Published: Just now
In a venture, Ljusnarsberg got its own police force that would deal with the high level of crime in the municipality – but the number of police officers on the ground was reduced already after six months, reports SVT Nyheter Örebro.
Second only to Stockholm, Ljusnarsberg is the municipality in the country where the most crimes, 16,000 per 100,000 inhabitants, were reported last year, and the police testify to widespread drug use in the socially vulnerable municipality.
Just over two years ago, a major investment was therefore made where the police staffing in Ljusnarsberg was increased from one day a week to five full-time police officers.
But apart from during the first six months, only 20-50 percent of the force has worked in the municipality and in periods no police were on site at all, according to SVT Örebro. Some of the reasons why resources were moved from the group were the pandemic, parental leave, the Easter coup and shootings in Örebro and Stockholm.
According to the police, the initiative initially had an effect on the drug situation, but more is needed to solve the problems.
– Right now we have managed to push away the tip of the iceberg. We have actually had that effect, but we need to be here to a greater extent for a longer time and get opportunities to work more long-term, says Tobias Jansson, group leader at the police in Ljusnarsberg.