Number of shootings and explosions falls in Sweden
In Sweden, the number of shootings, deaths and injuries resulting from them has fallen significantly compared with 2022. According to police data, eight people were killed and another 15 were injured in 39 shootings in January-June this year. During the same period in 2022, there were 205 shootings, in which 34 people were killed and 49 were injured, The Local Sweden reports.
Measures against criminal networks
Max Åkervall, police commissioner for southern Stockholm, said that fatal shootings and explosions peaked in 2022-2023, but police had managed to reverse the trend. The number of explosions in January-June also decreased, from 108 during the same period last year to 75 this year.
Åkervall linked the decline in violence to measures introduced by the authorities in recent years. These include tougher penalties for firearms possession, expanded police powers, new surveillance tools, international cooperation and broader information-sharing between state agencies.
In the suburb of Rågsved, which police classify as an area with high crime levels and open drug dealing, law enforcement officers patrol on foot and surveillance cameras have been installed on buildings. Local resident Ahsen Umerasi noted that shootings have recently become almost unheard there.
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Recruitment of minors
At the same time, Åkervall called the recruitment of children through social media and encrypted apps a serious problem. According to police data, 170 children under the age of 15 were suspected of involvement in violent crimes from January to July. Criminal leaders, the commissioner said, can coordinate operations from abroad and recruit minors for money.
The government has introduced legislative initiatives requiring social platforms to remove advertisements seeking people to carry out murders. Authorities have also abolished more lenient sentences for young offenders and enabled police to use coercive measures against children in order to reach those who commission crimes. The authorities are also pursuing network leaders who are hiding abroad. The head of the Foxtrot network, Rawa Majid, is reportedly in Iran.
Police estimate that there are more than 17,000 active members of criminal groups in Sweden. Justice Minister Gunnar Strömmer said that these networks have infiltrated state institutions, politics, business, the legal system and the prison system, creating a systemic threat.
