The number of shootings in the country is still at a high level and compared to 2021, they have increased, statistics from the Police Authority show. Until 15 May, 154 shootings took place in the country, with 26 dead as a result.
The large number of fatal shootings has made law and order a major issue ahead of the election.
– We see that more and more young people under the age of 15 are drawn to gang groups. It’s very serious. Crime has also become more complex and more difficult to solve, says Chief of Police Carin Götblad.
Now she has in charge of sharpening the police’s preventive efforts nationally, together with the National Police Chief. The way there is, for example, by improving cooperation between the authorities at a strategic level.
– Very good work is done today within the police at various levels, from the police on the street and up to the highest strategic level. I try to capture what needs to be pursued from the national level towards, among others, the government, other government managements, the school, Sweden’s municipalities and regions (SKR) and the public housing companies.
She wants to see a reduced downspout both within her own police authority but also between the authorities.
– We must get more effect from society’s resources and invest much earlier and more accurately in children and young people at risk. We have sufficient knowledge today to be able to do much more than what we do in society.
Carin Götblad says that the police have worked for many years to get through changes in the law, but despite the fact that the Police Authority has been heard by the government and the Riksdag, much work remains.
– For example, there is a need for greater opportunities for social services and health care to be able to provide the police with information so we can prevent and solve crimes better. Our legislation is built for a society we no longer have. Very large changes have taken place in the last ten years in all crime areas.
More focus should be on early intervention to succeed in reducing crime, she says.
– The goal is, among other things, to get a redistribution so that the efforts are not primarily when you have committed a crime, but already when families signal early on that you need support and help with norm-breaking behavior, says Carin Götblad.
And she does not deny that the police have a lot of work left to get there.
– We must be allowed to work long-term with preventive work in everyday life – not in projects that end when the money runs out. Now we have a situation where we have so much violence, shootings, drugs and weapons. So in the short term, the police must primarily put resources to stop a very dangerous development. What then lags behind will be the preventive work. Experiences from all over the world show that this is what turns the tide. It will take time. We are not there today.
But this one this time, the police must do differently to get there – by not taking on the tasks of other authorities, she says.
– It is important that the police do not do as we did in the past. Then we took on a lot that is not really police information. Today we must get other authorities to do more both independently with us. It also includes actors who have never worked in crime prevention. But even on parents, the demands must increase to receive support much earlier, she says.
After the election, it is expected to be decided whether the municipalities will have a crime prevention responsibility in the law. The inquiry proposes that the municipalities should take responsibility for the coordination of crime prevention work.
– Today we have 291 municipalities and now we get a chance to have a clearer and more coordinated work together.
Read more:
No one listened when he saw the gang wars coming
The alarm from Gothenburg: The problem with family-based criminal networks is growing
Emma Høen Bustos: We know what it takes to stop the violence – but do the opposite