Money against gang violence went to New York trip, Christmas lights and scrapped PR campaign for SEK 600,000

Published 10 October 2024 at 15.22

Domestic. Botkyrka municipality spent SEK 600,000, which was intended to counter gang recruitment of children and young people, on a PR campaign that was never used. It has previously been revealed that the money went, among other things, to a New York trip.

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It is the latest revelation in a series about Botkyrka's handling of the the government grant, earmarked to support social initiatives for young people at risk of ending up in crime.

Earlier this year, it was reported that parts of the same grant were used for a controversial trip to New York, which led to the municipality repaid over SEK 400,000 to the National Board of Health and Welfare.

The earmarked money has also been used to equip a camp and for Christmas lighting in Fittja.

Now it appears that additional funds have been used in a way that the municipality itself calls “unacceptable”. Lennart Agén, press manager in Botkyrka municipality, expresses strong criticism of the way the money was handled.

– It is unacceptable, of course. This unfortunately confirms the image that we ourselves have that there has been a breakdown in both ordering, control and follow-up, says Agén to Sveriges Radio.

The 600,000 kroner campaign, which was delivered by a non-profit association in collaboration with a PR agency, included, among other things, a communication strategy, a new logo and commercials for the meeting place Albys hjärta – a business that, among other things, houses a leisure park. The aim was to increase the number of visitors, but the municipality considered that the finished material did not meet their expectations and therefore chose not to use it.

– Unfortunately, the deliveries we received did not meet expectations. So it did not match the expectations that the various businesses had, which would use what had been produced, says Agén.