Sweden’s prime minister has stated that the military will soon assist the police in dealing with an unprecedented crime wave that has startled the Scandinavian country with practically daily shootings and bombs.
Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said his center-right government will announce suggestions for how the armed forces and police will collaborate next Thursday.
The country’s national police chief, Anders Thornberg, clarified earlier Friday that members of the armed forces won’t be given ‘direct’ policing tasks.
The prime minister noted that the country’s military already is preoccupied with ensuring readiness because of the war in Ukraine.
According to the report, Sweden has been dealing with gang violence for years, but the increase in shootings and explosions in September was unprecedented.
Three persons were killed in separate attacks in recent days, all of which were linked to criminal gangs, which frequently recruit youths from socially disadvantaged immigrant neighborhoods to carry out hits.
Meanwhile, Kristersson stated that Sweden’s laws must be tightened to combat the recruitment of young people into gangs, and that he believes there is a majority in the Swedish parliament to implement the necessary reforms.
