Zero tolerance for crime
The Moderate Party, which is providing the incoming Prime Minister after Göran Persson files his resignation today (effective at the beginning of October) has issued the following statement on zero tolerance on crime. It makes interesting reading and gives a hint about the future restrictive drug policy in Sweden.
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Our philosophy is rooted in humanity - because we believe in people. That is why we put people before systems. We believe people can grow through personal effort, want to live independent lives and want to take responsibility for their actions. Our platform is based on the universal human right to freedom. Few things restrict people's freedom as much as the consequences of violence, drugs and criminality in society. We believe fighting crime is one the most important public tasks in the effort to create a safe and secure society. It must be allocated the necessary resources.
More police
While the number of police officers increased by 889 between 1980 and 2003, the number of officers on patrol duty has been cut in half. Rural areas have been hit especially hard by the cutbacks. That is why we need more police officers and more civilian staff. Our goal is to have 20,000 police officers in Sweden by 2010.
Modern police officers are subjected to severe trials if they want to do a good job. The police need clearer strategies for enhancing the effectiveness of their work. The entire police education system must be reviewed, from admission to advanced education. We believe the composition of the police force should reflect the population in Sweden. Covert wire-tapping - bugging - should be allowed when there is suspicion of serious crime, as long as a court order has been granted. The DNA register should be expanded.
Tougher sentences
It is important that the courts impose sentences that are perceived as reasonable. The punishment for the same type of crime should be the same in different parts of the country. We believe the entire penalty scale should be used. Tougher sentencing is needed, especially for violent crimes. Fines should be increased. We want more stringent rules on deportation of aliens who have been sentenced to punishments more severe than fines. Victims of crime, especially violent crime, should be treated with knowledge and empathy and be given genuine, practical assistance. There should be crime victim assistants on duty 24 hours a day at every police station in the country.
Youth offenders
A life of crime rarely starts in adulthood - the seeds are planted much earlier. Sanctions in the form of care provided by social services do not work - about 70 percent of youth offenders re-offend. This sanction should be abolished and replaced with things like youth community service. The Prison and Probation Service should be responsible for youth offenders. Weekend homes should be introduced as a sanction for young offenders and we should test the use of electronic monitoring and ankle bracelets.
Early detection
Early detection of drug abuse or abuse of doping substances is extremely important to eradicating addiction among youth. We support allowing drug testing of young people age twelve and up if substance abuse is suspected.
The Prison and Probation Service
We believe the Prison and Probation Service should be characterised by security, meaningful occupation for inmates and preparation for their release back into society. Aimed at eliminating the current shortage of prison space, we support allowing privately run institutions on a trial basis. We also believe that the modern monitoring technology now available should be used more extensively.
Our solutions:
• Make fighting crime a public priority. This is the state's primary task in providing citizens a safe and secure society.
• Courts should hand down tougher sentences than today.
• There should be 20,000 police officers in Sweden by 2010.
• Abolish social services as a sanction for youth offenders and instead test weekend homes, ankle bracelets and electronic monitoring supervised by the Prison and Probation Service.
• Deal with the shortage of prison space by allowing privately run institutions on a trial basis.
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Our philosophy is rooted in humanity - because we believe in people. That is why we put people before systems. We believe people can grow through personal effort, want to live independent lives and want to take responsibility for their actions. Our platform is based on the universal human right to freedom. Few things restrict people's freedom as much as the consequences of violence, drugs and criminality in society. We believe fighting crime is one the most important public tasks in the effort to create a safe and secure society. It must be allocated the necessary resources.
More police
While the number of police officers increased by 889 between 1980 and 2003, the number of officers on patrol duty has been cut in half. Rural areas have been hit especially hard by the cutbacks. That is why we need more police officers and more civilian staff. Our goal is to have 20,000 police officers in Sweden by 2010.
Modern police officers are subjected to severe trials if they want to do a good job. The police need clearer strategies for enhancing the effectiveness of their work. The entire police education system must be reviewed, from admission to advanced education. We believe the composition of the police force should reflect the population in Sweden. Covert wire-tapping - bugging - should be allowed when there is suspicion of serious crime, as long as a court order has been granted. The DNA register should be expanded.
Tougher sentences
It is important that the courts impose sentences that are perceived as reasonable. The punishment for the same type of crime should be the same in different parts of the country. We believe the entire penalty scale should be used. Tougher sentencing is needed, especially for violent crimes. Fines should be increased. We want more stringent rules on deportation of aliens who have been sentenced to punishments more severe than fines. Victims of crime, especially violent crime, should be treated with knowledge and empathy and be given genuine, practical assistance. There should be crime victim assistants on duty 24 hours a day at every police station in the country.
Youth offenders
A life of crime rarely starts in adulthood - the seeds are planted much earlier. Sanctions in the form of care provided by social services do not work - about 70 percent of youth offenders re-offend. This sanction should be abolished and replaced with things like youth community service. The Prison and Probation Service should be responsible for youth offenders. Weekend homes should be introduced as a sanction for young offenders and we should test the use of electronic monitoring and ankle bracelets.
Early detection
Early detection of drug abuse or abuse of doping substances is extremely important to eradicating addiction among youth. We support allowing drug testing of young people age twelve and up if substance abuse is suspected.
The Prison and Probation Service
We believe the Prison and Probation Service should be characterised by security, meaningful occupation for inmates and preparation for their release back into society. Aimed at eliminating the current shortage of prison space, we support allowing privately run institutions on a trial basis. We also believe that the modern monitoring technology now available should be used more extensively.
Our solutions:
• Make fighting crime a public priority. This is the state's primary task in providing citizens a safe and secure society.
• Courts should hand down tougher sentences than today.
• There should be 20,000 police officers in Sweden by 2010.
• Abolish social services as a sanction for youth offenders and instead test weekend homes, ankle bracelets and electronic monitoring supervised by the Prison and Probation Service.
• Deal with the shortage of prison space by allowing privately run institutions on a trial basis.
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