Fight against gangs

Swedish police can now act on suspicion

(Bild: AFP/Adam Ihse/TT)

Gold watches, fast cars and designer clothes: The Swedish police can now confiscate luxury goods even without concrete suspicion of illegal activities. The reform is not going down well everywhere ...

According to the right-wing conservative government, the law, which came into force on Friday, is intended to strengthen action against gang crime. Under the controversial new rules, luxury goods can be confiscated even if the owner cannot credibly declare that they have acquired them legally.

For example, according to the new law, the driver of an expensive car will have to hand in the luxury vehicle if he is unemployed and cannot explain what money he used to pay for the vehicle.

Status symbols as a lure
It is about "status symbols such as watches and cars that are used to recruit people for criminal gangs", said Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson in the run-up to the law coming into force. This is "the biggest reform in the history of the penal code", which was introduced in 1965.

Kristersson wants to take a closer look at gangs.

(Bild: AFP/Jonathan NACKSTRAND)

Human rights activists and many lawyers have protested against the law. Above all, they criticize the undermining of the principle of the presumption of innocence. They also objected to the extremely vague requirements in the law for police searches of properties and homes and for identity checks.

Critics of the law also included the ombudsman in parliament, who is supposed to ensure that the authorities comply with the law.

Gang fights are getting out of hand
The government of the conservative Kristersson is supported by the ultra-right Sweden Democrats. It took office in 2022 with the promise to combat the massive increase in crime in the country in recent years, among other things. However, it has not been very successful so far: according to official figures, 53 people were killed in 363 shootings last year.

The acts of violence are increasingly occurring in public places and sometimes also have uninvolved victims such as passers-by. According to investigators, the perpetrators are often young people who are hired by organized gangs as contract killers because they have not yet reached the age of criminal responsibility of 15. The new law on the confiscation of luxury goods, which came into force on Friday, therefore also explicitly applies to people under the age of 15.