Sweden should take stricter penalties in connection with organized crime and the increase in the country’s violence, the Swedish National Police Commissioner Petra Lundhová said on Thursday in presenting the results of the investigation ordered by the government. TASR informs this based on the AFP report.
According to the results of the investigation, penalties should be tightened at approximately 50 crimes, Lundh said. “We estimate … that criminal law reform will bring about 16,000 more prison to convicts per year than it is currently,” she said at a press conference.
An increase in punishment
Courts in the country in 2024 awarded approximately 18 700 years of imprisonment, specified by the Swedish National Council for Crime Prevention (BRA).
Minister of Justice Gunnar Strömmer told reporters that it was time to revise the criminal system, which dates back to the 1960s to the 1980s. He noted that “society has already changed quite a bit”.
“It is not possible to (forget) organized crime and the fact that it is currently a threat to the system. In the long run, there is a risk that it will dominate our free and open society,” Strömmer stressed. He added that the number of shoots ending with death was tripled between 2012 and 2022.
Shooting and bombings
According to Bra, firearms in Sweden are due to approximately four deaths per million inhabitants each year, exceeding the European average of 1.6 deaths. Increasing the number of shooting and bombings in Sweden is related to conflicts between armed criminal networks, writes AFP.
Lundhová proposed awarding stricter penalties for convicts who have committed several crimes. At the same time, she asked to increase the possibility of lifelong sentence. According to her, the sentences could be doubled if the offender is involved in organized crime. However, the definition of the sentence would remain in the competence of judges, she noted.
Strömmer explained that the conclusions of the investigation would be examined first. The government will then decide on the next procedure.
