The police have chosen to adjust the bag ban that was introduced in November last year, it reports Sweden’s Radio Echo.
The decision to ban bags came after the Security Police (Säpo) raised the terror threat level from a three to a four on the five-point scale. The police authority introduced the ban in order to act on the basis of the new threat picture.
The ban included all types of bags at major events such as concerts, festivals and football matches.
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Adjustments after criticism
Since its introduction, organizers have criticized the authority for providing conflicting information and different guidelines.
Now the police choose to make exceptions in different places and at different events. The ban can be lifted if the organizers demonstrate that they meet a sufficiently high level of security.
“Then you can approve certain things in certain places, depending on how the place looks and how it is located or the geographical part of the arrangement itself,” says Per Engströmsection chief at the police’s national operational department, to Ekot.
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New exceptions to the bag ban
In the past, exceptions have only been made for people with medical reasons who need to carry bags with them. What counts as “medical reasons” is decided by the organizer.
But after the police adjusted their guidelines, the possibility opens up for new exceptions. An example of an exception is the Dance Band Week in Malung, where visitors are now allowed to bring bags with change, provided they are searched first.
“Our guests are very active. You usually dance all evening from eight to one,” he says Lars Bälterco-organizer of Dansbandsvekkan, to Ekot.
At the same time, the Diggiloo summer festival had its application to allow guests to bring baskets of food rejected. The organizer criticizes the logic of the decisions and the communication from the police, but the police believe that there is no injustice in this.
“I don’t see any injustice in this, but there are different types of security levels,” says Per Engström to Ekot.
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