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CRIME

Justice minister calls for shoplifter ban

Justice minister Beatrice Ask has called for a ban on shoplifters who return to the scene of the crime. In the same way that football clubs can bar troublemakers from their stadiums, shopkeepers should also be able to keep shoplifters at bay.

Published: 24 December 2006 10:47 CET

On Saturday newspaper Metro wrote about the owner of a grocery store in Lund who barred young people under the age of 15 after disruptive pupils from a nearby school had stolen goods from his shop.

Public prosecutor Marianne Ny is doubtful as to whether such measures are legal. But Beatrice Ask considers small businesses to be particularly vulnerable and would like to make it possible for shopkeepers to keep thieves at arm’s length.

In a report written in February the centre-right alliance stated that it should be possible to bar individuals for repeated shoplifting. But according to the justice minister the issue is not currently high on the agenda.

ALMEDALEN 2022

Attacker ‘severely disturbed’ during stabbing at Swedish political festival

Theodor Engström, the 33-year-old man who stabbed psychiatrist Ing-Marie Wieselgren to death at the Almedalen political festival in July, was seriously psychiatrically disturbed at the time of his attack, forensic psychiatrists have ruled.

Published: 5 August 2022 14:13 CEST
Attacker 'severely disturbed' during stabbing at Swedish political festival

According to the Hela Gotland newspaper the Swedish National Board of Forensic Medicine has ruled that the man was so disturbed at the time of his attack he had lost the ability to understand the consequences of his actions, and has as a result recommended that he be given psychiatric treatment rather than a prison term.

The agency said that Engström had still been disturbed at the time he was given psychiatric assessment, and warned that there was a risk that Engström would commit further criminal acts. 

“This is a question which has relevance at a future stage,” said prosecutor Henrik Olin. “It means he cannot be sentenced to jail, but will instead receive psychiatric care. But it is not going to change how the investigation is carried out.” 

READ ALSO: What do we know about the Almedalen knife attack?

Engström stabbed Wieselgren, who worked as psychiatric coordinator for the Swedish Association of Local Authorities and Regions, as she was on the way to take part on a discussion at the Almedalen political festival. She died in hospital later that day. 

Engström has admitted to carrying out the attack, telling police that he intended to make a protest against the state of psychiatric healthcare in Sweden. 

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