The government and the SD agree that participation in criminal gangs should be criminalized.
According to Minister of Justice Gunnar Strömmer (M), it would make it possible to prosecute many more people with connections to organized crime.
"It could be gang leaders or other people who in various ways enable the gangs' criminality, without being able to point to a connection to a specific crime," he says.
Two new crimes
The investigation now being presented proposes that two new crimes be introduced into the Penal Code: participation in a criminal organization and association with one.
A criminal organization is defined as more than two people who commit crimes, or who otherwise contribute to serious crime, for financial gain or other "unfair advantage".
The aim is for the provision to target different groups, according to investigator Hans Harding.
"Everything from loosely organized groups to well-organized criminal structures. This can include companies, motorcycle clubs, criminal networks and even family-based networks, which we call clans," he says.
Participation can include logistics, administration and recruitment, or arranging meeting rooms and transportation.
"It's not enough to just support the association in general; you have to do something active," says Harding.
The provision is intended to target the gang's "enablers", and can be directed at, among others, lawyers, accountants and bank officials who help the gangs.
Lifetime
A rough estimate from the police is that around 1,000 people per year could be suspected of crimes under the new legislation. Of these, 700 could be sentenced to prison.
At the same time, the police have previously assessed that over 17,500 people are active in criminal gangs in Sweden, and another 50,000 are connected to the gangs.
According to the investigator, laws that punish participation in criminal gangs already exist in all EU countries except Sweden and Denmark.
Gunnar Strömmer emphasizes that the punishment for participation should extend up to life imprisonment if it is a gang leader.
"As far as I understand, no other country has life imprisonment in this type of legislation," he says.
The law is proposed to come into force on April 1, 2027. However, a prerequisite is that the constitutional amendment that makes the law possible is first voted through a second time in the Riksdag, after the autumn elections.
Anyone who participates in a criminal organization in a way that is intended to "promote, strengthen or support" serious crime shall be sentenced for a participation offense. The penalty is imprisonment for a maximum of four years. For a serious crime, a maximum of eight years. For gang leaders, the penalty may be life imprisonment.
The crime of association can involve anything from taking possession of weapons or providing a storeroom to providing legal or financial advice in connection with the gang's criminal activities. The penalty is imprisonment for a maximum of four years and for a felony a maximum of seven years.
There should be an exception in the legislation if the act is minor or can be seen as justifiable given the circumstances.
Participation in a terrorist organization has previously been criminalized in Sweden. It became punishable in June 2023.
