not end up in the possession of young people.
According to Eliasson, a big problem is also the fact that young people can use mobile phones to communicate with the world outside the youth home.
Working as a juvenile delinquency investigator in the Stockholm police Luay Mohageb previously told that young people placed in youth homes can run away to perform tasks for gangs in exchange for cash. According to Eliasson, this is precisely why the residents of youth homes should be limited in their contact with the outside world.
“Okay, we have a Playstation”
We meet one of the residents in Klarälvsgården, Liam’s. For his safety, we will not reveal his real name.
A shy, seemingly healthy young man sits down at the table. Liam is dressed in sweats and doesn’t seem threatening.
20-year-old Liam has been confined to Klarälvsgården for 14 months. Liam doesn’t really want to talk about his background.
He says that he comes from the province of Småland in southern Sweden. Family roots are Swedish. At the age of 16, he started using drugs and committing petty crimes for quick money.
Liam finds it painful to tell his own story. Each answer is preceded by a long silence.
– I needed money to support myself. Drugs played a very big part in everything.
The problems eventually led to the intervention of the social authorities and the fact that he was ordered into compulsory treatment.
And does Liam feel like he’s in a video game camp, as a Swedish journalist recently criticized youth homes? Liam knocks out the image. For him, a closed youth home is not an environment worth applying to.
– Yes, this feels like a punishment. It’s no fun being locked up here for a long time without getting to see your family or your girlfriend. Okay, we have a Playstation, but it’s possible to play video games elsewhere.
Otherwise, the conditions of the youth home do not garner praise from Liam.
Inside these fences, Liam goes outside with the young people of his ward.
– The environment is not comfortable, but the staff makes the place and life better.
Liam doesn’t consider himself a gang member. However, according to him, in criminal circles and youth homes, gang criminals are introduced by force.
“It’s not what I want”
Liam is worried about the widespread serious acts of violence by young people and increased gang crime. He confirms that small punishments attract young people to commit serious crimes.
– It’s really bad that crime has become trendy. Young people want to be criminals because they think it’s cool. They admire older gang members with money and power and want the same.
Liam doesn’t think that tougher punishments would solve the situation.
– Being locked up somewhere for many years only increases hatred towards society.
– It is not enough to throw them back on the streets. People need care. They need to get out of debt, and they need jobs.
According to Liam, relations between the young people living in different wards in Klarälvsgården are tense, but life is still mainly peaceful. He is grateful for the care he received.
– I see things differently now. I have been helped to understand that a life of crime ends before long in prison or death.
– It’s not what I want. I want to live a good life.