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Of: TT
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Photo: Amir Nabizadeh / TT
Sören Pape Poulsen, a former Danish Minister of Justice, participated in the Moderate Seminar on Gang Crimes on Thursday.
Tight control over Denmark has managed to roll back gang crime, according to former Justice Minister Sören Pape Poulsen.
– I also think it can work here, he says.
Pape Poulsen, who heads the Conservatives in Denmark, is one of the architects behind several of the country’s many measures against criminal gangs.
– They must feel that they have their eyes on them all the time, you must emphasize them before, during and after they have committed a crime. They should know that it is always society that wins in the end, he says.
Denmark has had problems with criminal motorcycle gangs for decades, but a few years after the 2000s, criminal gangs in immigrant-dense districts also became a growing problem. Since then, Danish governments have developed three different packages of anti-gang measures, “Gang Package” 1, 2 and 3. For example, the so-called gang provision in the Penal Code entered in 2009. It carries double penalties for certain crimes committed in the context of gang conflicts.
Gang violence increased
Pape Poulsen introduced “Bandepakke 3” when he was Minister of Justice in 2017. The background was that gang violence in Copenhagen increased significantly in 2015 and 2016. A major reason was, according to Pape Poulsen, that gang leader Loyal To Family, he got out of prison and began to fight against other criminal gangs such as Hells Angels and Bandidos. The violent clashes between gangs led to 54 shootings, three deaths and 36 injuries.
“Bandepakke 3” meant, among other things, an opportunity for the court to increase the penalty for shootings in streets and squares by 50 percent, as well as an opportunity for a court to prohibit a gang member from remaining in a given district after serve a prison sentence. The so-called residence ban can be applied from 1 to 10 years. If you break the ban, you go straight to jail, says Pape Poulsen
– It is very effective. Because when a gang member cannot return to his local environment, he is alone, he says.
Effective measures
According to Pape Poulsen, some of the most effective measures introduced in Denmark, strict minimum penalties for firearm offenses and double penalties for offenses committed in gang conflict. However, Sweden has already increased penalties for firearm offenses.
Pape Poulsen also notes that they constantly try to deport offenders convicted of crimes. Denmark has tightened the requirements to become a Danish citizen.
– Being expelled from Denmark is what you fear the most.
Pape Poulsen also mentions cameras with automatic license plate reading to be able to follow gang movements and the ability of the police to temporarily ban gang members from staying in a certain location, a so-called no-go zone. The former Justice Minister also mentions that housing companies can terminate leases if a family member is a gang offender.
– It may seem difficult, says Pape Poulsen.
– But it is the parents who have the main responsibility for their children.
Inspire M
The harsh days in Denmark have inspired the Swedish moderates, who held a seminar with Pape Poulsen on Thursday. For example, they also want to double penalties for crimes in gang conflicts and allow the police to set up temporary visiting zones. In the area, body searches can be carried out without the need for specific criminal suspicion.
Danish police have been given the opportunity to issue visitation zones since 2004. The Swedish government’s 34-point program against gang crime does not include such a proposal. Prime Minister Stefan Löfven (s) does not believe that “completely innocent people should be visited in his residential area” and Interior Minister Mikael Damberg (s) sees risks of polarization and stigmatization in certain areas.
Pape Poulsen rules out the risk that immigrants feel designated by visiting areas.
– This is something that says the extreme left, affirms.
Pape Poulsen notes that zones are only established when crime has suddenly erupted in an area, such as a violent gang conflict. He believes that the measure protects ordinary citizens who just want to live in peace from crime.
He had wide support
Anti-gang measures in Denmark have been introduced with broad support from the Social Democrats, the center and right parties.
In Sweden, moderates, Christian Democrats and Swedish Democrats are attacking the red-green government for failing to take a tougher grip on gangs. All three parts, for example, require the penalty bonus for 18-20 year olds to be removed entirely. There is no such penalty discount in Denmark. They also want to present a similar opportunity for anonymous witnesses like in Denmark.
Pape Poulsen believes that the divided view of immigration in Sweden may have made it difficult for the parties to agree to tougher measures against criminal gangs. According to him, it is obvious that there is a link between immigration and crime. He asserts that a large influx of immigrants from foreign cultures leads to parallel societies and crime.
– If you are nervous about saying something that is not politically correct, you have no discussion about what is important, says Pape Poulsen.
– I think it is crucial to call things by their proper names if you want to fight this.
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