Eight gang criminals with residence bans have been employed by Swedish municipalities without the municipalities knowing their backgrounds, according to sources. Two convicted gang leaders have been able to distribute narcotics-classified medicine to the elderly and vulnerable. Municipalities have not received any information about these employees' backgrounds.
In six of the cases, the municipalities were unaware of the employees' criminal connections. The employees were primarily hired within social services and helped vulnerable people. Two of the persons received municipal approval to distribute narcotics-classified medicines.
We must have control over which people we employ.
Both of those persons have previously been convicted of drug offenses and are identified in residence bans as active in drug trafficking. According to the National Board of Health and Welfare, there is nothing preventing a person convicted of drug offenses from being responsible for distributing narcotics-classified medicine. A residence ban is a decision that limits a person's right to reside in a certain geographical area to prevent serious or systematic crime.
Residence bans are decided by prosecutors based on information from the police. The geographical areas of residence bans are sometimes changed to allow the person to get to their workplace. Neither the police nor the prosecutor contacts the employer to inform them that an employee has a residence ban.
We would wish that the police or prosecutor informed us as employers if an employee gets a residence ban or is suspected of something that could harm our operations and above all expose our users to risks.
The police have no obligation to inform or report to employers regarding residence bans. ' Chief prosecutor Niklas Sannerholm said, 'If the person has a job, and that is a useful thing, then I cannot see that we have the opportunity to have any official opinions on it. ' It remains unknown which municipalities employed these individuals and for how long.
What specific crimes the eight individuals were convicted of or suspected of has not been disclosed. The police and prosecutors have not indicated what measures are being taken to prevent similar situations in the future.
If the person has a job, and that is a useful thing, then I cannot see that we have the opportunity to have any official opinions on it. Then one can think as a private person that it is inappropriate.