There has been an increase in the number of knife crimes and the government sees a risk that criminals will switch to using knives for serious crimes after the penalties for gun crime have been tightened.
Therefore, the government is now going ahead with a legal council referral where it proposes a tightening of penalties where the maximum penalty for crimes of the normal degree is changed from imprisonment for six months to one year.
For serious knife offenses, the maximum penalty can be imprisonment for two years.
The penalties must be sharpened
The government also wants the criminal classification of serious knife crime to be extended so that they cover more types of cases.
For example, the crime should be considered serious if it involves knife possession in criminal environments, in schools and at nightclubs.
The increased penalties are proposed to take effect from 1 July this year.
In addition to this, the government also wants to put an end to the use of anonymous prepaid cards.
Today, there is no requirement for registration when buying a prepaid card, which according to Morgan Johansson is an opportunity that criminals use.
The Government proposes in its legal advice referral that the operator must register the subscriber with name, address and social security number.
An identity check must also be made when registering a prepaid card.
This is proposed to take effect from 1 August 2022.
Continues with preposition
The government has previously proposed removing the ban on seizing messages sent between a person suspected of a crime and a close relative.
This is now being taken forward in a preposition to the Riksdag, Morgan Johansson announces.
It will also be possible to force a suspect to open his mobile phone with biometric authentication, such as fingerprints.
It will also be possible for law enforcement agencies to access information stored on external servers.