Violence Targeting Relatives Puts Increased Pressure on Law Enforcement

by time news

Currently, about 75 people are in custody for serious violent crimes related to the recent wave of violence in Stockholm. The police have seized more than 70 pistols, 20 automatic weapons, 30 kilograms of explosives, and nine hand grenades. According to Niclas Andersson, operations manager for the special event Frank, who has never stopped so many planned or ongoing assassination attempts throughout his career, there were at least two last weekend.

Andersson believes that the police were in a better position to handle the wave of violence because Frank was already in place when it began on Christmas Day. The police have borrowed over 100 officers from other regions, which has led to better coordination and prioritized investigations resulting in increased efficiency.

However, being constantly inundated with new information about people at risk of being murdered is a significant concern. Andersson feels that the police are under tremendous pressure, which is compounded by having to protect relatives that are being targeted in the ongoing deadly conflicts.

The staffing reinforcements brought in from the rest of Sweden may lack longevity, and the police are currently too short-staffed. Currently, they prioritize investigations where they can achieve success and intend to train more investigators to handle investigations that are becoming increasingly complex.

Finally, Andersson believes that a multi-level approach is required to combat crime, including collaboration with schools and social services. The police will focus on prosecuting the perpetrators while also preventing children aged 8-13 from being recruited into criminal networks.

Five recent acts of violence in Stockholm have highlighted the dangers of the escalating wave of violence, which is a combination of local, regional, national, and international criminal networks. Crimes are becoming more and more complex, and evidence requirements have increased, increasing the need for more specialized investigators.

Despite increased staffing and better coordination, the police remain hard-pressed to handle the wave of violence.

Around 75 people are currently in custody in cases relating to serious violent crimes linked to the recent wave of violence in Stockholm. More than 70 pistols and around 20 automatic weapons have been seized, as well as 30 kilograms of explosives and nine hand grenades.

– Throughout my career, we have also never stopped so many planned or ongoing assassination attempts. Last weekend there were at least two, says Niclas Andersson, operations manager for the special event Frank, which has been going on since October last year.

The fact that it was in place when the wave of violence began on Christmas Day, according to Niclas Andersson, gave the police the conditions to meet the development in a way that would not have been possible otherwise. More than 100 police officers have been borrowed from other regions and better coordination and “clustering” of cases has increased efficiency.

– Today we are operationally very powerful. We prioritize the right investigations and we have a situational picture that is sharper than before, says Niclas Andersson.

The feeling is though bipartite:

– What does not feel good is that we constantly have an influx of serious violent crimes and that we constantly receive new information about people who are at risk of being exposed – read murdered, says Niclas Andersson.

The operational ability also has repercussions. An operation on the street that takes 45 minutes can easily render in a hundred investigative hours.

Do you have sufficient investigative resources?

– We are too few investigators. This requires stricter priorities and leads to certain investigations being better resourced than others. I feel that social services are in the same situation.

How are you going to solve it?

– Here and now we receive support through investigations being outsourced to other regions, as a result of the national police operation Frigg getting underway. In the long term, it is about continuing to prioritize cases where we can achieve success and training more investigators. It must be agreed that the investigations are becoming more and more complex. Our view is also that the evidence requirements have increased, which also affects our work effort.

According to Niclas Andersson, it is unclear how long the Stockholm police will have the reinforcement with roughly 100 police officers from the rest of Sweden.

– The special event Frank will last until the beginning of September, the staffing has been decided until June.

Can you manage without it?

– My assessment is that we do not.

How does it affect your work that relatives have become targets in the ongoing deadly conflicts?

– It affects a lot, it’s a factor we haven’t seen before. Relatives are important, they often provide valuable information. Many of them really want to stop the development so they are also a big part of the solution.

– That they are threatened and exposed is terrible and means increased pressure on us. We need to carry out extensive protection assessments. In some cases we have to move people, in others we have guarding duties. Sometimes a conversation can be enough.


Photo: Magnus Hallgren

What do you think about the fact that courts in three cases classified the identity of people who were detained on suspicion of serious violent crimes?

– It is done on our advice. In the situation we now find ourselves in, it is necessary. We must reduce the risk of relatives being exposed to crime. It is important that we protect openness, but based on the current situation, it is important that we use the tools we have to protect people.

For many years, you were local police area manager in Järva. It has been quiet there for a while. Why?

– It depends on long-term work over time, on several levels. Collaboration with social services and school has worked. In Järva, we have had geographically limited crime, where the perpetrators were in the same area where they committed crimes.

– What we are now seeing is a crime that is local, regional, national and international at the same time. The police have not been equipped to face it, but now we are about to change our structure.

What do the police need to pull this off?

– No single effort will be able to solve it. As long as we have 8-13-year-olds who dream of stepping into these networks, it will be difficult. This is what we need to stop while at the same time we have to prosecute the people who are committing the crimes now.

Read more:

The police: deadly violence against relatives a new dimension in the wave of violence

Secrecy when teenagers were arrested for murder

The pressure on the police’s personal protection is increasing

You may also like

Leave a Comment