I would go as far as to predict that after the election in April, the youth gang issue will disappear. It was the case in Oulu when Finland became hysterical about sexual assaults committed by migrants.
We’re in the same situation today. True, we have to address social problems with good social policy. Fortunately, Finland has a comprehensive welfare state. Still, parties like the Perusuomalaiset (PS)* and the National Coalition Party (Kokoomus), who want to slash such spending if they win the election, lead us towards a cycle of exclusion and deception.
Remember what happened in Oulu in 2008-2009?
Let me refresh your memory. The media, politicians, and even the police caved into their exaggerated lies by turning an important issue into a storm in a teacup.
Every sexual assault is too much, period. However, if we look at the coverage of these cases, we see the same problem as in 2018-2019 with the so-called “rising” of youth gang violence that Yle and other media are spiking.
Similarities with the Oulu sexual assault cases: parliamentary elections, gang violence, a winning issue in Sweden’s election, and lack of correct checks and balances by the media and politicians.
For the police, it is also a winning issue. It ensures that more funds will be earmarked for them.
Have any of you seen any statistics about youth crime violence?
Why are the police and politicians holding back?
Considering that Finland’s gang “problem” is only a drop in the bucket compared to Sweden, the debate has revealed some nasty things about politicians and the media: washing our hands of the problem, simplifying and scapegoating migrants and minorities, and outright racism. President Sauli Niinistö, who never has anything positive to say about Muslims and people of color, joined the populist bandwagon over a week ago. Shameful.
Despite all the fear-mongering, it is a good sign that papers like Helsingin Sanomat are questioning the populism and hardline stance to solve the problem by parties like the PS and Kokoomus.
Quoting David Saudsdal, a sociologist at Lund University, he claims there is no proof that tougher laws against gang violence in Denmark have worked.
“From my point of view, this is also where Sweden has failed,” he said in an Op-Ed piece. “More than gang crime in Sweden being a simple expression of a failed criminal policy and poor policing, it is to some extent an expression of a welfare crisis.”
Just like what happened in the Oulu sexual assault cases, the whole gang violence topic sill fade into the background after the parliamentary election.
Let’s not fall for the lies of politicians, even those of the government.