Sweden to take a few steps...

[Hektor12]

Minister of Justice Gunnar Strömmer and I have just met with National Police Chief Anders Thornberg and Commander-in-Chief Micael Bydén to discuss how the Armed Forces can help the Police in their work against the criminal gangs.

Sweden is in an exceptional situation. The wave of violence that we are now seeing is unprecedented in Sweden and in Europe. The police cannot do the whole job themselves. The school and social services must of course do their part, for example. But the Armed Forces can also contribute more.

On Thursday, the government will decide that the Armed Forces and the Police Authority will both give and receive support, within the framework of the current legislation. In a second step, the law must also be changed so that the Armed Forces can assist in more situations than is currently possible.

This is part of the government's efforts to do whatever it takes to defeat the criminal gangs and take back control of the streets and squares of every neighborhood across our country. Just as the voters 11 months ago gave us the mandate to do.

When gang violence affects innocents and terrorizes society, there are also glimmers of light that show that step by step we are making decisions that can make Sweden safe again.

Today, October 1, Swedish police get a new, important and long-awaited tool to stop acts of violence before they take place.

As of today, we are adding to the police's mandate the right to use covert means of coercion, for example covert wiretapping, for preventive purposes against gang criminals in particular to prevent fatal shootings and explosions.

The fact that the police get the technical tools required to be able to catch up with the gangs is absolutely necessary to defeat them. We will not give up until we have systematically reclaimed every square meter of our land. This is only the beginning.

The government has today invited all the party leaders of the Riksdag to the National Security Council for a joint meeting on gang violence.

I want everyone to get the key law enforcement heads' detailed view of the situation right now. It can increase the chance of also agreeing on what needs to be done.

The government will describe which laws we are now in the process of changing - but also listen to whether there are further concrete proposals from other parties.

We will fight the gangs until we defeat them. The more parties that end up in that fight, the better. Sweden will become safe again.

Went out to Solna yesterday and met the Police's regional task force in Stockholm. Very rewarding talks and demonstrations. In recent days, the police have prevented several serious acts of violence, which both says that it is possible to stop shootings before they take place - but also that it happens even more in reality than what we read about in the newspapers every day.

The police were very concerned about the "gangster culture" that is emerging around the criminal gangs, where money, status and violated honor lead to an ever worse spiral. It underlines the enormous need for a serious collection of forces and measures that Sweden has never seen before, both new legislation and completely new tools for the police. It is about removing privacy barriers so that children and young people are discovered early. But also about parents' own responsibility. Some think we are going too far now and in too much of a hurry. I do not share that view. On the contrary, there is serious danger in delay.

There is nothing more important right now than restoring safety and security in our country. It won't be easy and it won't be quick - but it will work.