When National Police Chief Petra Lundh spoke at this year’s edition of ‘People and Defense,’ she painted a dual picture of the crime trend in Sweden. Shootings have decreased – but at the same time, criminal networks are exploiting increasingly younger children to carry out serious acts of violence.

According to Lundh, deadly gun violence within criminal immigrant gangs has been pushed back thanks to targeted police efforts. The total number of shootings in criminal circles has decreased in the past two years, especially shootings intended to kill or injure. At the same time, the police are witnessing a worrying increase in bombings and arson attacks.

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“When we push violence down on one end, the criminal environments are replenished on the other,” said Petra Lundh, pointing to the recruitment of children as perhaps the greatest challenge going forward.

Children as “Disposable Tools”

In her speech, the police chief described how criminal immigrant networks systematically recruit children through social media and gaming platforms – sometimes as young as 12 or 13 years old. The children are used as perpetrators of bombings, arson, and shootings, often acting on orders from clients abroad.

“The children are used as disposable tools. It’s brutal and utterly unacceptable,” she said.

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Last year, 127 children were suspected of murder or of being involved in murder plots—a figure that, according to Lundh, should make the whole of society pause. She described the recruitment as a form of “crime as a service,” where violent assignments are openly ordered and children end up at the bottom of the chain—without a safety net and often trapped in threats and debt.

New National Police Operation

At the same time, Lundh emphasized that the police’s successes against gang leaders, both in Sweden and internationally, show the limits of what the authority can accomplish alone. She mentioned, among other things, a recent arrest of a high-ranking gang criminal abroad, as an example of international cooperation.

“We will continue, country after country, arrest after arrest. But the police can’t stop this alone,” she said.

To break the cycle of new recruitment, the Swedish Police Authority is now launching a national police operation focused on children and youth. It will be conducted with the same intensity as the fight against gang violence and aims to increase pressure on municipalities and other societal actors.

Clear Demands on Tech Companies and Social Services

In her speech, the police chief also made clear demands on tech companies, which she insists must take greater responsibility in detecting and shutting down recruitment accounts in real-time—before children are drawn into crime. Social services, schools, and regional authorities must also, according to Lundh, act earlier and in a more coordinated manner.

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She called for round-the-clock readiness within social services and that support for children at risk should follow them across municipal borders, placements, and school changes.

“If a child is at risk of being recruited, society’s response has to come the same evening, the same hour—not the next working day,” said Petra Lundh.

Passing Responsibility to Others

In closing, she once again emphasized that the fight against new recruitment requires shared responsibility. In the new gang-criminal Sweden, with primarily imported crime, it is no longer only the police’s task to maintain law and order; it is the responsibility of society as a whole and of every citizen.

“The police are a part of the chain, but we can’t be the entire chain,” the police chief stated, urging the state, municipalities, businesses, and parents to act together—now.

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Watch the full speech below.