– We will make a number of proposals in the future to break segregation. Then we will get an impression of what has worked in other countries, but we will not repeat the mistakes of other countries, says Minister of Integration and Migration Anders Ygeman (S).
On Monday, he and Minister of Social Affairs Lena Hallengren (S) visited the residential area Mjølnerparken in Copenhagen. It is an area with high immigration and high exclusion that has previously had a high crime rate. The purpose is to study Denmark’s efforts for increased integration, reduced segregation and law enforcement.
– Since 2010, they have worked across block boundaries in Denmark. The framework and objectives of the segregation policy are agreed. This has led to some positive results and made the policy survive the various results in the elections, says Anders Ygeman.
– I hope that we will at least be able to agree on the framework.
“Dare to be long-term”
Ygeman thinks that Denmark’s work to “not fill up” vulnerable areas with more people who do not have their own livelihood is interesting.
– And conversely, what has been done to replenish people who are resourceful and support themselves in vulnerable areas.
TT: How to make it easier?
– I do not think that people who are dependent on subsidies for their livelihood should be allocated housing in vulnerable areas. In Copenhagen, priority is given to people who have jobs and are educated. I think we can also consider this in Sweden, says Ygeman.
Lena Hallengren highlights the government’s proposal that Swedish municipalities’ responsibility for crime prevention work should be regulated by law.
– This means that it will be important how each municipality acts. Here it is important to dare to be long-term. We will not solve this in a year or even a term of office, she says.
Lena Hallengren and Anders Ygeman met, among others, Denmark’s Integration Minister Kaare Dybvad Bek and Copenhagen’s Integration Mayor Jens-Kristian Lütken. To be investigated in Sweden
Hallengren also emphasizes the so-called juvenile delinquency boards that have existed in Denmark since 2019. In practice, it is a kind of child and juvenile court that decides on measures for children with criminal suspicions.
– It is an example of a grip that we want to look at and learn from. It is a collaboration between social services, schools and the police, she says.
The system – which has been criticized for being legally uncertain in Denmark – will be investigated in Sweden.
TT: Is there anything Denmark is doing that you think is too radical for Sweden?
– Everything the Danes do is based on the Danish context and is not transferable to Sweden. And everything that Sweden does well is not transferable to Denmark. It is difficult to compare everything between the countries, says Ygeman.
Focus on prevention
Visitation zones are a Danish measure that the government is not interested in.
– It has been seen in other countries that the police clearance rate has fallen and that the trust of citizens has decreased, says Ygeman.
– Preventive work needs to have more focus in Sweden. If the preventive work is to have more impact, it is important that both the police and social services can build trust in vulnerable areas, that not least children and young people dare to talk to the police, Hallengren adds.