Police to prioritise 'everyday crime'

'Everyday' crime - non-violent crime such as house burglary and car theft - is falling in Sweden, but so is the police's ability to catch the perpetrators.Car theft has fallen 25% since 2000, while thefts of items from cars has fallen by 15% in the same period. Burglary has also fallen steadily since 1997.

This sort of non-violent crime has long been the bane of the Swedish police, with arrests made in just a few percent of cases.The National Police Board recently instructed local police authorities to toughen their stance and prioritise everyday crimes. By 2007, the Board says, the number of criminals charged in the category should be double the level of 2004.But after the first six months, things are not going to plan, with little evidence of positive trends, said Anders Tegsten at the National Police Board.

A key reason, he believes, is the increase in violent crime over the last twelve months which has taken up resources. In total, the reports of physical attacks increased 21% between 2000 and 2004. The figures for reports of rape have climbed just as dramatically. "In some months the priorities and resources have shifted and everyday crime does not have the same attention," said Tegsten.The clear-up rate for everyday crime is declined over the last ten years. Factors such as prosecutors' willingness to press charges for fewer crimes per criminal, despite the fact that they may be suspected of more, appear to be contributing to the fall.

However, from the beginning of the year a new law comes into force which is expected to dramatically improve the police's chances of solving more cases using DNA samples. Anyone held on reasonable suspicion of a crime will be required to provide a sample of their DNA, a move which Olof Egerstedt, head of the National Criminal Technical Laboratory, has called "a milestone in Swedish crime-fighting history".

"There are great opportunities, but there is a lot which needs to work in the police organisation for the law to have any significance," said Anders Tegsten.

I wonder why no explanations for the rising crime rate have been provided, not even the usual bullcrap that I'm accustomed to. I remember reading some time ago, that the dramatic increase of rapes in Malmö (if I remember correctly) was said to be because of increased willingness of women to report the crimes. None of that here. Anyway, whatever the cause, we can see Swedish society becoming a more violent and a more brutal place to live in. Perhaps it is because of all the racists in Sweden (Swedish racists, of course, who else)?

Anti-racism organisation faces funding cut

Despite the fact that no financial irregularities have been found at the Centre Against Racism, Sweden's Board of Integration wants the funding it receives from the state to be reconsidered.

The Centre, which is an umbrella organisation for the government's work against racism, hit the headlines in the summer after an investigation by daily paper Svenska Dagbladet. The organisation was accused of being wasteful with public money and of doing nothing since it was formed in the autumn of 2003. Indeed, the only high profile achievement of the Centre was its controversial criticism in April of the promotion of an ice cream which it deemed to be racist. It slammed GB Glace for associating its new 'Nogger Black' ice cream with black youth culture, including using graffiti-style writing in the ad.

Many representatives of the Centre Against Racism rejected Svenska Dagbladet's criticism but Minister for Integration Jens Orback demanded an inquiry into the organisation's affairs.

This has now been produced by an independent auditing firm which said that the accounting and financial routines "have generally worked satisfactorily". Nor did the firm see anything wrong with the Centre Against Racism's expenditure of 330,000 kronor on furniture and interior design at its 180 square metres of office space in central Stockholm, saying that it was "not in an especially luxurious style".

But at the same time, the auditor noted that board-level conflicts had negatively affected the Centre Against Racism's work. There was also criticism of some "technical errors in the book-keeping" and a lack of knowledge of its members.

In response, the Board of Integration has said that the state funding which the organisation receives is too large in relation to the work it is expected to do.The government has set aside a total of 5.5 million kronor for the Centre Against Racism for 2005. A more conclusive report on the organisation will be submitted in the spring of 2006.

France and in particular her capital city, Paris, is one of the worst hit areas of Europe by failed, flawed and irresponsible immigration policies, that are driven by an unrealistic and utopian ideology. Unrest in the immigrant-dominated suburbs continues:


"More violence rocks Paris suburb

Many cars have been gutted by fire during the riotsViolence has flared for a fourth night in a north-east Paris suburb, but not on the same scale as before.
Six policemen were injured and 11 people arrested in the latest confrontations between angry youths and police in Clichy-sous-Bois.

Police said one or more teargas canisters were hurled into a mosque from an unidentified source.
Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy is to meet the parents of two teenagers whose deaths sparked the riots.
Saturday saw hundreds of mourners pay homage to the teenagers by holding a peaceful procession in Clichy-sous-Bois, which has a large immigrant population.

The authorities denied rumours that policemen were chasing the two boys who were electrocuted on Thursday after entering an electricity sub-station.

Flowers now lie near the spot where Ziad, aged 17, and Banou, 15, died.
An official investigation into the boys' deaths is under way.
A third young man is seriously ill in hospital.

The BBC's Alasdair Sandford in Paris says many in the suburb do not believe the authorities' account that the two boys were not being chased by police.
Mr Sarkozy has promised to send special police units into difficult suburbs around France to stamp out violence.

But local people in Clichy accuse him of heightening the tensions with inflammatory language.
During Saturday's march in memory of the dead teenagers, there were calls for the government to tackle discrimination against immigrant communities such as theirs. "

My local newspaper, Helsingin Sanomat, decided to jump to the conclusion that the boys infact had been chased by the police, before any investigation had been conducted. The argument of the mob must have been convincing.

They also, however, report that the clashes have obtained 'a religious touch' as there were reportedly tear gas cans thrown into a local mosque. The locals blame the police, and while the police does not outright deny these claims, they do no believe that the police were responsible. Reportedly, the opposition and various human rights organisations have criticized the French government, and claimed that the hardened measures against crime are to blame for these measures.

I find it all rather ridiculous; first of all, assuming that the two youngsters were chased by the police, I fail to see the implications of this. They were running from the police, which to me would indicate that there was a motive for this action. I suspect this motive was the fear of being caught. Now why do people usually not want to be caught by the police? When they have done something or when they are innocent? The function of the police force is to prevent crime and to catch criminals. If these youngsters were criminals, the police force would simply have been doing their job in chasing them. I understand and realize that it was very unfortunate that these teenaged boys were killed, but the police force is hardly to blame, unless the rioters want the police to stop doing their job. Is that what they want? The answer to that question might be tricky.

The article in Helsingin Sanomat states, that critics of the hardened policy on crime in the suburbs are saying that it has not solved any of the problems of the suburbs, that people in the suburbs face unemployment, poverty and have no hope for the future. The problem is that France has taken in so many migrants, that it is just simply beyond the point of the state being able to provide high living standards for everyone. Again the response of the media and the 'progressive' institutions has sent the message, that the rioters (=3rd world immigrants, probably mostly Muslim) cannot be held accountable for their acts, and that it is the native population (in this case the French) that are responsible. When nothing is expected of the immigrants and nothing they do is their fault, they will do nothing and everything, because they are not held accountable. France has allowed herself to slide into this position. Some think France is on the verge of civil upheaval. By looking at what is going on in Clichy-sous-Bois, one can only wonder what tomorrow will bring.

Think again. Below are some recent news from a changing Nordic.

In Sweden:

The Local:

Published: 28th October 2005 18:26 CET
Swede "planned suicide attack"
Police in Sarajevo have said that the Swede held in the city on terror charges was to be a suicide bomber. On Thursday Danish police arrested four men who they suspect were to have helped him."In the apartment where he lived, a videotape was found on which the Swede and the other guy prayed to Allah for forgiveness, because they were going to blow themselves up," said journalist Mirsad Fasic at the Sarajevo paper, Slobodan Bosna.In its latest edition the paper, which says it has sources within the police, wrote that the Swede and the Turkish man who is also being held had lived in Sarajevo for a month and had moved between three apartments.As well as the video, police are said to have discovered 30 kilos of explosives, a belt for carrying out a suicide attack and weapons in a raid.The target for the attack is unknown.The Bosnian who rented out the last apartment to the men was also arrested a week ago but has now been released and is no longer suspected of involvement.The 18 year old Swede comes from a town in the west of Sweden, where he has been registered since the summer. He is thought to have been born in Serbia and moved to Sweden with his parents at the beginning of the 1990s.Slobodan Bosna reported that it was Sweden's security police, Säpo, which tipped off their Bosnian counterparts. So far Säpo has only confirmed that an 18 year old Swede is in jail in Bosnia."Other than that we have no comment," said information officer Jacob Larsson, who refused to say if there has been an investigation in Sweden into the 18 year old or if he has had contact with the suspected terrorists, all aged between 16 and 20, in Denmark. One of those is a Danish citizen and three come from unspecified countries in the Middle East."It is my firm belief that there is strong evidence that they were in the process of planning an act of terrorism," said police chief Jörn Bro in Glostrum, Denmark, to the news agency Ritzau.According to the police, the terror attack was to take place "somewhere in Europe and in the near future". Part of the material seized indicated that it was to be a suicide attack.The tip-off to Danish police came from Bosnia and Jörn Bro said there is a close link between the jailed Swede and the four in Denmark.After having initially declined to meet representatives of the Swedish embassy in Sarajevo, the 18 year old met Consular officials on Wednesday. However, the allegations against him were not discussed.

I think we all know exactly how Swedish this 'Swede' is. The Local, like many other media outlets, are careful about telling us more about the identity of the terrorist. People might assume that these occur more frequently within some ethnic and cultural groups than others.

In Denmark:

Suspected Suicide Terrorists arrested:

Four quiet, well-behaved teenagers were arrested in Copenhagen on Thursday, on suspicion of planning a terrorist attack. The boys, who are aged between 16 and 20, are all of Mid-Eastern descent and deeply devout Muslims. The police say that the action was planned for 'a European target within the near future', and some of the items found indicated that it was likely a suicide bombing that was in the works. Swedish newspaper Expressen reported on Friday that possible targets were the US or the British embassy in Sarajevo. The four arrested are described as inconspicuous and well-behaved young men. 'They are deeply religious and very responsible,' said Bro. All four are born and bred in Denmark, although only one has Danish citizenship. The police said none of them came from deeply religious families. Their friends and relatives had become bemused in recent weeks as the boys had begun to meet at various mosques to pray, adopting a radical tone that was worrying to some of their relatives.

Times are a-changing. These are some of the things we have to 'deal with' as Mona Sahlin once so well put it. Also innocent Finland was recently shocked by the existance of Terrorist-linked groups in the city of Turku. Norway is the home of Mullah Krekar, once (and still?) the leader of Ansar al-Islam. It makes me feel so much better to know that even Finland has finally become a truly multicultural dream land with its very own terrorist cells and everything.

The presidential candidates are starting their campaigning in earnest. Sauli Niinistö of the National Coalition made a bold move in his campaign recently by marketing himself as "Työväen Presidentti", a president of the working class.

This has angered and amused the left, and everybody else. Why? Sauli Niinistö is seemingly trying end the agitation between the supposed classes in Finland, he feels that we are all part of the Finnish working class, employers, employees, students, everybody. The left is angry, I think, because Niinistö isn't playing according to the rules. He should play the bourgeoise business man and let the left keep their monopoly on the working class, they must be thinking. The left wants to agitate the so called working class against the 'wealthy' segment of society, that is after all how they make their living. Perhaps the left are scared, that people will work towards a common Finnish future?

I find Niinistö's move to be refreshing, a welcome breath of fresh air into the presidential race, which seems or seemed to be over before it even started. Way to go Sauli.

Personally I am still unsure who to vote for. It seems so useless because Tarja Halonen has such a lead. I am split between Soini of the True Finns, whose views are closest to my heart, and Niinistö, who at least has a chance at the presidency. The voting is still many months away, ample time to reflect on the matter.

I recently saw a program on the BBC with Mark Mardell, who was in Finland. It was interesting to see how outsiders viewed Finland as "one big, happy family" and "too good to be true".

Here are some excerpts from the BBC website:

-"TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE?
It is one of the last bright, sunny, crisp autumn days in Finland before the snows arrive.
The children at the school we are filming at are almost too good to be true, blonde hair in neat plaits, full of energy but not too boisterous, amazingly well-behaved. Sometimes it seems the whole of Finland is like that - just too goody-goody to be believable. "

-"RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES
In fact, I expect to see Messrs Brown and Blair pop up heavily disguised in blond wigs and snow shoes.
The mantra of these politicians is spoken quite naturally by every citizen here. They will tell you how it is important for the state to "invest" in children and how the high skills, hi-tech road is the only one to follow, and unfortunately that means high taxes.
I've lost count of the number of pamphlets I've read by New Labour politicians trying to recapture some lost spirit of Owenite socialism when people cared for each other and realised they had "rights as well as responsibilities".
Such stuff is again on the lips of ordinary Finns who do claim to see each other as part of a big family who have a duty to look after each other and give something back. "

-"Just how different Finland is comes to me after interviewing the prime minister in his rather lovely offices in a main square overlooked by a beautiful, white domed Lutheran cathedral.
I have a few "pieces to camera" to do, so put my bag containing files, personal organiser, keys and camera down by the steps into the PM's office. Foolishly I leave it there.
When I rush back in a panic three-quarters of an hour later, it's still there. Not only un-nicked but there's no cordon thrown around it, no police about to blow it up.
Last time I left my bag in Downing Street it not surprisingly caused a panic even though it had been through the full security system. Now that's what I call a different social model. "

Of course we in Finland have our differences and our problems, but it is quite striking to see the way in which we are seen from the outside, I did not expect a Brit to be so surprised.

However, after the general good feeling of having my nationalist ego stroked passed, I sank into some deeper thoughts that were aroused by the article. Basically my thoughts revolved around what makes us different, why we are different and so on. The kind of mentality described by Mardell is something which is, or at least until recently was, common in all of the Nordic countries. Has this changed, I thought, as some of us, such as Sweden, have become increasingly multicultural with a fading value consensus and increasing racial and religious tension and immigrant-related problems in general?

In todays edition of Helsingin Sanomat I found an article concerning the fact, that the immigrant gangs of Stocholm have stolen hundreds of millions of Swedish kronors this year alone. Also, not so long ago, following a riot between immigrant youth (mostly Syrian) and Swedish police in Södertälje, a police station was peppered with automatic rifle fire. This does not sound anything like the utopia described by Mardell, but it looks and sounds like an American tv-series. This just doesn't happen here in the Nordic countries, or so I thought. So what has changed in Sweden or what makes Finland different from Sweden? For starters, Finland has an immigrant population of about 2%, while in Sweden that number is five-fold. Yet, integration problems are also quite evident in Finland, and we can see what is going on in Sweden.

Finns have invested in their children, because they are the future. However, lately, there is the trend of investing in immigrants and refugees and counting on them to take us forward. I just don't see the same kind of dividends paying off from this investment. The Nordic society I grew up in, where there was a great sense of rights, but also responsibilities, is quickly eroding. I can only hope Finland would see Sweden as an example and learn from her mistakes. I can only hope that we will continue to invest in our children instead of investing in the children of others and that we will remain what we strived for so long to become. Sweden has sent us a clear message: multicultural society is not a happy one, or a united one. Integration and assimilation to a great extent is necessary, but Sweden is now faced with the dilemma of integrating hundreds of thousands of culturally (as well as ethnically) distant people, hostile to Swedish culture and society. Although I am not a big fan or any organized religion, I wish the victims of a failed utopian experiment to rest in peace.

In the latest issue (21.10.2005) of Suomen Kuvalehti, which I happen to prescribe to, there was a thought-provoking article by Tommi Laitio about Dutch author Geert Mak, “one of the top names of the Dutch leftist intelligentsia” as SK describes him. Reading this article provoked all kinds of thoughts in me.

On the other hand, Mak condemns the killing of political figures and movie directors, the attacks against homosexuals and other issues related with Muslim immigration and integration in Holland, but as expected, the blame is laid squarely on the Dutch government and the Dutch nation. Holland has finally, after a long sleep of ignorance and denial, began to question whether a liberal multicultural society really is the ideal and the utopia it has been made out to be. As the article quite clearly states, votes for anti-immigration parties and politicians has been rising steadily in correlation with the number of immigrants residing in the country. This has also been going on in neighbouring Belgium, in Britain, France and all Western European countries I can think of that are faced with the same problem. Holland, however, the very epitome of a multicultural welfare state, has seen some of the worst problems. The murder of anti-immigration and particularly anti-Islam politician Pim Fortuyn, the murder of Theo Van Gogh, the attacks on gays and lesbians, the fact that all politicians critical of the lenient immigration policies and of Islam (such as Ayaan Hirsi Ali, Geert Wilders) need body guards and live in secret hideouts, are issues that are all part of present day Holland and much of Western Europe in general. Of course, these are the issues that have been reported far and wide outside of Holland. However, in Holland, “newspapers report on an almost weekly basis of clashes.”

Mak, despite these incidents, wants to work towards compromise (something which he sees as a very typical Dutch trait) and reconciliation. He is against the sort of statements made by Ali Hirsi, questioning the compatibility of Islam and Western society. The integration problems are, according to Mak, because of savings in education of immigrants and immigrant housing. Also work with youths has been receiving less than adequate funding. Now, I wonder, do immigrants in Holland attend different schools than Dutch kids? Do they provide their own housing, and does their housing by the state differ from that of other poor Dutch people? Is the funding pulled specifically from immigrant districts and not from other districts as well? I would assume, resting on my humble knowledge of things, that the answer to most questions is more or less “no”. If the answer was "yes", I would be worried. Immigrants have exactly the same chances and opportunities as others do, and there most probably are support groups and other organizations intended specifically to help immigrants succeed and perhaps even integrate. I guess that is the problem, the immigrants are not privileged enough in Mak’s opinion. In my opinion, the blame cannot and should not be laid on the Dutch people (perhaps on the Dutch government for starting the mess) as there are a few phenomena which I can think of, that at least partially explain the situation and how it became what it is. Regarding school: When 2/3 of school-aged children in Amsterdam (according to the article) have an immigrant-background, what exactly are they meant to integrate into? Which society? I would guess that the majority of those children are Muslims, and they never need to leave their mostly Muslim surroundings, even when in Holland. Where is the need or indeed the incentive to integrate for them, when the society they are meant to integrate into is becoming the minority and already is so among their peers? As for immigrant housing and immigrant districts, I can see a couple of problems here: firstly, the phenomena of ghettofication is quite widespread in Western Europe. Immigrants of similar cultural backgrounds concentrate in one area, and so that area becomes an immigrant district. These districts and communities then develop in the way that they open shops selling items they are used to, they open Islamic schools and mosques, further isolating themselves from mainstream society. There is no integration there, it is splintering Western European societies into “us” and “them”. Unemployment in these districts is typically high, as is crime and much other deviance. Then the issue is blamed on lack of funding. OECD recently blamed Swedish policy for creating these ghettoes and that they are the cause of high immigrant unemployment in Sweden. What do you, in all honesty, imagine would happen if Swedish municipalities did not allow immigrants to move from one location to another, but forced them to stay in the housing they had been provided with? Dutch districts have ‘surprisingly’ survived better without all these ill effects. As is typical of people such as Mak, he points out the problem (which him and his likes are responsible of creating) but offers no solutions.

Geert Mak, who was active in a leftist student organisation in the 1960’s and 70’s, does have the sense to admit, that “the greatest mistakes of those times was the underestimation of national identity and leadership.” What has changed, I wonder? Mak also thinks that politicians are making the situation worse by talking about it, which quite a typical view of multiculturalists, as far as I have gathered. As a matter of fact, Geert Mak seems to have some real issues with freedom of speech and freedom of opinion, which becomes evident in the article: “The problems become worse, when freedom of speech is being interpreted as the right to say what you want. You can’t say what you want.” I think that’s funny, because I was under the impression that within certain limits, you could do exactly that; say what you wanted. If these forbidden things are being said by public figures, how come the law has not come crashing down on them in our politically correct societies? Perhaps they are within their legal rights (for the time being) in expressing their doubts and criticism? If they are within their rights, does Geert Mak think that freedom of speech should be limited further?

Geert Mak also makes the usual, nonetheless arrogant, statement, that basically things have come to this point, there is no going back and that its time to deal with it. How it angers me, that the same people who are ruining/have ruined the safe, peaceful and European welfare state are now telling us to deal with it. Mona Sahlin, former Swedish minister of integration is known to have said "Like it or not, this is the new Sweden", the same person that also stated Swedes (at least those critical of multicultural society) are envious of immigrants, as they have a culture and a history, unlike the Swedes. How do these people get into national governments? “We grieved the permanent ending of the homely and secure Holland and of our era based on optimism,” Geert Mak writes in his new book. Just to top things off, Geert Mak makes the statement that in reality the Dutch have not been tolerant, they have been indifferent. “In real tolerance there are also limits. Some of the greatest victims of our indifference have been Arab women,” Mak goes on. The Dutch carry a heavy burden, when they seem to be the root cause for the misery in the world. It has been exactly the likes of Geert Mak, that have so fiercely resisted any attempt to implement any means to actually integrate hundreds of thousands of culturally and ethnically completely foreign people into Dutch society. Sounds like a task doomed to fail, but they made it so much worse.