The police are warning that some young people are leaving HVB homes in a worse state than when they arrived. In a report from the authority earlier in the week, it emerged that several HVB homes are run by "organized and family-based crime".
The content of the police report is "terrible", but "unfortunately not surprising", says Ulf Kristersson.
Secrecy in the way
What can you do to stop homes being run by criminals?
We will change the legislation so that we can get to this. Often, it is secrecy rules that are in the way. That one authority knows something that they are not allowed to tell other authorities. It is a recurring problem in Sweden, says the Prime Minister.
The government is working on drafting legislative proposals to remove secrecy barriers between authorities. Kristersson also states that new, stricter assignments have been given to authorities responsible for controlling HVB homes.
Can't you just close down homes run by criminals?
Yes, it is possible to close them down, but then it is often too late. They should not be able to start their operations, he says.
The Social Democrats have proposed that municipalities should take over all private HVB homes. The Prime Minister does not believe that proposal will work.
No, I don't believe that at all. It would be like banning private property companies. It is pointless. It is clear that serious people should be able to run businesses in Sweden, says Kristersson.
Can't just look on
In a comment to TT, S-leader Magdalena Andersson says that she certainly believes that secrecy rules need to be reviewed, but she does not think that will solve the problems in HVB homes.
We have a situation where young people who are supposed to be protected from being drawn into crime are now being cared for by people with ties to gang crime. We must stop the unserious actors, she says.
There are currently 654 HVB homes in Sweden. Of these, 82 percent are privately run. The Social Democrats believe that even private homes that function well should be taken over by municipalities.
Authorities are warning that an increasing proportion of unserious actors are running HVB homes. We cannot just sit back and watch, says Magdalena Andersson.
