Here’s the new police list of trouble suburbs in Sweden: fewer vulnerable areas

In an update to a list first introduced in 2015, police reduced the number of areas defined as "especially vulnerable" from 23 to 22.

The police define an "especially vulnerable area" as being "characterized by social issues and a criminal presence which has led to a widespread disinclination to participate in the judicial process and difficulties for the police to fulfil their mission".

The Gårdsten neighbourhood in Gothenburg, among the 23 especially vulnerable areas identified two years ago, was moved to the less serious designation of "risk areas", which are viewed as falling somewhere between "vulnerable" and "especially vulnerable".

The "vulnerable" category is defined as "a geographically defined area characterized by a low socio-economic status where criminals have an impact on the local community".

Additionally, the neighbourhoods of Smedby in Upplands Väsby and Hageby in Norrköping were removed from the list completely.

In announcing the updated list on Monday, National Operations Department (NOA) chief Mats Löfving said that there have been significant improvements within the designated areas.

"The relationships between residents and police have improved. We are seeing calmer environments, and fewer attacks on the police and other security personnel," he said. "We can also see that residents are more willing to talk to the police and help in criminal investigations."

"We still see problems, but the trends show that things are progressing," he continued.

Positiva trender i många utsatta områden Polisens omfattande arbete med ökad lokal närvaro, en delad lägesbild med kommuner och andra aktörer och relationsskapande arbete har bidragit till att många utsatta områden utvecklats positivt. Det visar ny läg… https://t.co/cT6WSlJxfI

— Polisen nationellt (@Polisen_Sverige) June 3, 2019

Local police in Botkyrka Municipality also reported that relations between residents and law enforcement are improving, even within the three distinct Botkyrka areas that remain on the list of especially vulnerable places.

"We have an improved knowledge of what's going on in those areas and a better picture of the situation," local police officer Erik Åkerlund said.

Linda Staaf, the head of NOA's intelligence unit, said that the reason the areas have been dropped from the list is because "criminals there no longer have an impact, which is a fundamental criterion for being called a vulnerable area".

"Compared to 2017, we generally see positive trends. There are some areas with negative trends but the overall picture is more positive than it was a couple of years ago," she said. "One thing is that the police can better do their jobs [in the areas] and another is that we can tell that residents are more willing to tell us what they see and hear."

While Gothenburg's Gårdsten area, Smedby in Upplands Väsby and Hageby in Norrköping were removed from the latest police list, the Storvreten area of Tumba was a new addition to the overview of 'vulnerable areas'.

Thus, the overall number of areas included in the report decreased from 61 to 60. The count in the firstRead More – Source