Norway's former Prime Minister Erna Solberg is worried that Swedish gangs will take root in Norway.
We see how rapid and explosive the development has been in Sweden. It's a warning sign.
Norway is seeing a significant increase in youth crime and traces of Swedish gang criminals in several police districts.
We can avoid ending up where Sweden has ended up, says Erna Solberg, who is visiting Visby during Almedalen Week.
She has been the leader of the liberal-conservative Høyre party for 20 years and became Prime Minister of Norway in 2013, but lost the election in 2021. Despite a turbulent time with her husband's shareholdings, she is running for Prime Minister again in 2025.
"Extremely serious"
On Wednesday, she participated in a roundtable discussion with, among others, Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson (The Moderate Party), National Police Commissioner Petra Lundh, and Justice Minister Gunnar Strömmer (The Moderate Party).
The situation in Sweden is extremely serious. Crime is no longer just a big city problem, but has spread to almost all smaller towns, says Lundh.
You may be ten years behind us on the curve, but that doesn't mean that in ten years you'll be where we are, says Strömmer with a nod to Solberg.
The Norwegian-Swedish police cooperation is symbolized by the construction of a police station on the border in Värmland's Eda.
Swedish gangs don't hesitate to cross the border, says Strömmer. Trondheim, Oslo, or Umeå makes no difference to the criminals if they see a market there.
Our message is don't wait. Take action in time. If we had stopped this criminality ten years ago, we would be in a much better position today. And that's what the Danes told us too, says Ulf Kristersson.
"Explosive development"
Erna Solberg is worried that Norway will reach the same levels of shootings and explosions.
I'm worried, but I think we can prevent it. Maybe because we see how rapid and explosive the development is in Sweden, it's a warning sign to us that we need to take the increased youth crime seriously.
Norway needs to follow up on young people more closely, combat economic crime, and cooperate more closely with Sweden, she says.
We will significantly strengthen the police. We need more police officers.
Petra Lundh says that there are signs that the Swedish police have succeeded in combating crime in recent times. 200 shootings or explosions have been prevented in 2023 and 2024.
Danish criminologist David Sausdal also participated in the panel discussion and one of his messages was to apply methods like "stop shooting" and put pressure on gangs.
Those who come to Norway should immediately feel that it's not worth it.
