A Senior delegation from the Miller Center traveled to Stockholm, Sweden, from April 25-29, 2022, to discuss the Swedish Business and Public Safety Leadership Alliance with members of the Swedish National Police, Swedish business community, and government representatives.

This mission came at the invitation of the Swedish National Police and the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce. The meetings took place against the backdrop of a changing landscape in Sweden that now reflects increasing organized crime, gang violence, and disinformation campaigns on social media, which impact Swedish communities and institutions.

The meetings between the Rutgers team and Swedish partners were ongoing through the week to exchange ideas on best practices to reduce organized crime and fraud, and support law enforcement, government institutions, and public and private sector in resilience initiatives. Key points discussed throughout the meetings include the establishment of partnerships between the Swedish business community, law enforcement, and government institutions to promote improved sharing of information, using evidence-based, data driven policing methods to reduce the occurrence of organized crime; tested strategies used to positively impact the efficiency and speed of gun crime analysis; the use of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) as a prosecutorial tool against organized criminal activity; and, ideas on improving relationships between police and vulnerable communities, often the most impacted by violent crime and gun violence.

The Rutgers delegation also exchanged ideas with their Swedish partners on current cyber security challenges and disinformation campaigns that have been increasing on a global level.

In addition to high-level meetings between the U.S. delegation and Swedish partners at the Chamber of Commerce and Police Headquarters, the Rutgers team participated in a panel discussion on resilience of vulnerable communities at the largest youth center in Sweden and Europe. The Fryshuset Center, staffed by trained professionals and open year-round, provides after-school sports and creative arts activities for youth of all ages throughout Stockholm and surrounding cities. The Fryshuset Center also serves as an important mechanism to identify and off-ramp vulnerable youth in a secure, youth-oriented environment.

Members of the Rutgers team participating in this initiative include Jack Donohue, Mark Genatempo, Kathryn Duffy, Marvin Haiman. Other participants included Matt Peggs, Chief Superintendent, Royal Canadian Mounted Police; Serge Blais, Executive Director, University of Ottawa Professional Development Institute; and, RICO legal specialists Robert Czepiel, Jr. Esq., and Eric Seidel, Esq.