- The politicians who speak out for stricter punishments do so in rather tough terms, at least when the election campaign is so intense.

Crime must be fought with all our might, we must turn over all stones, says Sven-Erik Alhem.

- But the members of the criminal gangs are not stupid in the head.

In other words, their behavior is not affected by a penalty increase on paper.

If the risk of being prosecuted remains small, it may feel worthwhile for them to shoot someone dead, he reasons.

Investigation and detention

At the same time, Sven-Erik Alhem sees two overall advantages of tougher penalties.

The first is that a high penalty scale allows the police to use covert means of coercion - such as wiretapping.

- In cases where it is important to bring about increased use of coercive measures, it feels good to have stricter punishments, says Sven-Erik Alhem.

The other advantage is that a minimum sentence of two years means that the suspect can remain in custody until the trial and thus disappear from the physical arena where crime takes place.

This is already the case with serious weapons offences, which since 2018 have a minimum sentence of two years.

Among other things, it contributed to the seizure of more weapons in Stockholm, reported the newspaper Mitti.

Faces life for threatening witnesses

There is a crime where Sven-Erik Alhem believes that a tougher penalty could have an effect.

If the crime of assault in court led to life imprisonment, it would have a direct impact on the criminals who threaten witnesses into silence.

- Those crimes are a systemic threat to the entire justice system, and therefore it would be very important to know that if you are sentenced to prison, "I will not get out again", he says.