Persistently high and increasingly politicized violent crime rates in Sweden could negatively affect the country's political stability, international reputation, social cohesion and economic growth. Denmark will impose stricter border controls with Sweden at the Oresund Strait that separates Copenhagen from Malmo following a series of shooting and bombing attacks carried out in the country by Swedish citizens in recent weeks, Danish Justice Minister Peter Hummelgaard announced Aug. 9. The recent incidents in Denmark come as Sweden struggles to address a sharp uptick in gang-related crime and other violent criminal activity in recent years, particularly in the capital of Stockholm, Gothenburg and Uppsala, and in southern cities like Malmo. These incidents have involved stabbing attacks, shootings and bombings using hand grenades and improvised explosive devices.