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Crime prevention in Sweden

Current status and development needs 2024. English summary

This report provides an overall description of the way in which crime prevention proceeds and develops on the local, regional and national levels.

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About the publication

Author
Katarina Ramanius
Other information
© Brottsförebyggande rådet 2024
urn:nbn:se:bra-1196

Summary

The year 2023 has been demanding for those engaged in crime prevention issues, not least with the new Act (2023:196) which has come into effect. For years, greater ambition has been notable at many levels, as increasing numbers of stakeholders are given and assume responsibility in crime prevention issues, both in collaboration and on their own.

Brå sees a need to remark on certain shortcomings in crime prevention. The first of these is the absence of collaboration with or support to the local level from the regions, e.g., health and psychiatric care providers. The other shortcoming which Brå wishes to remark on is the need for more explicit collaboration between municipal and national stakeholders, in order to reduce recidivism rates, among youth as well as adults, following imprisonment or placement under the Care of Young Persons Act (“LVU”).

During 2023, much attention has been paid to interventions and reforms directed against financial crime and organised crime. This prioritisation is certainly justified by the increase in serious crime seen in criminal milieux, as such crime has an extensive impact on society. Yet while it is important to combat financial crime and organised crime with crime prevention, such crime is not the sole focus, nor is it present everywhere. It is of supreme importance that all municipalities and local police districts ensure that they have a situational picture enabling them to make decisions and take measures which are based on strong evidence, in order to prevent crime on the basis of the local context at present. Furthermore, new reforms are currently underway or the subject of inquiries regarding the roles and responsibilities of social services and schools in crime prevention issues, which are expected to impact municipal crime prevention as a whole.

Concerning the results presented from the local, regional and national levels, Brå wishes to indicate the extent of work which is imminent or already underway, as well as the fact that all stakeholders, not least municipalities, must receive the necessary time and support to implement new working methods and routines.

About the publication

Since 2017, Brå has been commissioned by the Government to describe, each year, crime prevention in Sweden. This report is part of a series of annual reports, the purpose of which is to provide an overall description of the way in which crime prevention proceeds and develops on the local, regional and national levels.

The report is mainly based on documentation from surveys carried out by Brå in 2023, directed at municipalities, local police districts, county administrative boards and police regions, as well as a sample of national authorities. The report also describes the results of Brå´s national monitoring, networking and other ongoing work, and case-processing related to Brå’s allocation of government grants.

Much crime prevention at local, regional and national level during 2023 was focused on the Municipal Responsibility for Crime Prevention Act (Lagen om kommuners ansvar för brottsförebyggande arbete (2023:196)), which took effect in the summer of 2023, as well as the Police Authority’s strategy for crime prevention, decided on in 2022. This annual report thus emphasises these policies, as their impact on crime prevention in Sweden can be decisive in the long term.