So far this year, up to and including November, 54 children under the age of 15 have been suspected of causing public danger, reports Ekot. The figures come from the Swedish Prosecution Authority.
In 2024, the figure was 21 children, in 2023 17 children and between 2018 and 2022 only one child per year.
It seems that the criminals have good access to explosives, and good access to young people who can commit this type of act, says Mikaela Kym, group leader at the Norrköping police, to the radio.
The suspects are mainly boys from all parts of the country. They are recruited in various ways, via elders who lure them into the gangs, via threats, for example that the child has a made-up debt that must be paid, or the children undertake the tasks voluntarily via social media.
This shows that "new recruitment is increasing and that gang violence has not reversed but changed form," according to Teresa Carvalho (S).
Minister of Justice Gunnar Strömmer (M) highlights, among other things, the police's new possibilities to use secret coercive means such as wiretapping against children under 15 and harsher punishments as important parts of counteracting this development.
It's about being able to get into mobile phones and search up the chain, finding those who control, place and order, he tells the radio.
Through November this year, 181 detonations occurred in Sweden, compared to 136 for all of 2024.
The number of attempts or preparations for explosions so far this year is 261 compared to 188 for all of 2024.
Source: Police
