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Full screen police on site after a shooting in the Södertäljestad part Hovsjö in July 2024. The security zone that was valid for two weeks last summer included Geneta and Västra Blombacka. Photo: Oscar Olsson/TT
The Stockholm Police has evaluated the safety zone established in parts of Södertälje in July 2024. According to the report, the zone had the intended effect for a short time, but the violence started immediately after it was completed.
The police indicate, among other things, that the number of weapons and drug seizures was low, in relation to the amount of search made in the area when the zone was active for two weeks in July.
It is interpreted as “the signal value with the zone had the intended effect”, according to Kristoffer Olofsson, local police area manager in Södertälje.
“Also the primary purpose, to counteract blasts and shootings, may be considered fulfilled as no such took place in the area during the two weeks the security zone was in force,” he said in a press release.
Slides
However, there were several shootings elsewhere in the city when the zone was active. Shortly after it was completed, an explosion also occurred in the zone and two attempted murder in nearby areas.
It shows the “complex problem picture” that characterizes Södertälje where there are parallel conflicts that span several districts, according to police.
“In such a situation, with the need for a more sustainable and dynamic resource, perhaps not a security zone is the most appropriate method for counteracting this type of crime,” says Olofsson.
Individual place
According to the report, the zones can instead be most useful where the police can point out a “individual place” with an increased risk of violence, where the zone is considered to be able to reduce the risks temporarily.
The Act on Security Zones, also known as visitation zones, faced severe criticism before it came into force last spring. The criticism was, among other things, that the zones risked lowering confidence in the authorities in the areas if anyone could be visited. However, the police state that this was not the case in Södertälje.
“The experience from Södertälje indicates that the establishment of a security zone, contrary to many fears, was appreciated by the residents and traders in the area,” writes the Stockholm Police.
Facts above 200 visits
A total of 204 body visits were conducted and 26 house searches in vehicles in the safety zone, which for two weeks included the districts of Geneta and Västra Blombacka. It is assumed to be clear more than normal.
A large part of the visits took place at people who were visited several times. Only 1.5 percent of the visits were women.
Source: Police
Read more factual safety zone
A security zone, also known as a visitation zone, can be introduced in areas where there is a “tangible” risk of a conflict between criminal networks that include shootings or blasts – and where the zone is considered to be of “special” weight to curb this.
In the zone, which will be valid for a maximum of two weeks but which can be extended with a new decision, the police are given the right to visit both adults and children, and to search through vehicles, without a concrete criminal suspicion.
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