[ad_1]
Never before have so many declared in Crime Prevention Council polls that they were concerned about crime. – I’m not surprised, says the Minister of the Interior, Mikael Damberg (S). The moderates want Sweden to follow Denmark’s example.
Interior Minister Mikael Damberg (S). Stock Photography.
47 percent are concerned about crime in Sweden, according to this year’s national security survey from Brå. This is the highest level of discomfort since measurements began nearly 15 years ago.
In particular, there is an increase in anxiety among young men, where, among other things, anxiety about being exposed to robbery has clearly increased in recent years.
– In the past, you have probably mainly focused on certain groups who feel more insecure. Now we also see insecurity increasing dramatically among young men, says the moderate’s legal policy spokesman, Johan Forssell.
– I think it emphasizes that now it is not enough to talk about the problems and say that they are “unacceptable”, now something completely different is required to reverse this development, he continues.
Although there is a small increase for most crimes against persons, Brås researchers believe that the concern does not necessarily have to be related to increased vulnerability. Previous studies have described that those who are most concerned about crime are the least exposed.
Johan Forssell, however, believes that the argument must be reversed: he believes that people’s concerns have been taken too lightly in recent years.
– If people feel insecure, I don’t think responsible politicians should point the finger and say “you shouldn’t be,” but rather you should listen and capture the anxiety.
Mikael Damberg is not surprised by the growing insecurity.
– We have had big problems with gang crimes in Sweden and that impresses the population, and I would have been surprised if we had not seen an increase after what happened.
According to Damberg, the main reason is more explosions and shootings within organized crime, which also affect the public debate.
– I think that current development affects people’s sense of insecurity, but statistics also show that it is not primarily more people who have been exposed to crime in general, but it is the sense of insecurity that grows above all. That says something about the fact that we have had a dangerous development in recent years with more shootings and explosions.
It also highlights that trust in the police is increasing to 54 percent, the highest rating to date.
– It says something about the investments we make in the police, that the police are beginning to be more present and very offensive, it is also noticeable in the population, says Mikael Damberg.
He does not want to speculate on whether insecurity will continue to rise in next year’s Brå survey.
– It depends on how development will be in Sweden, if it is possible in the short term to roll back the activities of serious criminals in Sweden. So that’s the focus for us.
The government has a 34-point program to counter gang crime, but that’s not enough, the moderates believe.
– There are some good things there, but that program should have arrived ten years ago, now we have a completely different situation in Sweden, says Johan Forssell, who calls for “measures to break patterns”:
– I want to point out Denmark, which has shown that it is indeed possible to take a hard line against criminals. But then you have to dare to use completely different kinds of higher penalties, new policing tools and, of course, more police in the external service.
Insecurity and concern about crime 2020
30 percent of the population (16 to 84 years old) say they feel very or quite insecure or that, due to insecurity, they avoid going out alone at night in their residential area. It is at the same level as 2019.
It is much more common for women to feel insecure than men (38% and 22% respectively).
Almost half (47 percent) of the population (16 to 84 years old) is very concerned about crime in society. The proportion has increased since 2019 when it was 43 percent. The current level is the highest since the measurements began.
The proportion in society that feels great concern about crime is as great among men as it is among women. Among men, the proportion is higher in the age group 55 to 64 years (55%), while the proportion of women is higher in the age group 65 to 74 years (58%).
38 percent are often concerned that a close relative will be affected by crime, which is an increase from 2019, when the proportion was 35 percent.
Source: National Security Survey 2020, Brå
