Prime Minister after crisis meeting: "We do not have control over gang wars"

Due to the escalating gang violence, the special council against organized crime was called to a crisis meeting on Thursday. At the press conference held after the meeting, Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson admitted that “we do not have control over the wave of violence, it is quite obvious”.

In gang criminal contexts, there has been an average of one bomb detonation per day in January. Tuesday became particularly grim with five bombings and a fatal shooting. The day after, another person was shot dead, and on Thursday, the prominent critic of Islam, Salwan Momika, was murdered.

Due to the escalating gang violence, Justice Minister Gunnar Strömmer called for an extra crisis meeting of the special council against organized crime to discuss how to break the wave of violence.

After the meeting, Justice Minister Gunnar Strömmer (M), Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson (M), National Police Commissioner Petra Lundh, and Customs Director General Johan Norrman held a press conference to report on the conclusions reached during the meeting.

Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson acknowledged at the press conference that the state has lost control over the situation.

“The responsibility of the entire society”

Similar to the press conference held by the Police Authority for the same reason on Wednesday, the message from the government, police, and customs on Thursday was that the problem has surpassed the political decision-makers and law enforcement authorities, and that a large part of the responsibility for stopping the serious gang violence is now being placed on the public and civil society.

“The development requires the collective strength of the entire society to turn it around,” said National Police Commissioner Petra Lundh.

She expressed dismay that today, 12, 13, and 14-year-olds carry out violent missions “as if it were a side job”. She also expressed understanding that the daily gang criminal bombings create insecurity, frustration, and anger among citizens.

“More to be done”

When the floor was given to Gunnar Strömmer, he stated that the criminal networks are adept at renewing their methods of committing crimes, staying ahead of the efforts made by law enforcement agencies.

“In a situation like this, the authorities should work operationally in the field without too much interference from politics. That being said, we must ensure that they have the tools and resources they need,” he said.

Both Lundh and Strömmer noted that the gang leaders who control criminal activities in Sweden often hide abroad. The Minister of Justice declared that there is “more to be done by the government” in terms of cooperation with other countries.

Accelerating the law on covert coercion

Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson announced, in light of the violent start to 2025, that they intend to accelerate the law that gives the police the right to use covert coercion against underage gang criminals, which was originally intended to come into force in mid-2026.

“We are accelerating the legislation to come into force in the fall of 2025. This is important to address those who often sit far away and order crimes from children in Sweden,” Kristersson stated.

The Prime Minister, who chose to refer to the bombings as “blasts,” a choice of words that has been criticized for concealing and relativizing the situation, stated that “we are in a new wave of violence” with new crimes of this nature practically every day.

“The gangs show a total indifference to what is happening in residential areas. Their violence now affects the entire society, especially in southern Stockholm where many wonder, is it my door that will be blown up tomorrow?”

“Inherited problems”

According to Kristersson, the police, Security Service, Customs, and several other agencies are “working around the clock to solve this.” He stated that the increase in gang-related violence instead of decreasing is due to “inherited problems” for which previous governments and parliaments are responsible.

Kristersson also signaled that the Swedish people must show patience and not expect the bombings and shootings to cease in the near future. He clarified that we must expect it to look like this for the remainder of the decade, even with the current government’s policies.

“It is quite obvious that we do not have control over the wave of violence,” he concluded.

No representative from the Sweden Democrats, the party in the government coalition that has been the most vigorous in pushing for measures to combat gang crime, was allowed to participate in the meeting or the press conference. The words “immigration” and “immigrants” were also notably absent in the predominantly immigration-related serious violent crime.

The entire press conference can be viewed below: