Scandinavian ministers meet to tackle spillover of Swedish gang crime

Sweden, Norway and Denmark want to step up regional cooperation to combat gang violence, the countries' justice ministers announced at a meeting in Copenhagen on Wednesday, as a surge in the involvement of minors in Swedish gang activity has the Nordic leaders concerned.

The meeting in Copenhagen was prompted by the recent wave of violence in Denmark and Norway involving Swedish underage gang members.

Police cooperation and efforts against the misuse of digital channels for organised crime, the justice ministers of both countries will be intensified in Denmark and Sweden, Denmark’s Peter Hummelgaard (Social Democratic Party, S&D) and Sweden’s Gunnar Strömmer (Moderates, EPP) respectively declared at a press conference.

Strömmer, for his part, also highlighted the involvement of young people, noting that “digital channels have been used to recruit young people.”

Both countries have a common interest in reducing gang-related activities, said Strömmer without providing concrete measures or plans as to what this means in practice.

Denmark, for its part, had previously announced plans to introduce border controls with Sweden after young Swedes were arrested on suspicion of several violent crimes in Denmark, including murder and explosions.

“We know that gang violence knows no bounds, so we need to step up our efforts,” Hummelgaard told the press conference, noting that since April, there have been 25 cases of Danish criminals hiring Swedish youths to carry out criminal acts.

Also in Copenhagen, Norway's Justice and Rescue Minister Emilie Enger Mehl announced that Norwegian and Swedish police would start joint patrols to tackle the problem of gang violence originating in Sweden.

“We will make arrangements so that the police can have joint operations and joint patrolling with the Swedish police to a greater extent. It is something the police have signalled themselves that they want,” Mehl told Norwegian broadcaster TV2.

The joint patrol will have to primarily take place in Sweden at the request of the Swedish police.

In addition, the Norwegian police will send members of the Norwegian Criminal Police (Kripos) to Sweden's National Operational Unit to facilitate the exchange of knowledge across borders.

The fight against Swedish organised crime is particularly interesting to the Norwegian authorities because of the recent discovery of Swedish criminal hotbeds in every region of Norway.

Meanwhile, a Nordic hub is being set up in Stockholm, and police officers from Finland, Norway, and Denmark will be there. Norwegian and Finnish officers are already involved, and Danish officers will join in a few weeks.

Sweden, with a population of just 10 million, has the highest per capita rate of gun violence in the EU, with 55 fatal shootings in 363 incidents last year - far more than the combined total of six fatal shootings in the other three Nordic countries.

(Charles Szumski | Euractiv.com)