Swedish police seized record number of weapons in 2018
The Local Sweden - [email protected]
Published: 15 Jun, 2019 CET.
Updated: Sat 15 Jun 2019 09:17 CET
Swedish police seized a record 1,180 weapons last year as they sought to bring the wave of gang criminality of the last few years under control.
The number of weapons seized was up 368 on 2017 and continued the steady rise in annual seizures since 2010, when only 398 weapons were seized.
Gunnar Appelgren, Chief Superintendent in Stockholm, told Sweden's state broadcaster SVT that he was not surprised.
"I would have expected it to rise," he said. "Partly it's because the number of weapons has risen. The import of weapons from, above all, the former Balkans and their neighbouring countries, has increased.
"Partly, it's because we've been better at finding weapons and being in the right place at the right time."
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Appelgren said that the controversial 2015 police reform appeared to be starting to pay off, which meant police had become better at "keeping a grip on criminal environments."
"We put a lot of emphasis on looking for weapons, both through intelligence and through investigations in pro-active police work," he said.
Of the weapons seized, the majority were pistols, and 102 were military weapons.
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The number of weapons seized was up 368 on 2017 and continued the steady rise in annual seizures since 2010, when only 398 weapons were seized.
Gunnar Appelgren, Chief Superintendent in Stockholm, told Sweden's state broadcaster SVT that he was not surprised.
"I would have expected it to rise," he said. "Partly it's because the number of weapons has risen. The import of weapons from, above all, the former Balkans and their neighbouring countries, has increased.
"Partly, it's because we've been better at finding weapons and being in the right place at the right time."
READ ALSO:
- Malmö sees four shooting incidents in 24 hours
- 12,000 weapons were handed in during Swedish amnesty: police
- Stockholm police seize weapons cache, make three arrest
Appelgren said that the controversial 2015 police reform appeared to be starting to pay off, which meant police had become better at "keeping a grip on criminal environments."
"We put a lot of emphasis on looking for weapons, both through intelligence and through investigations in pro-active police work," he said.
Of the weapons seized, the majority were pistols, and 102 were military weapons.
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