Today, the new law on so-called preventive stay bans is introduced. It is about people who have not been convicted of a crime still being able to be banned from being in certain public places.
It should apply to people whom the police suspect work for or otherwise help criminal networks. The ban applies for six months at a time and then it must be reviewed and the decision formally taken by a prosecutor.
– It means that the police now get a powerful new tool, says Minister of Justice Gunnar Strömmer in Nyhetsmorgon.
The areas where the stay ban applies
But which places does it actually apply to?
Gunnar Strömmer believes that it depends on what the crime is and how the risks are assessed.
– If you look at how the law is laid out, you can say that it must be a limited area, but it can be more or less large. It could be a specific location. A schoolyard, a square or some other more defined area. But there is also room to extend this area and say that a certain person may not stay in a certain residential area, he says.
Responds to criticism
Critics believe that the law risks restricting personal freedom of movement and that it is not legally secure. But Gunnar Strömmer gives assurances that the new tool will be handled correctly.
– It is clear that it is a trade-off. It is about dealing with a risk that new crimes will be committed. At the same time, it is also clear not to make decisions like this just based on loose rumors or some kind of general intuition. There must be a concrete problem picture that allows you to tie this person to a certain place, he says and continues:
– There is an opportunity for the person who is hit by such a hearing decision to appeal it so that it can ultimately be tried by a court, he says.
But what evidence is there that this tool will actually work?
The Minister of Justice points to our neighboring country.
– This has been proven in Denmark, which is ahead of us in the curve and which has succeeded in pushing back serious organized crime. Above all, shootings and explosions, he says.