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Police: Control children's passports to avoid gangs
🇸🇪 Sweden /Crime & Justice

Police: Control children's passports to avoid gangs

From Dagens Nyheter · () Swedish

Translated from Swedish, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources Context piece
  • Swedish police are warning parents to closely monitor their children's identification documents, particularly passports, to prevent them from being recruited by criminal gangs.
  • Police state that providing a copy of an ID document is a crucial step in gang recruitment, serving both to verify the individual is not law enforcement and as a tool for future blackmail.
  • By controlling access to these documents, parents can act as a barrier, giving them an opportunity to question their children and potentially thwart recruitment attempts.

Swedish police are issuing a stark warning to parents: safeguard your children's identification documents, especially passports, to shield them from recruitment by violent criminal gangs. The warning comes as authorities observe a disturbing trend where gangs exploit young individuals by demanding copies of their IDs.

If the gangs do not get the passport or ID card, one is almost vaccinated against recruitment.

— Alexander WalleniusExplaining the importance of controlling children's identification documents to prevent gang recruitment.

According to Alexander Wallenius, a coordinator at the police's national operations center, these identification documents serve a dual purpose for criminal recruiters. Firstly, a picture of a passport or ID card assures the gang that the potential recruit is not an undercover police officer. Secondly, it becomes a powerful tool for future extortion. Once a child sends a picture of their ID, the gang knows where they live, making it easier to threaten their family if the child attempts to withdraw from the criminal network.

They serve two functions for the criminals. A picture of the passport or ID card ensures that the other party is not a police officer. But it is also a means of future blackmail.

— Alexander WalleniusDescribing the dual role of ID documents in gang recruitment and extortion.

Wallenius explained that the recruitment process often begins with kindness and promises of reward, making young people feel valued. However, this facade quickly crumbles when the individual expresses a desire to leave. The threat of exposing their family or revealing their involvement, backed by the previously submitted ID image, creates immense fear.

In the beginning of the recruitment, the young people are met with great kindness. They are told that they will be taken care of and important to the network. But as soon as they want to back out, the threats against the family come. A picture of the ID document has been sent, now the gang knows where one lives.

— Alexander WalleniusDetailing the manipulative tactics used by gangs during recruitment.

To combat this, the police urge parents to maintain control over their children's ID documents when they are not actively needed for travel or official purposes. By requiring children to ask parents for these documents, adults gain a crucial opportunity to engage in conversations, ask questions, and potentially intervene before a recruitment attempt solidifies. Denying gangs easy access to these documents significantly weakens their leverage and disrupts a key element of their recruitment strategy.

There are of course times when children and young people need and should have their passport or ID card. But when they are not traveling or picking up a package, it is good if parents have control over it rather than the children.

— Alexander WalleniusAdvising parents on when and how to manage their children's identification documents.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Dagens Nyheter in Swedish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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