{"id":2570153,"date":"2026-02-15T11:42:02","date_gmt":"2026-02-15T16:42:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/sweden-slashes-murder-rates-by-63-percent-all-they-had-to-do-was-empower-cops-and-ignore-libs\/"},"modified":"2026-02-15T11:46:08","modified_gmt":"2026-02-15T16:46:08","slug":"sweden-slashes-murder-rates-by-63-percent-all-they-had-to-do-was-empower-cops-and-ignore-libs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/sweden-slashes-murder-rates-by-63-percent-all-they-had-to-do-was-empower-cops-and-ignore-libs\/","title":{"rendered":"Sweden Slashes Murder Rates by 63 Percent &#8211; All They Had to Do Was Empower Cops and Ignore Libs"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">38<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fsweden-slashes-murder-rates-by-63-percent-all-they-had-to-do-was-empower-cops-and-ignore-libs%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2570153&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Sweden expanded police powers to crack down on criminal networks that recruit children as hitmen, a move that coincided with a rapid fall in violent crime but drew civil-liberties and UN criticism. In 2024 the government granted new enforcement tools, including safe zones that allow searches of vehicles and people without a clear crime suspicion, and expanded surveillance of youths. Police can now monitor the phones and internet of children under 15 if they are suspected of serious crime, and they can identify potential gang involvement through indicators like clothing brands. The Foxtrot Network, a Sweden-based gang, allegedly targeted children under 15 to avoid prosecution, leading to a law change that lowered the age of criminal responsibility for serious crimes from 15 to 13. The United States sanctioned the Foxtrot Network in 2025 for an attempted attack on the Israeli embassy in Stockholm, with the leader accused of ties to Iranian intelligence. Despite concerns about <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >racial profiling\u2014civil-rights campaigners argued<\/a> that safe zones mainly affected migrant-populated neighborhoods\u2014the government reported a 63% drop in shootings in 2025 (147 shootings) from a 2022 peak of 390, and murder and manslaughter hitting a near-decade low, even as Sweden maintained one of the higher rates of gun-related deaths in the European Union. The measures were described by opponents as heavy-handed and by supporters as necessary to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/white-house-releases-list-of-president-trumps-accomplishments-and-it-is-historic\/\" title=\"White House Releases List of President Trump\u2019s Accomplishments \u2013  And It Is Historic!\">restore public safety<\/a>, according to reports cited from The Telegraph.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<section> \t\t\t\t<script>console.log(\"ad slot (AC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC2)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC3)\")<\/script><\/p>\n<p>Violent crime rates declined rapidly after Swedish police were given greater authority to crack down on criminal organizations that recruit children to become hitmen despite liberal outcries against the measures.<\/p>\n<p>Middle Eastern drug syndicates in Sweden recruited children as young as 12 years old through social media to carry out assassinations against rival gang members causing a massive peak in gun violence in 2022, the Telegraph <a href=\"https:\/\/www.telegraph.co.uk\/world-news\/2026\/02\/10\/how-sweden-defied-liberal-outrage-crush-the-gang-violence\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">reported<\/a>. The Swedish government granted new enforcement powers to the police in 2024 that civil liberty campaigners condemned and the United Nations called &ldquo;repugnant and illegal,&rdquo; according to the outlet.<\/p>\n<p>Despite this, the Swedish government saw 147 shootings in 2025, a 63 percent decline compared to the peak of 390 in 2022, per the outlet. Murder and manslaughter hit their lowest rate in almost a decade even though Sweden recently had the second-highest gun related deaths in the entire European Union.<\/p>\n<p>The greatest enforcement asset the Swedish police were able to use was creating <a href=\"https:\/\/www.krisinformation.se\/en\/hazards-and-risks\/disasters-and-incidents\/2023\/gang-related-violence\/security-zones\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">safe zones<\/a> in areas considered high risk to shootings or explosions, according to the Telegraph. This allows law enforcement to perform searches on vehicles and people, including children, without needing suspicion of a crime.<\/p>\n<p>Swedish police can, under their new authority, surveil the phones and internet of children under 15 if they are suspected of being involved in serious criminal activity, the outlet reported. Furthermore, police are now also able to pick out children through clues that suggest they are involved in gang activities, such as wearing certain clothing brands, according to the Telegraph.<\/p>\n<p> <script type=\"text\/javascript\"> \t\t\tif ( getCookie( \"ff_subbed\" ) ) { \t\t\t\tdocument.getElementById(\"stnvideo\").remove() \t\t\t} else { \t\t\t\tdocument.addEventListener(\"DOMContentLoaded\", function() { \t\t\t\t\tfunction loadScript(src) { \t\t\t\t\t\tconst script=document.createElement(\"script\"); \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.src=src; \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.async=true; \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.body.appendChild(script); \t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\tfunction findPreviousParagraph(selector, x) { \t\t\t\t\t\tconst targetElement=document.querySelector(selector); \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!targetElement) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.warn(\"Target element not found.\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\treturn null; \t\t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Get all <\/p>\n<p> elements in order as they appear in the document \t\t\t\t\t\tlet paragraphs=Array.from(document.querySelectorAll(\"p\"));  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Find the index of the last <\/p>\n<p> before the target element \t\t\t\t\t\tlet targetIndex=paragraphs.findIndex(p=> p.compareDocumentPosition(targetElement) & Node.DOCUMENT_POSITION_PRECEDING);  \t\t\t\t\t\tif (targetIndex===-1 || targetIndex <x) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.warn(\"Not enough paragraphs before the target element.\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\treturn null; \t\t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\treturn paragraphs[targetIndex - x]; \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Set up IntersectionObserver \t\t\t\t\tfunction observeElement(element) { \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!element) return;  \t\t\t\t\t\tconst observer=new IntersectionObserver( \t\t\t\t\t\t\t(entries)=> { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tentries.forEach(entry=> { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tif (entry.isIntersecting) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log(\"Paragraph is now visible:\", entry.target.textContent.trim()); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tloadScript(\"https:\/\/embed.sendtonews.com\/player3\/embedcode.js?fk=s28Az7AY\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tobserver.disconnect(); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t}, \t\t\t\t\t\t\t{ threshold: 0.5 } \/\/ Adjust threshold as needed \t\t\t\t\t\t);  \t\t\t\t\t\tobserver.observe(element); \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Find the 1st paragraph before #stnvideo and observe it \t\t\t\t\tlet paragraphToObserve=findPreviousParagraph(\"#stnvideo\", 2); \t\t\t\t\tobserveElement(paragraphToObserve); \t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> <\/p>\n<p>Civil rights campaigners decried these measures as racial profiling due to the fact most safe zones targeted heavily migrant-populated neighborhoods, per the outlet. Swedish police focused on these neighborhoods because migrant youth were the target demographic for gangs like the Foxtrot Network.<\/p>\n<p>Carin G&ouml;tblad, a Stockholm police chief, told the Telegraph in an interview that many of the foreign-born population responded positively to the new police measures.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;They wanted to have them, because they were scared and they trusted the police to use them,&rdquo; G&ouml;tblad told the outlet. &ldquo;They didn&rsquo;t feel they were being discriminated against, it was those from a Swedish background who were not so positive about it.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>The Foxtrot Network, a Sweden-based criminal organization, specifically targeted children under 15 to carry out hit jobs, knowing they could not be criminally prosecuted by Swedish law to dissuade gangs from using children, according to the Telegraph. Because of this, the Swedish government changed the law to lower the age of responsibility from 15 to 13 for serious crimes.<\/p>\n<p>The U.S. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.state.gov\/sanctioning-the-foxtrot-network\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">sanctioned<\/a> the Foxtrot Network in March 2025 for its attempted attack on the Israeli embassy in Stockholm and alleged the Foxtrot leader, Rawa Majid, cooperated with Iranian intelligence.<\/p>\n<div class=\"disclaimer\">\n<p><em>All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/union-membership-plummets-to-record-low\/\" title=\"Union Membership Plummets to Record Low\">legitimate news publisher<\/a> that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter&rsquo;s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact&nbsp;<a href=\"http:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/mailto:licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org\">licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div style=\"position: relative;\">\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-submit-correction inner-content\">\n<div class=\"correction-form\">\n<form style=\"display: none;\">\n<div class=\"sc-name-field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* Name<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"name\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"sc--field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* <\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<label>* Message<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t<textarea name=\"message\" required><\/textarea> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"required-message\" style=\"display: none; padding-bottom: 15px;\">* All fields are required.<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"submit\" value=\"Submit\" onclick=\"event.preventDefault(); firefly_sc();\"> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"firefly-sc-confirm\" style=\"display: none;\">Success!<\/div>\n<\/p><\/form>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p> \t\t<script> \t\t\tfunction firefly_sc() { \t\t\t\tif( typeof window.captchaPublicKey==typeof undefined ){ \t\t\t\t\tconsole.error('window.captchaPublicKey is not defined'); \t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\tgrecaptcha.execute( window.captchaPublicKey, { action: 'submit_correction' } ).then( function( token ) { \t\t\t\t\tvar opts={ \t\t\t\t\t\taction:    'firefly_sc_submit', \t\t\t\t\t\tname:      document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"name\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\t:     document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tmessage:   document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"message\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tpost_id:   firefly_post_id, \t\t\t\t\t\tcap_token: token \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tvar inputs=[ 'name', '', 'message' ];  \t\t\t\t\tfor( var i=0; i <inputs.length; i++ ) if( ! ( opts[inputs[i]]=document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"' + inputs[i] + '\"]' ).value ) ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .required-message' ).style.display='block'; \t\t\t\t\t\treturn; \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction input[type=\"submit\"]' ).style.display='none'; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).src=firefly_loading_gif_url; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display='inline-block';  \t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( 'ma subbing' );  \t\t\t\t\tif( firefly_post_id ) opts['post_id']=firefly_post_id;  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Send the data using post with element id name and name2*\/ \t\t\t\t\tvar posting=jQuery.post( firefly_ajax_url, opts );  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Alerts the results *\/ \t\t\t\t\tposting.done( function( response ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tif( response.success ) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( response.data ); \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display='none'; \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-confirm' ).style.display='block';  \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdataLayer.push( { 'event': 'submit-correction' } ); \t\t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> \t     \t\t\t\t\t\t     \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p style=\"border: 1px solid #f5f5f5; padding: 16px;\">Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/advertise-us\/?wj_source=article\">Advertise Today<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><script>console.log(\"ad slot (BA1)\")<\/script> \t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Here\u2019s a paraphrase of the main points you provided:<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; Violent crime fell sharply after Sweden expanded police powers to crack down on criminal groups that recruit children as hitmen, despite protests from liberal critics.<br \/>\n&#8211; The Telegraph reported that Middle Eastern drug networks in Sweden recruited children as young as 12 via social media to kill rival gang members, contributing to a spike in gun violence in 2022.<br \/>\n&#8211; In 2024 the government granted new enforcement powers to the police, a move condemned by civil-liberties groups and described by the United Nations as repugnant and illegal.<br \/>\n&#8211; Despite this, Sweden recorded 147 shootings in 2025, a 63 percent drop from the 390 shootings seen at the 2022 peak. Murder and manslaughter reached a near-decade low, even as Sweden had one of the EU\u2019s highest gun-death rates.<br \/>\n&#8211; A key enforcement tool was establishing safe zones in high-risk areas, which allowed searches of vehicles and people\u2014including children\u2014without specific crime suspicions.<br \/>\n&#8211; Under the new authority, police could monitor the phones and internet use of children under 15 if they were suspected of serious crime, and could identify youths involved in gang activity by cues such as certain clothing brands.<br \/>\n&#8211; Civil rights advocates argued the measures amounted to racial profiling because the safe zones mainly targeted migrant-heavy neighborhoods, where gangs like the Foxtrot Network recruit youths.<br \/>\n&#8211; Stockholm police chief Carin G\u00f6tlblad said many foreign-born residents welcomed the measures, feeling frightened and trusting the police to use them; some Swedes without immigrant backgrounds were less positive.<br \/>\n&#8211; The Foxtrot Network allegedly targeted children under 15 to carry out hit jobs, knowing they could not be prosecuted under existing law, which prompted a change lowering the age of criminal responsibility for serious offenses from 15 to 13.<br \/>\n&#8211; The U.S. sanctioned the Foxtrot Network in March 2025 for an attempted attack on the Israeli embassy in Stockholm and for alleged ties between its leader, Rawa Majid, and Iranian intelligence.<br \/>\n&#8211; Note: The remainder of the text includes licensing and boilerplate information from the Daily Caller News Foundation.<\/p>\n<p>If you\u2019d like, I can shorten this further or tailor the tone (neutral, critical, etc.)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2570154,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Ben-Working-Feature-Image-2026-02-11T185027.874.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[73842,17311,4326,67408,7626],"class_list":["post-2570153","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-murder-rate-2","tag-policing","tag-policy","tag-public-safety-2","tag-sweden"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Ben-Working-Feature-Image-2026-02-11T185027.874.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2570153","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2570153"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2570153\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2570157,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2570153\/revisions\/2570157"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2570154"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2570153"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2570153"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2570153"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}