The National Police Commissioner says in her speech at Folk och försvar in Sälen that children are performing murder assignments as if it were a part-time job. The violent assignments are being posted on chat apps and social media. And in just one year, the number of child assassins has increased sharply.
Children under 15 years old, who are not criminally responsible, it was very unusual – but we are really seeing an increase last year, says Petra Lundh.
"Have no idea"
The children have become tools not only for domestic gangs but also for state actors. Lundh points, among other things, to the actions against Israeli embassies and companies, where the suspect in some cases was as young as 14 years old.
But the young people who perform the actions have no idea what conflict they are acting in, she says.
How are you going to stop both gangs and foreign powers from exploiting children?
We have a completely different clearance rate and we prevent a lot, but the top leaders may be sitting abroad, and then it is naturally much harder to get to them, says Petra Lundh.
She states that the police have managed to get some extradited, but many are still left. Around 600 gang criminals are estimated to be engaged in serious organized crime in Sweden from abroad, according to the police.
Warns of sabotage
Last year, gun violence decreased slightly with fewer deaths and injuries. But neither the government nor the National Police Commissioner dare to talk about a turnaround.
We see that conflict levels are still high. It has taken a long time to get here and it will take a long time to turn it around, says Petra Lundh.
The National Police Commissioner also warns, just like the Säpo chief, of sabotage on Swedish soil.
Just last year, we could see several activities that had the character of sabotage. It's about everything from vandalism on water towers to intrusions into IT systems and unauthorized drone flights.
