Sweden will do whatever it takes, including sending in the army, to end a wave of violence that has seen a string of deadly shootings, Prime Minister Stefan Lofven said in Wednesday.
Sweden's murder rate is relatively low in international terms, but gang violence has surged in recent years and Swedes are worried that the police are unable to cope.
In 2016, the latest year for which official statistics are available, 106 people were murdered in Sweden, a country of 10 million.
But Swedish TV reported there were over 300 shootings, mostly in turf battles between gangs over drugs, protection rackets and prostitution.
(Score: 2) by All Your Lawn Are Belong To Us on Monday February 26 2018, @08:59PM (1 child)
Which doesn't apply at all to the National Guard in supporting state law enforcement at the Governor's request. It is usually only common to have units actually on patrol during natural disasters; usually the support they provide either provides intelligence or relieves sworn law enforcement of non-enforcement duties so they can focus on enforcement.
And five minutes of research shows that half of Sweden's military is a "home guard" which is not unlike the Guard and Reserve - though not necessarily in command and control.
As for our country.... Wait for another school shooting or two - eventually we'll have National Guard troops in our schools I'm sure.
This sig for rent.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday February 26 2018, @09:09PM
Your comment and the necessary reply have both already appeared in this thread. Your comment is redundant.