Sweden’s Prime Minister meets with Danish counterpart to discuss ways to tackle gang crime

Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson has met with Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen to discuss ways their two countries can combat rising gang crime and violence.

It comes after a number of gang-related incidents were reported in Copenhagen, which local officials have attributed to young immigrants recruited by Swedish gangs.

Sweden’s gang violence has escalated to the point where it has one of the highest gun crime rates per capita in the EU, with perpetrators often under the age of 18.

There is an average of one shooting per day for every 10 million residents, and 53 people were killed in shootings in 2023.

The issue has been brought back into the spotlight after it emerged that Swedish gangs are expanding their activities into Denmark, Norway and Finland.

“Today, unfortunately, there is a very close relationship between foreign policy and criminalization. Because when we look at organized crime. When we look at violence. When we look at medicines. Then there is an overrepresentation in Denmark and Sweden. Especially among young men with a non-Western background. And it is unsustainable,” Frederiksen told reporters at a daycare center in Denmark.

Official figures also show that since April 2024, there have been at least 25 cases of young Swedes being hired by Danes to commit crimes in Denmark.

The attacks used guns, bombs and even hand grenades.

In August this year, Denmark announced it would tighten border controls with Sweden to combat the threat of gangs.

The Swedish government has also announced that a cross-border hub of police officers from Finland, Norway and Denmark will be set up in Stockholm.

Nordic leaders have also committed to improving cross-border communication between local and national authorities to support sustainable migration to the EU and the Nordic region in the future.