Danish politicians are fed up with gang violence spilling over from Sweden—and they are clear on what they see as the cause.
Ten years after then-Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfelt (Moderates) in a speech told Swedes to “open your hearts” to migrants, Denmark is suffering the fallout of the neighboring country’s liberal migration policies. A week ago, Denmark implemented border controls on trains coming across the Øresund bridge after two shootings and a bombing involving perpetrators from Sweden. On Wednesday, another Swedish citizen was arrested in the Danish capital, carrying two hand grenades.
“Sweden is a frightening example of what happens when too little attention is given to immigration and law enforcement policies,” Danish MP Preben Bang Henriksen told Aftonbladet. “Neither the conservative nor the Social Democratic governments have addressed the problem,”
“The reality right now is that not only Denmark but large parts of the Nordics are feeling the consequences of long-standing failed immigration and legal policies in Sweden, and we take that extremely seriously,” Danish justice minister Peter Hummelgaard told the media this week.
For decades, Sweden had Western Europe’s most generous migration policies—something that only changed after the center-right government, supported by the Sweden Democrats, came to power in 2022. The country has taken in over 2 million migrants since the turn of the century. Of Sweden’s 10 million inhabitants, 20% were born abroad. While the tide appears to have turned, with the country now showing a net emigration, imported organized crime remains.
The failure to control migration has resulted in a shocking increase in violent crime in the previously homogenous and peaceful Scandinavian country. As we previously reported, Sweden has the highest per-capita rate of gun violence in the European Union, with 363 fatal shootings last year—compared to six in the three other Nordic countries combined.
Criminal conflicts spilling over to Denmark are nothing new. Back in the 1990s, criminal motorcycle gangs crossed the strait in violent turf wars. But today’s situation is different, Danish politicians emphasize: “That Swedish child soldiers are now coming to Denmark and shooting on our streets is an entirely new problem that we take very seriously,” said Danish MP Bjørn Brandenborg.
“Criminal groups in Denmark have hired Swedish child soldiers—that’s what I call them—to carry out criminal activities,” Hummelgaard said in a press conference on Monday. Denmark has handled 25 such cases since April, he said.
Hummelgaard has reached out to Swedish media to get another message across—not to politicians but to would-be cross-strait criminals: The Danish judicial system has tougher sentences and a higher rate of convictions than the Swedish.
“And you won’t get off easy just because you’re a minor,” he said.
Last year, Sweden criminalized involving anyone under 18 in criminal activity. But more needs to be done on the judicial side, Hummelgaard says. For example, Sweden has no equivalent to Denmark’s bandepakke (gang package)—an automatic doubling of sentences for crimes committed in connection with a gang.
“I am fully convinced that harsh penalties are necessary when one commits serious crimes, even at a young age,” Hummelgard said.
Denmark has successfully used other means to deal with migrant youth crime as well. Being convicted of a crime can result in an immigrant’s entire family being deported. “It’s about making life as difficult as possible for criminals,” he said.
Sweden’s justice minister Gunnar Strömmer puts some of the responsibility on the Danish gangs that hire young contract killers, but admits his country has to bear part of the burden.
“That is also why we are now changing our policy in a broader sense, and we are doing so largely with Denmark as a model,” he said. “In practice, we are now implementing the Danish gang packages.”
Strömmer will meet with his Danish counterpart in Copenhagen next week to discuss increased cooperation between the two countries’ law enforcement agencies. A joint collaborative force in Stockholm, including Finnish and Norwegian law enforcement, is already in the works.
“I am aware that things have started to happen in Sweden, and I respect that they have a longer democratic process,” Hummelgaard said. “But I don’t want to hide the fact that Sweden has been warned about this for many years.”
