Police staff will be relocated to Stockholm to help fight gangs

A number of police officers will be temporarily transferred to Stockholm – a region heavily exposed to serious gang crime – to assist with ongoing investigations and operational work, the police wrote in a press release. Compared to the transfer of staff and resources made to the region in 2021, this will be the biggest relocation yet.

From 17 January and over six months, 180 police officers, technicians, investigators and analysts will be relocated to the region.

Stockholm has been plagued with an increasing number of shootings and gang-related violence. In 2021, 131 shootings were recorded, according to official police data.

“As things stand, we will be concentrating our efforts in Järva and Huddinge in particular. The long-term goal is to reduce the number of vulnerable areas and criminal networks in the region,” said Mats Löfving, regional police chief in Stockholm, in a press release.

Earlier this year, other important urban centres across the country have also received reinforcements, like the southern border city of Malmö where police reinforcements were deemed necessary after three deadly shootings in a single week.

(Charles Szumski | EURACTIV.com)