Clans are more threatening than street gangs

In all, some 500 people are included in the core of the groups that Amir Rostami and his research colleagues classify as mafia organizations. Stock Photography.Image: Janerik Henriksson / TT

The Södertälje network and the family network in northeast Gothenburg: two examples of criminal networks that both police and investigators have described as “clan-based” or mafias.

By force and threat, they are said to control and control much of the local areas in which they operate. Murder, extortion and drug trafficking are just some of the crimes linked to family networks.

According to criminologist Amir Rostami, family networks have been allowed to expand in areas where the state has not been sufficiently present.

– It has meant that they have been able to grow – threaten their own, take over associations, create a power base – without encountering resistance. The environment sees that the state does not break in and slowly but surely they line up, where they either silently accept the order or become dependent on contributing to this structure, says Amir Rostami, who has a doctorate in sociology and is a researcher at the Institute of Future Studies. with special attention to gangs.

However, when the police speak of 40 family criminal networks in Sweden, they are probably not referring to 40 clans of the type mentioned above, he says.

– We have very few of them.

Amir Rostami points out that there are big differences between the groups that are called family networks.

– It is of everything, from few individuals and little capacity to the most advanced large structures. There are those who only deal with certain types of crimes, such as drug smuggling, to others who deal with everything from violence and drugs to sophisticated assistance fraud and other welfare crimes, he says.

In all, some 500 people are included in the core of the groups that Amir Rostami and his research colleagues classify as mafia organizations.

Police have warned that the activities of family-based criminal networks are systemic when they transfer power from the state to the family, and Amir Rostami agrees.

– In a local context, they become a threat to democracy when they threaten, try to infiltrate and try to create dependence on people with political power. Or that people do not dare to testify or report crimes, merchants who have to pay money. If you have several of these groups in Sweden, in the long run it helps to erode trust in the rule of law and society. And they want to compete with the state, they offer services that the state really should offer, he says.

The criminologist cannot answer how much of the serious violence is currently in focus, the fatal shootings, that the clans are behind. But he notes that clans that have become more institutionalized have developed the capacity to contain violence, as it is not good for business.

– Mediation at a hotel in Gothenburg recently is an example of this. It’s a sign that you have the ability to hold onto the strings and see how you can work things out without violence, because you don’t want to be focused, says Rostami.

The same skill is seen in motorcycle gangs, he continues.

– They solve their problems internally. Right now they are left out and let the impulsive street gangs handle the violence because then the focus is on them and the motorcycle gangs can continue what they are doing.

In family networks, blood ties play a crucial role. There are examples of extremely top-down groups where the closest blood ties apply.

– You are very restrictive with whom you work. In the first stage they are those who are part of the family, in the next those who have the same filiation and ethnic origin. In some cases, blood ties can be applied over short distances, sometimes it is enough to come from the same village and have a common grandfather, for example, says Amir Rostami.

Local anchoring is also important. This is where they try to create a “state within a state”, with parallel economic systems and the administration of justice. Structures often take a long time to emerge because relationships are informal.

How can clan structures of this type arise in Swedish society, where the state has a very clear and strong role?

– They are people who have looked for opportunities to take shortcuts to gain power and money. So they have taken advantage of the conditions that exist. They first parasitize their own associations and relationships, trying to use existing family or clan structures to get ahead. It is not at all the case that they all come from clear and hierarchical clan structures, but it may be that relatives have meaning, but not as we think.

Why have the police failed to counter family-based criminal networks?

– Society has been late to the ball, simply. This applies to all the troubled images we have, from the rise of motorcycle gangs in the 1990s, street gangs in the 2000s, and the rise of mafia-like organizations. It took a long time to come to an understanding. And the later you are on the ball, the harder it will be to stop it.

However, there will always be criminal groups, emphasizes Amir Rostami.

– What we have to do is reduce their ability to influence the rest of society so that this little click, the problem, is manageable. Unfortunately, the events of the last ten years show that we do not have full control over the situation. I think it will be a long time before we are where we want to be.