The Swedish government wants to allocate 100 million in the autumn budget to upgrade the fallout shelters in Sweden. Additionally, they plan to spend another 40 million to strengthen the rescue services’ ability to act during war.
In the new budget proposal for 2024, the government suggests enhancing the protection of the civilian population in case of war. They intend to do this by providing an additional 40 million SEK to the Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency (MSB), to, among other things, strengthen the municipal rescue service’s ability to operate under heightened alert and even in war conditions.
Combined with the funds already allocated for rescue services, this would mean an investment of 120 million SEK in the rescue service next year.
“Today’s municipal rescue service is primarily designed to handle peacetime accidents. To be able to manage the significant stresses that an armed attack on Sweden would entail, the municipal rescue service needs to be reinforced”, the government says in a press release.
The government also proposes that Sweden’s fallout shelters should be upgraded as they are an essential component in protecting the civilian population. However, they note that today’s shelters are of “varying standards” and that Sweden needs to have a “modern and well-adapted physical protection” in the event of war. Therefore, an additional 100 million SEK is proposed for the continued upgrading of the fallout shelters.
The government will present the budget proposal for 2024 and the autumn amendment budget for 2023 to parliament on September 20.
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The number of minors suspected of planning murders has skyrocketed in a short time, according to new figures from the Swedish Prosecution Authority. More than 120 children under 15 are currently under investigation for planning deadly violence.
At the same time, the Swedish government reports that the fight against gang crime shows some progress – but the development raises concerns.
The government’s initiative against gangs has been a central part of the Tidö Agreement between the governing parties and the Sweden Democrats. Three years after the cooperation began, several sentences have been toughened, the justice system has received increased resources, and police have gained access to new tools.
Despite this, it remains unclear whether organized crime is actually decreasing. However, one clearly positive trend is that the number of shootings has decreased sharply in recent years.
According to police statistics, 314 shootings occurred through September 2022. During the same period this year, the number has dropped to 113. The number of fatal shootings has decreased from 49 to 26 during the corresponding period – excluding the ten people killed in the attack at Risbergska School in Örebro, central Sweden.
Police assess that more violent crimes are being stopped in time thanks to expanded possibilities for secret surveillance and other intelligence methods. More murder investigations are also being solved, according to the authority.
Antalet barn under 15 år som misstänks för inblandning i mordplaner ökar dramatiskt i Sverige. Mellan januari och september 2022 misstänktes 14 barn under 15 år för mordplaner. Under samma period i år är siffran 127.
Samtidigt i MP ♀️ pic.twitter.com/lN1LZxAA54
At the same time, the trend points in the opposite direction regarding bombings and arson attacks. These have increased but rarely lead to fatalities. Recently, many of the bombings have been carried out with powerful pyrotechnics instead of military explosives.
Police also see successes on the international front. So far this year, 183 gang-connected individuals have been arrested abroad – a record figure – of which 35 are classified as so-called priority actors. Despite this, the total circle of gang criminals is not assessed to be decreasing.
According to police’s latest situation report from autumn 2024, around 14,000 people are actively involved in the gang environment and an additional 48,000 have connections to it. When the next report is presented in November, the numbers are expected to rise.
Directing crime from abroad
Police also estimate that approximately 700 gang criminals now operate from abroad – an increase of 100 people since previous calculations.
The most concerning trend, however, involves children and young people. In 2022, 14 children under 15 were suspected of involvement in murder plots. This year, the figure has risen to 127, according to new data from the Swedish Prosecution Authority.
The suspicions mainly concern attempted murder, preparation, conspiracy and aiding and abetting murder, but also nine completed murders and a couple of cases of incitement.
Bombings are increasing alarmingly in Sweden (archive image Uppsala, Sep. 2023). Photo: Facsimile/Aftonbladet Play/YT
Children recruiting children
According to the Swedish Ministry of Justice, children are often recruited via social media, where gang criminals post orders for violent acts. A growing trend is also that children themselves recruit other children. Justice Minister Gunnar Strömmer (Moderate Party) believes that crime has not worsened, but that it has changed character.
Criminologist Manne Gerell assesses that the development is largely moving in the right direction: – The best indicator for me is how many people die or are seriously injured, and there we have seen a massive decrease in shootings.
Gerell believes the decrease is mainly due to increased resources for police rather than individual reforms in the Tidö Agreement: – Everything else is small puzzle pieces that individually could hardly have played any role, he says.
Among the measures that have had the least effect, he mentions the visitation zones, which have been used less than expected and have not produced any clear results.
Police simultaneously warn that the level of violence within gangs remains high and that new spirals of violence may arise: – One concern is that hundreds of children and young people who were taken for involvement in these crimes a few years ago will, to a large extent, be back on the streets soon if they aren’t already, says Manne Gerell.
Swedish defense company Saab has secured a contract worth almost €50 million from NATO’s procurement organization NSPA to extend the lifespan of Arthur radar systems for the Spanish army.
This marks the first time Saab’s radar systems have been procured through NATO’s purchasing organization.
The contract involves enabling the Spanish army’s artillery locating force to maintain its operational capabilities through modern technology.
The life extension of the systems will provide higher operational mobility and more accurate fire control. The upgrade means more targets can be located at longer distances. The system will also have a smaller signature against electronic warfare sensors, which increases protection for personnel and equipment.
Carl-Johan Bergholm, head of Saab’s Surveillance business area, comments on the order:
— We are pleased to continue strengthening Spain’s artillery locating capability, which is crucial for warning against hostile artillery as well as directing our own artillery fire. The order is also the first for our radar systems to go through NATO’s procurement organization, which is an important step for us,he says.
Largest in the Nordic region
Saab is by far the largest defense company in the Nordic region with approximately 25,000 employees and manufacturing operations in the United States, Germany, and Brazil, among other countries. In 2023, the company ranked as the world’s 35th largest arms manufacturer.
In addition to its well-known fighter jets, Saab also produces and maintains military command and control systems.
The largest shareholder is the Wallenberg sphere, which through the investment company Investor controls around 30 percent of the capital and 40 percent of the votes. Marcus Wallenberg has been chairman of the board since 2006.
An increasing number of Swedes are living in material and social poverty. According to this year’s poverty report from Sweden’s City Missions, poverty in Sweden has nearly doubled since 2021.
Last year, 698,000 Swedes lived in some form of poverty, according to the report. The increase in poverty in Sweden stands out across Europe, particularly in terms of speed – having nearly doubled in four years. Jonas Rydberg, secretary general of Sweden’s City Missions (a charitable organization), believes the rising poverty is largely due to the economic downturn and sharp increases in food prices.
— But what we can show in our report is that it’s also because it’s becoming increasingly difficult to have one’s rights met. For example, financial benefits. They are inaccessible and difficult to obtain, he says in Nyhetsmorgon.
Rydberg notes that many of those seeking help from the city mission don’t receive the general social insurance benefits they’re entitled to, making it significantly harder to manage daily life. Social welfare support, for example, has become more complicated to obtain and the payments are very low.
— It has become increasingly difficult and the ultimate safety net is being eroded in Sweden.
The Swedish government recently presented a welfare reform that involves stricter requirements for social benefits, with the goal of getting more people into work. According to Rydberg, the proposal risks instead pushing more people into poverty.
— It’s difficult and the labor market in Sweden is not accessible, he states.
In many cases, the attacks are carried out with hand grenades or illegal fireworks that are smuggled into the country from the Balkans or Eastern Europe.
Sweden has been hit by nearly 200 bombings during 2025. Meanwhile, customs authorities have seized over 42,000 explosive items during the first six months of the year – almost double compared to the entire previous year.
Police now see a clear shift where stolen goods from construction sites have been replaced by smuggled war materiel and illegal fireworks from the Balkans and Eastern Europe.
The bombings continue to shake Sweden. So far this year, the country has been hit by nearly 200 completed or failed bombing attacks, according to information obtained by Stampen-owned Göteborgs-Posten.
But the patterns are changing. Where it was previously most common for criminals to use explosives stolen from construction sites, police now see a new and alarming trend.
— During the summer and autumn, we have primarily seen detonations with hand grenades and with homemade explosive devices, says Malin Nygren, head of the Swedish police’s national bomb data center.
Smuggling increases dramatically
Behind the change lies a sharp increase in smuggling. In many cases, it involves hand grenades or illegal fireworks being brought into the country from the Balkans or Eastern Europe.
The numbers speak for themselves: During the first half of 2025, customs seized over 42,000 explosive items. This is a record figure that almost doubles the just over 24,000 seizures made during all of 2024.
Martin Norell, expert at the Swedish Customs Service (Tullverket), shares the police’s concern about the development.
— I don’t feel that the situation is very bright in Sweden right now, he says.
Children manipulated to carry out the attacks
Behind the grim statistics lies a particularly dark reality: It is often children who are manipulated by criminal networks to carry out the bombing and arson attacks. The young perpetrators have in several cases been seriously injured when handling explosives and flammable liquids, and at least one death has occurred.
Many of the bombings have been carried out with smuggled hand grenades used for both revenge and extortion, and on several occasions unexploded hand grenades have been found in residential areas – or at or near preschools.
Dan Windt, operational coordinator at the Swedish police’s national operations center, urges parents to be vigilant.
— Parents and other important adults need to continue being present in children’s lives both physically and digitally. Ask many questions and ask for help. Contact the social services in your municipality if the child is contacted by criminals, or call the police at an early stage if you suspect that your child is about to commit a crime, so we can prevent it together.
