Facts: Violent crime in Sweden
20 researchers give a picture of the development of violence in Sweden in The Swedish State.
These are some conclusions:
* Overall, violence in Swedish society has not increased in recent decades.
* The development in Sweden largely follows the development in comparable countries, with the exception of the last decade’s sharp increase in firearm violence in criminal circles.
* Organized crime has increased in recent decades for both violent crime and financial crime.
* More rapes are registered in Sweden, but closer analysis shows that Sweden probably has a similar level of rapes to comparable countries. The extent of serious sexual crimes with elements of threats or violence has not increased to any great extent.
* Fatal violence in intimate relationships has decreased slightly in recent decades.
Source: forskning.se, The Swedish state
— People think that it is all crime that is increasing and that it is going to hell, which is not correct. Most of us have gotten safer and better. But then we have a segment, organized crime, which has a dangerous and alarming development, says Amir Rostami, docent in criminology at the University of Gävle.
The election campaign has been largely dominated by the issue of gang crime and how the shootings should be tackled. Deadly gun violence is heading for a grim record this year, and Sweden is now at the top in Europe in terms of fatal shootings.
But anyone who looks more closely at the Swedish violence trends can see that the development goes in two directions. At the same time that gun violence has increased sharply in the last five years, Sweden has seen a decline in other serious violence in the slightly longer term. Among other things, serious violence against women and children and alcohol-related violence have decreased.
— Deadly violence now corresponds to twelve deaths per million inhabitants. It is the highest level for a long time, but still lower than around 1990, when the number was 14–15 deceased, says Amir Rostami.
The diagram does not show specific annual figures but a five-year average. Fewer people are treated for violence
Figures on hospitalizations for violence show the same thing. Since the beginning of the 2000s, the number of people registered for assault by another person has decreased by around 39 percent, according to Rostami.
At the same time, the number of people needing trauma care after stab wounds has increased by 39 percent, and gunshot wounds by approximately 200 percent.
— But since it is a smaller part of all violence in society, it does not affect the total so much. But the total is decreasing, says Rostami.
There is also, contrary to what many may think, a lower number of young people who commit violent crimes today compared to the 1980s and 90s. Sweden has had fewer, but worse, offenders, he notes.
– There are fewer young people who commit crimes, but the age of onset has decreased, and those who commit violent crimes commit much more serious crimes.
“Crime Paradox”
Rostami calls it the Swedish crime paradox.
— As far as general crime is concerned, we have a stable or even positive trend, but what can be considered organized crime – gang deals, shootings, explosions, the financial criminal economy – has gone in a negative direction.
Amir Rostami, docent in criminology at the University of Gävle and the Institute for Future Studies. Archive image.
At the same time, the criminologist warns against a criminal policy solely focused on the shootings.
“I’m not saying we shouldn’t focus on the shootings, but we have to understand them in a larger context,” he says.
Shootings occur as a result of conflicts within organized crime.
— Then you need to look further at what those conflicts consist of. It is not just a fight over the drug market, there are markets within organized crime that generate far greater criminal profits than drugs.
He believes that it is time to put the criminal economy at the center of law enforcement, and wants to see a strong strengthening of the control and specialist authorities. According to Rostami, there is still much to be done in terms of both fraud and benefit crimes as well as workplace crime.
Concerns have increased
Despite the fact that most Swedes do not come into contact with gang violence, it has created insecurity. There are also several tragic cases where shootings hit outsiders.
In August, a woman and a child were shot at a playground in Årby in Eskilstuna.
Concerns about crime in society have increased continuously in recent years, to levels not seen before. Before 2011, fewer and fewer people worried about crime in society.
— The concern about crime very much reflects the social debate, rather than the actual development of crime. Now there has been both political and media focus on crime for a long time. Politicians know that crime arouses emotions and in this way they can perhaps convince voters to vote in a certain direction. Having said that, it is still a serious situation that we are seeing, says Amir Rostami.