Swedish police released an updated list of so-called “vulnerable areas” across the country despite protests from certain municipalities who protested and wanted the list to be kept secret.
Swedish police produced the updated list of vulnerable areas, in which some are often referred to as “no-go areas,” on Monday revealing 23 areas that have been deemed as “particularly vulnerable” including the area of Skäggetorp which became an issue of contention for the local government in Linköping who wanted the list kept secret, Swedish broadcaster SVT reports.
According to the broadcaster, the police define a “particularly vulnerable” area as “characterized by social problems and a criminal presence which led to a widespread reluctance to participate in the legal process and difficulties for the police to fulfil their mission. The situation is considered acute.”
In April, Breitbart London reported that several municipal governments wanted police to make the list secret from the general public with Erik Pelling, a member of the Uppsala local government complaining that the list could hurt investment in the area of Gottsunda and even requested the area be removed from the list altogether.
Three Times The Mainstream Media Has Denied The Existence of No-Go Zones In Europe https://t.co/cwQXbwFFL3
— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) March 3, 2018
“Because of the lack of transparency, it is not possible to know if we are moving away from it. And, of course, companies are thinking twice before investing in a neighbourhood with such a label,” he said.
Mats Löfving, head of the police’s national operational department (Noa) explained the reasons for the police refusing to censor the list saying, “…for the police, it is important to highlight facts and put them on the table under full transparency, in order to then be able to start from there and take action together with the areas concerned. That is the whole starting point.”
For years Sweden has struggled with increased crime and violence in no-go areas with violence toward police and emergency services even being caught on video and released in 2017.
Several solutions have been offered to combat the situation in many of the areas, which also tend to have higher migrant populations, including a suggestion from the centre-right Moderate Party to bring in the Swedish military to support the police in particularly impacted areas.
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