Focused deterrence strategies have also been used in Denmark. In the Danish approach, the police cooperate with, for example, local bar owners or doormen to ensure that gang members are denied access to local bars and nightclubs. No evaluation study was found on the effectiveness of the strategy in the literature review. According to process evaluations, this informal cooperation has significantly increased the police’s influence in private nightlife environments, but the strategy has also raised concerns about double punishment and the difficulties of escaping control. Those who were once included in the program usually remained subject to various external actions, even if the police had found that their affiliation to gangs had ended.
As part of the entity of measures included in Denmark’s first gang package, the Danish police were given the authority to impose area bans (or exclusion zone orders, zoneforbud). Area bans can be used to prevent a designated person from staying in a certain area for a maximum of three months at a time. The police may impose an area ban if the person can be proven to have acted in a particularly threatening manner and caused fear in the specified area. According to the descriptive time series analysis, crime decreased during monitoring in the areas covered by the area ban. Of the seven target areas, the number of reported crimes decreased moderately in six when these provisions were in force. There were no signs of crimes moving outside the areas affected by area ban (Nielsen et al., 2018).
The effectiveness of the investigation processes of serious and organized crime in Sweden has also been evaluated. According to the process evaluation, the use of special situational organizations of the police may be appropriate in the first hours or days after serious crimes. In the longer term, however, the disadvantages associated with such use of resources outweigh the achievable benefits.
In Sweden, the effects of increasing the numbers of investigation personnel have also been examined by means of a process evaluation and descriptive analysis. In 2018–2023, the number of employees increased from 8,000 to approximately 10,900, that is, 2,900 persons or 36%. At the same time, the total number of serious crimes in Sweden increased by nearly 30%. Serious crimes are also becoming more complex. However, the clearance rate for serious crimes did not change, but remained at approximately 19%. The clearance rate of crimes varied according to the type of crime. The clearance of serious crimes related to organized crime became more efficient. According to the process evaluation, new and improved working methods have probably contributed slightly to the investigation of serious crimes related to organized crime.
4.4 Cooperation between the authorities
In Sweden, the authorities have been cooperating systematically to combat organized crime since 2008. According to the Swedish National Audit Office’s (Riksrevisionen) process evaluation, the work of the Government and the twelve cooperating authorities has been carried out in such a way that the operational objectives can be achieved. However, it was noted in the evaluation that the Government has not specified what should be achieved through cooperation between the authorities or how the participation of individual authorities should be prioritized in relation to their other functions. This has remained up to the authorities to decide, which gives them considerable leeway to interpret the task and decide on its scope.
Cooperation to combat organized crime is also carried out locally in Sweden. In 2011, an extensive joint authority operation, Tore 2, was launched in Södertälje against the criminal parallel structure. The aim was to investigate, prosecute and take other measures against criminal activity. The Swedish Police, the Public Employment Service, the Security Service, the Tax Agency, the Social Insurance Agency, the Coast Guard, the Enforcement Authority, Customs, the Prison and Probation Service, the Prosecution Authority, and the Swedish Economic Crime Authority participated in the cooperation.
The measures taken by the authorities targeted just over half of the 82 people believed to play a significant role in organized crime in Södertälje. According to the process evaluation, the successes of the operation were partly due to good planning and systematic implementation as well as significant allocated resources. Another important factor was the cooperation methods developed between the agencies. For example, weekly meetings, clear problem mapping and decentralization of decision-making to agency coordinators promoted commitment to the cooperation.
A correlative outcome evaluation of the Tore 2 project found that the level of reported crime and perceived fear and vulnerability had decreased more in Södertälje than in the control group, which consisted of other medium-sized cities. However, the measured outcomes cannot be limited or directly linked specifically to the Tore 2 project. The project also aimed to weaken the criminal parallel structure in Södertälje. The results of the evaluation do not support the fact that the measures taken would have had a significant impact on the structural prerequisites of alternative law, corruption or unofficial debt systems.
4.5 Intervention in proceeds of crime
The evaluated projects found in the literature review that relate to the tracing of the proceeds of crime all deal with money laundering. In many cases of money laundering, the aim is to make it more difficult to trace the proceeds of crime, which is why intervening in money laundering is a key approach against organized crime. In the process evaluation of the amendment to the Swedish Money Laundering Act, it was observed that the legal process mainly reveals simpler cases of fraud. Organized crime and advanced money laundering arrangements, on the other hand, do not lead to judgments to the same extent. However, the number of reported money laundering offenses has increased significantly since the legal amendment. Between 2010 and 2013, the average number of those reported was 500 per year, while in 2018, the number of cases rose to nearly 7,000. Network analysis suggests that approximately 15% of suspected cases of money laundering relate to cases that showed indications of organized crime. A relatively small proportion of the cases and convictions concerned advanced money laundering arrangements. According to the evaluation, successful prosecution of these requires more strategic coordination of cases.
According to the Swedish National Audit Office's assessment, the supervision of money laundering is not sufficiently effective or comprehensive to enable the measures to constitute a significant barrier to money laundering by criminals. It has also been stated that the Swedish Economic Crime Authority (Ekobrottsmyndigheten, EBM) has not been given the opportunity to act effectively against organized economic crime and EBM does not have sufficient resources. For example, the intelligence department has not had direct access to the financial information needed to detect and prevent organized financial crime.
In recent years, changes have been made to the Money Laundering Act in Denmark. In 2017, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) that combats money laundering found that Denmark did not sufficiently comply with current international standards in force in combating money laundering and terrorist financing. Since then, efforts have been made to make Danish measures more effective through various political agreements and several amendments to the Money Laundering Act. However, the national audit office (Rigsrevisionen), has assessed that the joint efforts of the ministries and the tax administration to combat money laundering and terrorist financing have been ineffective, and the input of the Ministry of Justice in particular has been inadequate.
4.6 Improving the efficiency of exiting from criminal groups
Work to support exit from criminal groups is organized differently in Sweden and Denmark. In Denmark, the national exit strategy provides definite guidelines for exit work, whereas in Sweden, exit work seems more fragmented.
Exit work in Sweden
In Sweden, the police and social welfare services are involved in the exit work, but the Swedish Prison and Probation Service (Kriminalvården) and other authorities and organizations can also implement exit programs. Since the exit programs of municipalities do not carry out practical work themselves, the basic functions of social welfare services or external actors are responsible for implementing the measures. The SIG model includes exit work among young people, but is rarely the primary goal for SIG. Konsultationsteamet, active in Malmö, is an example of a multidisciplinary exit program that operates in the municipality. However, the descriptive analysis does not provide answers about its effectiveness.
According to a process evaluation, the exit work of municipalities is hampered by unclear definitions of persons entitled to exit work, bureaucracy and structural challenges related to municipal autonomy, social welfare service legislation and other regulations. Exit work is also challenged by the increase in the number of people in need of help, housing shortage, long waiting times for trauma care and psychiatric services, and the increase in the number of organizations providing exit services. Municipalities and the police must also ensure the safety and protection of former members of criminal groups. The process evaluation proposes that a national exit work structure should be created, a national register established, and a national structure developed for the placement of exiters who are subject to serious threats.
There are also rehabilitation centers in Sweden, such as the evaluated Passus, the aim of which is to support gang members in shaping their lives and identity to achieve a new situation in life. Passus’ client assignments mainly come from social welfare services or the police, and they are financed with special state funds to support exit. According to the process evaluation, a key success factor in Passus is close contact with the participant. The round-the-clock support provided by Passus is mentioned as crucial, especially at the start of treatment. The Passus program has high credibility among its participants compared to other forms of support. This is partly due to peer support workers who share the participants’ experiences of a criminal lifestyle and are therefore not easily deceived. Passus' administration that is independent of the state makes it more flexible and increases its legitimacy among the participants. No recidivism study has been carried out among Passus participants, but according to the process evaluation, the interviewees no longer seem to have connections to gangs.
Exit work in Denmark
In Denmark, exit work focuses on the national exit strategy from 2011, when regional multidisciplinary exit units were established across the country. The police, local authorities and the Prison and Probation Service participate in the multidisciplinary work. The units assess gang members' motivation and suitability for the exit program. Individual agreements are made with the participants, with concrete plans and responsibilities for both the participant and the authorities.
No outcome evaluation has been carried out on the exit units, but according to the process evaluations, many participants feel that the program helps them to stay away from crime and secure a job or study place. Participating in the exit program during a prison sentence can be particularly effective because the participants are highly motivated at that time. The majority of the participants were ordinary or key members of their criminal organizations, while there were fewer leaders and peripheral members. However, by the time they joined the program, the participants had already started to distance themselves from their gangs. The target group often has complex problems, and the exit work requires tailored, concrete and individual cooperation with program participants. In the process of leaving the gang, employees become trustworthy and important for the exiters. They can temporarily replace old social relationships and act as bridge-builders towards a new way of life.
In addition to the national exit program, Denmark has local operating models and rehabilitation programs that reinforce the national exit strategy or are a part of it. One example is Ny Fremtid, a private exit project in the city of Fredensborg and its surrounding municipalities. The project consists of a period of at least 20 weeks that includes motivating work, finding a job or training and exit support. The aim of the project is for one half of the participants to have found employment or place in education and to have withdrawn from the insider circle of the criminal group within six months. According to the descriptive analysis, 71% of the project participants were employed or attending education six months after joining the program. Participants who did not start working or attending education, participated in either psychological or drug treatment, or were serving a prison sentence.