The fight against gang crime is one of the main issues in the Tidö Agreement between the government and The Moderate Party. Three years after the agreement was presented, a number of penalties have been tightened, the judicial system has received increased resources and new tools.
But it is difficult to determine that gang crime and organized crime would be on the way to being pushed back.
A positive development is that the number of shootings has decreased significantly. There are also fewer people dying in shootings.
In 2022, 314 shootings occurred up to and including September. For the same period in 2025, the figure is 113, according to the police. The number of people shot to death during the same period has decreased from 49 to 26 people (the figures do not include the ten people who were killed at Risbergska in Örebro).
Will there be more?
The police point out that they are managing to prevent significantly more violent crimes, not least thanks to increased opportunities for secret surveillance of criminal environments. According to the police, many more murder shootings are also being solved.
On the other hand, bombings and arson attacks have increased. However, they rarely lead to fatalities and the bombings have recently often been carried out with powerful pyrotechnics and not explosives.
Another positive development is that more gang criminals who operate from abroad are being arrested. So far this year, it is 183 people, a record according to the police. Of these, 35 are classified as "priority actors".
However, there are few signs that the number of gang criminals is decreasing. According to the situation report presented by the police in the autumn of 2024, it is estimated that there are 14,000 active gang criminals in Sweden and an additional 48,000 with connections to gang crime. These figures are expected to be written up when the next situation report is presented in November.
The police now also estimate that around 700 gang criminals operate from abroad, which is a hundred more than previous estimates.
A negative trend since 2022 is that increasingly younger people are being recruited by gangs to commit violent crimes. In 2022, 14 children under the age of 15 were suspected of being involved in murder plans (murder, aiding murder, attempted murder) up to and including September. Since then, the number has quickly increased and so far this year it is 127, according to new figures from the Prosecution Authority.
Children are often recruited via social media, where gang criminals post orders for violent crimes. A new trend is also that children have started recruiting other children, according to the Ministry of Justice.
Still high
Minister of Justice Gunnar Strömmer (The Moderate Party) does not think that one can claim that crime has worsened since 2022, but that it has changed.
Criminologist Manne Gerell believes that the overall picture is that it has improved.
The best indicator for me is how many people die or are seriously injured, and there we have seen a massive decrease in shootings, he says.
Gerell cannot point to any specific measure in the Tidö Agreement that is decisive, but rather estimates that the success is mainly due to the police receiving more resources.
Everything else is small puzzle pieces that individually can hardly have played any role, he says.
Among the least effective measures, he ranks the visitation zones, which have been used less than expected and have not given any clear results when used.
The police and the government point out that the level of violence in gang environments is still high and the risk of new violence spirals is latent.
A concern is that hundreds of children and young people who were taken for involvement in these crimes a few years ago will be out on the street again soon if they are not already, says Gerell.
Anja Haglund/TT
Peter Wallberg/TT
Facts: The Tidö Agreement – this is what's happening in 2025/26
TT
Proposed legislation for extended criminal liability for attempts, preparation and conspiracy to commit crimes
Proposed legislation for a new indeterminate prison sentence, security sentence
Proposed legislation for the police to use AI for facial recognition with cameras in real-time
Proposed legislation to lower the age of criminal responsibility to 13 years for serious crimes
Proposed legislation to completely abolish sentence reductions for young people between 18 and 21 years
Proposed legislation to reduce sentence reductions for young people 15–17 years
Stricter rules for conditional release come into force on 1 January
Investigation proposal to allow the police to use crime provocation
Proposed legislation to expel foreigners with gang connections
Investigation proposal on reverse burden of proof in cases of confiscation of assets
Investigation into new opportunities for the police to intervene in the cyber environment
Several proposed laws from the penal law investigation, which among other things proposed that:
repeat offenders should be judged more severely.
the penalty scales for about fifty crimes should be tightened.
less consideration should be given to mitigating circumstances
up to double the penalty for crimes linked to gang crime
Source: Ministry of Justice
2023
Recruitment of young people to crime becomes a separate crime
Penalties are tightened for, among other things, serious unlawful coercion, unlawful threats, robbery, extortion and drug trafficking.
The threshold for mandatory detention is lowered for crimes with a minimum sentence of 24 months to 18 months
A penalty enhancement provision for crimes linked to violent gang conflicts is introduced
Extended police powers in border areas
Extended opportunities to use secret surveillance for preventive purposes
2024
Tighter penalties for serious weapons offenses and crimes with explosive goods
Preventive residence bans can be issued for a person in a public place
The goal of 10,000 more police employees compared to 2016 is reached in March
Opportunity to introduce temporary security zones is introduced
Preventive coercive measures can be used in cloud services
A new confiscation legislation – possible to seize assets regardless of whether they can be linked to a specific crime
2025
Anonymous witnesses can be used
Municipalities, regions, schools and certain authorities are required to provide certain information to the police
Biometrics in crime prevention can be taken up, registered and used to a greater extent.
Secret and preventive coercive measures are allowed against children under 15 years of age for serious crimes from 1 October
Source: Ministry of Justice
Footnote: The measures are a selection
