This year, at least 127 children under 15 are suspected of involvement in murder plots, a dramatic increase from 2022. The government highlights successes in fighting gang crime, such as fewer shootings, but expresses concern over the recruitment of younger children. Experts emphasize police resources as key to improvements.
The fight against gang crime is central to the Tidö Agreement between the government and the Sweden Democrats. Three years after the agreement's presentation, penalties have been toughened, the justice system has received more resources, and new tools have been introduced. A positive trend is the decline in shootings: from 314 incidents up to September 2022 to 113 in the same period of 2025, according to police. Fatal shootings have dropped from 49 to 26 victims, excluding ten people killed at Risbergska in Örebro.
Police report that more violent acts are prevented through expanded covert surveillance and that more murders are successfully investigated. Arrests of gang criminals from abroad have reached a record of 183 people so far this year, including 35 prioritized actors. Despite this, police estimate 14,000 active gang criminals, with 48,000 linked individuals, and the figures are expected to rise in the next report.
An alarming development is the recruitment of children. In 2022, 14 children under 15 were suspected of murder plots by September, compared to 127 this year according to the Prosecution Authority. Suspicions include attempts, preparation, incitement, aiding murder, nine completed murders, and a few cases of instigation. Children are often recruited via social media, and a new trend is children recruiting other children, according to the Ministry of Justice.
Justice Minister Gunnar Strömmer (M) argues that crime has changed rather than worsened since 2022. Criminologist Manne Gerell sees an overall improvement, mainly due to police resources: "The best indicator for me is how many die or are seriously injured, and there we've seen a massive decrease in shootings." He warns, however, of the risk that previously convicted youths are released and fuel new spirals of violence. Explosions have increased but rarely cause deaths and often use pyrotechnics.