Swedish military to help police fight gang violence

Sweden’s prime minister said Friday that the military will soon assist the police with some duties to help deal with an unprecedented crime wave that has shocked the Scandinavian country with almost daily shootings and bombings.

Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said his centre-right government will announce proposals next Thursday for how the armed forces would work with police. The country’s national police chief, Anders Thornberg, clarified earlier Friday that members of the armed forces won’t be given “direct” policing tasks.

Still, getting the military involved in crime-fighting in any capacity would be a highly unusual step for Sweden, underscoring the severity of the gang violence that has claimed a dozen lives across the country this month, including teenagers and innocent bystanders.

“The police cannot do all the work themselves,” Kristersson said after a meeting with the heads of the armed forces and the national police. He said the armed forces could perhaps help the national police with, for example, knowledge of explosives.