This is how the pandemic has affected Stockholm crime

Since the pandemic began to take hold of Sweden in early spring, crime has changed in the country. This is demonstrated by the new statistics from the Crime Prevention Council, Brå, which has figures from January to November.

The total crime rate has risen and fallen, but has remained virtually unchanged compared to last year. From having increased by 8 percent during the January-February period, the number of notifications nationwide decreased by 4 percent during the March-May period. However, during the fall, the level of crime has been largely the same as in 2019.

Some categories of crimes have increased and others have decreased during the crown year. Sven Granath, criminologist and former Police Authority analyst:

– Home burglaries clearly decreased, while thefts of bicycles and mopeds clearly increased. Of course, it is related to the fact that people have had other routines. People are more at home and it is more difficult to enter. At the same time, there have been more bicycles on the streets, he says.

The fact that many have been in their homes probably deterred some thieves, but according to Sven Granath, the pandemic has also had a different impact on the crime category during the year.

-It also has to do with the fact that the borders between many countries have been closed, he says and mentions that, therefore, the international theft leagues have not been able to act as freely as usual.

It is also clear that the impact of the infection has been greater in Stockholm than in Sweden as a whole. In Stockholm, the number of reported crimes was 14 percent higher in February this year than in the corresponding month in 2019.

But in March, when the Swedish Public Health Agency and the government began issuing recommendations with the aim of reducing the spread of the infection, the number of reported crimes suddenly dropped to 7 percent in March 2019.

“The change was strongest in Stockholm, which was also the region that was hit first and hardest by the pandemic, and it was especially the people of Stockholm who were initially urged to work from home if possible,” it reads in Brås analysis of the figures.

Sex crimes are one This category has increased a lot in 2020. Reported rapes throughout the country have increased between 9 and 16 percent during the year, in addition to the spring months of March-May, when the levels corresponded to last year.

Children have been the most affected. With regard to the rape of children, the increase has been between 14 and 28 percent in 2020 compared to 2019. In statistics, these figures are not broken down only for Stockholm.

Sven Granath emphasizes that many aspects of crime during the pandemic are difficult to interpret.

– Women’s shelters claim that conversations with them have increased. And in some social services there is a perception that domestic violence has increased. So it remains to be seen if violence and deaths in close relationships have increased when we have all the figures available, he says.

Also mention that even more aspects play a role in how you interpret the statistics.

– If everyone is home all the time, it can be more difficult for a person who has been abused to call and report it too, says Sven Granath.

When it comes to shootings, Stockholm has been hit harder than any previous year. The type of crime increased almost 80 percent between January and October compared to last year.

Sven Granath Highlights that this type of crime differs at least in a decisive way from the others, it is a special category, young men in criminal networks, those responsible for the violence.

– It’s interesting there. It seems to be going well anyway. Live your own life. The actors may not be the most risk-conscious when it comes to the spread of infection.

During the year, several high-profile criminals in Stockholm were arrested, in part as a result of French police successfully hacking into the encrypted communication tool Encrochat. According to Sven Granath, it can be worrisome in criminal networks if leadership figures disappear.

– There have been many arrests and “disorder” among professional criminal environments during the year. The police have been offensive and initially, paradoxically, this may mean more violence.

Drug crimes reported it has also become more. In November, the crime rate was 16 percent higher in the category than the same month last year across the country. Drug-related crime, on the other hand, has risen steadily for several years.

Drug-related crimes are the so-called recognition crimes, in which the level is largely due to the effectiveness with which the police work, so the increase could be due to the release of resources as a result of the pandemic . When the police don’t need to monitor football games and important events, they can focus on other tasks, Brå reasons.

Closed borders At the same time, it has made it difficult for criminal networks to bring drugs into the country, which may have sparked conflicts in the underworld, according to Sven Granath.

– It may even be the case that the conflicts become more because you have to pursue income other than drugs.

The damage skyrocketed this summer in Stockholm. But according to Brå, this may be related to the fact that many crimes of vandalism that took place during the spring were not reported until the summer. New ways of reporting change may have affected the increase as well.

“Another change is that from the end of May, it is possible to report vandalism to the police digitally via the Internet,” Brå writes.

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