Almost two weeks ago, the police in Stockholm launched a so-called special event to stop the escalating wave of violence. This has meant, among other things, that extra resources have been moved to the area.
Despite reinforcements, the escalated situation may last for a “relatively predictable time”, according to Max Åkerwall.
– We have about ten ongoing conflicts in Stockholm, of which barely a handful are red-hot. It’s up to us to step in and break this now.
Arrested bomb maker
At the same time, the police have made some progress.
– Last weekend we had 24 detentions and eleven sharp firearms seized. Now we have also succeeded in detaining bomb makers, i.e. those who provide and build these weapons.
He states that the police have a good picture of who the main characters in the various conflicts are, but at the same time says that many of them are difficult to access.
– Crime is no longer local, it is national. It also has a strong international character. Currently, you can sit in other countries and outsource assignments in the form of violent crimes, and we have great difficulty accessing them.
Need to develop methods
Max Åkerwall says that the police need to develop methods to face the new reality.
– We need to develop how we work through Europol and in other ways.
How many of these gang leaders operate overseas?
– I can’t say an exact number, but there are more and more branches in different countries in Europe.
A designated tone-setting gang leader must be in Turkey – do you have any cooperation with them?
– Those kinds of contacts are ongoing, but based on the world situation and the like, you understand that it is challenging for us to achieve success.