Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson announced Thursday moves to accelerate the enactment of a law that would allow wiretapping of children under 15 to combat organized crime in the country.
The law would allow wiretapping for crimes that carry a prison sentence longer than four years, though a higher degree of suspicion would be used before pursuing the wiretapping than would be used for adults who allegedly committed similar crimes. The method of wiretapping would be “secretly monitoring phone calls and electronic communications” of young people’s cell phones. The law is projected to take effect in fall 2025, which is accelerated from its summer 2026 proposal.
Children’s rights groups have been critical of the government’s response to a wave of bombings in Stockolm. Binaji Marouf, head of communications at advocacy group Bris, acknowledged that the increasing number of young children joining the criminal networks and the number of explosions must be reversed. Nevertheless, she argued that the proposed laws would not achieve that aim but rather encourage criminal organizations to entice younger children into criminal activities.
The Swedish Council Against Organized Crime has released its first comprehensive national strategy in response to the waves of crime. The strategy includes five pillars, including:
- ending criminal careers;
- reducing possession of illegal firearms and explosives;
- destroying the criminal economy;
- building robustness against undue influence; and
- safeguarding systems for reliable information and efficient provisions of information.
Sweden has experienced an uptick in bombings across the country, with seven in September 2024 to over 30 in January 2025. Kristersson stated that in Stockholm, the police are being reinforced with 100 additional officers to deter violence. The violence includes bombings caused by children as young as those aged 12 to 14, who are enticed by older gang members to commit such acts.
