Violent crime in Sweden has increased by an average of 39 per cent since the turn of the millennium, according to Swedish crime prevention council BRA.
However, the figures vary depending on the region, with northern counties reporting the biggest increases in numbers of reported cases of violent crime. Furthermore, the results do not show that violent crime in the Scandinavian country as a whole is rising.
BRA’s Sven Graneth said the figures are very interesting because on average Sweden has enjoyed a positive trend in which violence has become less common. He explained that the figures could show that police in the north are getting better at investigating and dealing with violent crimes, but it could also indicate that the decrease in violence is not reaching the northern counties as quickly as it has done across the rest of Sweden.
The capital Stockholm still records the highest number of reported cases of violent crime per 100,000 people. The southern county of Blekinge recorded the least.
Sweden has one of the highest homicide rates, per capita, in Western Europe, with 2.5 murders per 100,000 people.