TV4 Nyheterna has gone through all the judgments handed down so far this year in the country’s district and appeal courts. Despite the large number of bombings, so far this year only thirteen people have been sentenced for so-called public destruction. – I think the thirteen are very good in and of themselves. We are well on our way there. We are much better today than we were a year ago, says Marie Borgh, head of the police’s national bomb protection. – Above all, what we are better at is identifying cases that are connected. There, the coordination between the Police Authority and the Prosecutor’s Office is a success factor because this crime is national and not geographically divided, she says. “It’s about catching more perpetrators” Crime takes time to investigate and among the eight explosions that resulted in convictions against 13 people this year are bombings committed both this year and last year. Such as, for example, the explosion of a restaurateur’s car in Helsingborg in October 2022 and the two powerful explosions in the conflict between the Kurdish foxes and the Dalen network on Södermalm and in Kista in Stockholm in January 2023. However, a majority of the explosions never lead to prosecution. Even fewer to convictions. – Now there are a lot of people deprived of their liberty, so that number will most likely increase going forward, says Marie Borgh, head of the police’s national bomb protection. The crimes often occur in a gang environment where few want to talk to the police. Convictions require strong technical evidence such as DNA and digital traces. Minister of Justice Gunnar Strömmer (M) tells TV4 Nyheterna that he believes more people will be sentenced for public destruction in the future. – Here and now it is about catching more perpetrators and sending signals that it is difficult and burdensome to be a gang criminal. Therefore, it becomes problematic when so few of this type and also other types of crime are solved, says Magnus Lindgren at Stiftelsen tryggare Sweden.
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