Parents stop efforts against delinquent children

Of: Christoffer Nilsson, Johanna Rapp, Mattias Sandberg

Published: October 15, 2020 at 07.00

36 minors are included in the secret police survey on the criminal networks that govern Stockholm.

Aftonbladet’s review shows how social efforts for designated gang children are hampered by parents.

– Society has failed, says the police officer Martín Lazar.

The boy is eleven years old when he says that violence solves all problems.

The first investigation by social services begins after alarms for robbery and felony. It ends effortlessly because the family refuses to support.

The alarm bells keep ringing. Police are concerned about the boy’s close contact with criminals. He goes to school, threatens to kill a student, and is suspected of battery.

New investigations begin but end without action. The family, described as committed and responsible for a safe home environment, rejects support.

At 15, the boy is deeply involved in one of Stockholm’s most violent gangs and, according to police, they use him to commit crimes. You are arrested for a felony drug offense and a felony. The police claim that the child’s life is in danger.

He is forcibly detained, according to LVU.

19 of 22 in previous contact with the social

He is one of the 36 minors included in the secret police survey of 676 people connected to criminal networks, which Aftonbladet has read.

The youngest are 13 years old. Most are considered to be running boys, while some have already been given more important roles in the underworld.

Aftonbladet’s review shows that:

• 22 of them have been convicted of crimes. Several have been convicted of serious crimes such as kidnapping, aggravated battery, aggravated drug crime, and aggravated robbery.

• 19 of the 22 convicted have previously been in contact with social services.

• Social services investigations are often completed without action.

• Due to youth or family refusal of care, volunteer efforts have not been possible.

• Several have drug addictions and schools have warned of high absenteeism.

Botkyrka municipal policeman Martin Lazar explains how the gang has studied the recruitment of children.

– They identify who they can hire and try to quickly build a relationship to show: we see you, we care. They buy the loyalty of children. Not big sums, but a hundred for food and refreshments, he says.

According to him, then it goes fast. From simple tasks like guarding to storing weapons and drugs.

– They do not have the opportunity to withdraw, then there will be consequences. It is human trafficking. Gangs make the most of children, he says.

In recent years, attention has been paid to several cases of underage gang members.

In a large drug case involving several members of the Vårberg-Skärholmen network, a member was also recently prosecuted for human trafficking, suspected of having recruited two minors as couriers. The prosecutor describes the man as a prominent figure on the network.

After the fatal shooting inside a pizzeria in Rinkeby 2018, when a 17-year-old was convicted of murder, a police officer testified that among the gangs in the area there is an expression that “chest a four to become a 100 years” . With the promise of a prominent place in gangs, youth are urged to commit crimes and take the maximum sentence of four years of closed juvenile care, according to testimony.

Parents deny efforts

Like the 17-year-old who was convicted of murder, the minors included in the survey have ended up on the radar of the police and social services from a very young age. There are two clear patterns in social services research. Time and time again, they have ended effortlessly. In cases where the reasons are justified, it is because the parents or the young person refused.

– We have a category of individuals where we do not work with voluntary measures, where we have to adjust the legislation. In some cases, we have to force family support. In our mission, we have pets with certain individuals. Once there are mandated efforts through LVU, it is often too late, says Martin Lazar.

According to him, support is often rejected out of shame or because parents have difficulty realizing what the young person’s situation is.

The criticism that there is too much of a gap between voluntary measures and compulsory care does not come only from the police.

“A big problem”

Following Aftonbladet’s introductory articles in “Redes” magazine, Social Affairs Ministers Mikael Damberg and Morgan Johansson wrote in a discussion article that the National Board of Health and Welfare had been commissioned to investigate various forms of interim measures .

Jan Jönsson (L), the Stockholm Council of Social Citizens, also wants the opportunities for various initiatives without consent to increase.

– This is something that many social workers I come across address. You do your research and then there is nothing for the parents or the young person to say no. This is a big problem and current legislation is based on voluntariness, he says.

The boy who was once eleven years old and said that everything could be solved by force was sentenced in 2018 to the care of minors for the serious crime of drugs and the crime of firearms. It was considered that the care could be carried out at home. Just weeks after the verdict, he is suspected of murdering another man. He was arrested but released due to lack of evidence. The act is no longer formally suspected.

Last summer, he was sentenced to juvenile prison for robbery. He will soon be 18 years old.

Footnote: Aftonbladet has sought out the 17-year-old in the article and his family through the young man’s legal representative.

READ MORE ARTICLES IN THE REVIEW

► UNIQUE MAPPING: Here are the gangs that spread fear in Stockholm
► The 21-year-old leads the “Husby Hyenas” gang
► The shootings in Stockholm are records: here are all the facts 2020
► The gang is suspected of fooling the elderly by the millions – lived a lavish life at Stureplan
► Full Review Networks: Read All Articles Here

Published: October 15, 2020 at 07.00

READ ON