Cold facts’ review shows that 201 out of 240 children who were taken into care according to the LVU in 2019 became criminals. It is about previously unpunished children and young people who were taken into care precisely on the grounds that they risked being drawn into crime.
Of the 240 children in the review, 25 have been cared for by the City of Stockholm. 68 percent of the 25 have fallen into crime.
– If you work with social work, I don’t think you can say that you have done enough when it looks like this, says Jan Jönsson (L) after taking part in Kalla fakta’s review.
Several of them have committed serious crimes. In addition, several are connected to the wave of violence. One is suspected of attempted murder after a shooting in Jordbro in September. One is suspected of aiding and abetting a murder in Jordbro that same month.
Self-critical
In the 2022 election campaign, Jan Jönsson (L) called himself the “gang’s worst enemy” and during the last term he was responsible for the Social Citizens’ Council in Stockholm.
Now Jan Jönsson believes that he took measures to improve society’s care of children, but that it was not enough.
– In any case, we started a small change of perspective regarding exactly how we follow up the schooling. How do we ensure that they get a schooling that works. Stockholm and Sweden are lagging behind with social care, says Jan Jönsson (L).
How can you be so far behind?
– Yes, that is a very good question. I myself have been involved in these issues for 20-25 years or something like that. But it is difficult to get a really good focus on these particular children. It is much easier to talk more police officers or talk jail time.
Pointing out Sis
Cold facts’ mapping shows that the majority of the 240 children were placed in Sis homes. According to researchers Cold Facts spoke to, it is likely one reason why so many fall into crime, because criminal children in groups learn from each other.
After taking part in Kalla fakta’s review, Jan Jönsson is critical of his own party at national level. He sees problems with the Tidö parties’ political orientation that more children should be cared for.
– Yes, it becomes unethical because social care works so poorly. As long as social care works so poorly, one should not have any hopes that more care will lead to us having fewer young people who then go out and blow up and shoot. The fact is that the risk increases because we know that there are contagion effects at these institutions, he says.
Sis: We can’t do it ourselves
The director general of the Norwegian Institutions Board, Sis, replies that they cannot take sole responsibility for the children.
– I don’t shirk any responsibility, but we have to do it together. Sis can’t handle this mission by themselves. We have to work together with several social actors, where social services have a very important role, says Elisabet Åbjörnsson Hollmark, director general of the Norwegian Institutional Board.
Kalla fakta has interviewed Social Services Minister Camilla Waltersson Grönvall about Kalla fakta’s review of children in care. She believes, among other things, that care is required in the acute situation Sweden is in, but admits that care must be improved.
Cold facts have sought the Social Democrats and former Social Affairs Minister Lena Hallengren, but they have refused to be interviewed.