Swedish government to introduce higher sentences in push against crime

STOCKHOLM, June 30 - The Swedish government said on Tuesday it would toughen criminal sentencing ahead of a September election, with legislation to push courts to more often use the higher end of the punishment scale and impose longer sentences for serial offenders.

Sweden has grappled with a gang crime wave for the past two decades and, although shootings have come down significantly in the last four years, crime is still one of the most important issues for voters.

The Nordic nation has had a longstanding tradition of not adding up all the separate offences for a person convicted for several crimes, instead basing the sentence on the most serious crimes.

"That means that the fourth or fifth fraud and so on has, in practice, been free from punishment," Minister of Justice Gunnar Strommer told a press conference, adding that, under the new proposal, all committed crimes would be taken into consideration.

"Our expectation is that this change will mean significantly longer sentences for serial offenders," Strommer said.

The government also said courts would no longer take mitigating circumstances, such as loss of employment, into consideration to the same extent when handing down sentences.

Sweden's right-wing government, which trails significantly in the polls, has introduced a large number of measures, including harsher sentences for gang crimes, increased electronic surveillance powers for police and prison for offenders as young as 14. REUTERS