After a “black” September, the police seem to see a difference in the trend of violence.
In four weeks, no one has been shot to death in Sweden.
According to the police, this is due, among other things, to arrests abroad.
– The conflict itself has probably not cooled down, but we see that there has been a decline in the number of violent crimes, and especially those with a fatal outcome, says police commander Erik Åkerlund.
Tunisia, Serbia and Bosnia. These are some of the countries where Swedish citizens connected to the ongoing gang conflict have been arrested or killed recently.
They have ruled from abroad and sent missions to Sweden – and the fact that several have now been caught may have had a chilling effect here at home.
– When it is violence that is carried out by people who are abroad, it is decisive how we succeed in international cooperation. When we now see that we have people who are exposed to coercive measures abroad, arrests and other coercive measures, then we see that it has an effect, says Erik Åkerlund, head of command at the police.
Four weeks without fatal shootings
Between September and October, the number of shootings fell from 45 to 29 across the country, according to police statistics. The number of fatal shootings has also decreased.
In September, eleven people were shot to death – and in October, four people. In the last four weeks, no one has been shot to death in Sweden.
– Several of the measures taken abroad have also had an effect on how it looks in Stockholm, and we continue to work on it, says Erik Åkerlund.
The areas of conflict remain
But the conflicts within criminal networks remain, is the police’s assessment.
– A protracted conflict also makes you tired. It is tiring to live in the kind of tension that this kind of conflict entails for those involved. And many times we also see that people agree to stop, says Åkerlund, and continues:
– As long as the root cause remains, for example the battle over drug trafficking, we will see new conflicts emerging.