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HISTORICAL STATISTICS 1950 was the year Sweden began with a national crime statistics. In 1950 195,000 crimes were reported. In 1964, the number was 368,000. Between 1975 and 1990, the number of reported offences rose by 61 percent at a steady rate. In the 90s, the number fluctuated between years, but was generally not increasing. The latest years have seen a slight increase but not higher than it was in 1990. The increase of crimes have been attributed to a lesser degree of social interactions, leading to decreased supervision, but also an increased in living conditions which had led to more valuable items to steal. The suspects are men in 80% of the cases. TYPES OF CRIMES REPORTED Of the crimes reported to the authorities in 2003, 53% were of theft-kinds, 13% contact crime , 12% vandalism and destruction, 6% traffic crimes (not including minor incidents), 5% were frauds and 3% narcotics related. It should be noted that many crimes go unreported. According to studies, only 22% of those affected by violence reported the offence to the authorities, and about 50% of those affected by vandalism. Some increases in the statistics are attributed to a higher level of reporting. Most notable increase in the last decade has been contact crimes. The has been attributed to large changes in the Sweden Welfare State . Another significant change is an increase in alcohol related crimes, mainly attributed to larger allowed quotas from foreign countries. Homicides In 2003, there were 189 has 6 murders per 100,000; and Russia : 20.5. Of the level of homicides in Capital s, Stockholm is on level with most capitals with around 3 annual homicedes per 100,000 inhabitants, although the numbers are hard to compare due to large fluctuations between years. INTERNATIONAL COMPARISMENT International comparisments are notably hard to make due to many variations in laws, legislations, jurisdiction and the process of reporting crimes. In a research from 1996 with 11 industrial countries, 24% of Swedes people themselves states they had been affected by a criminal act -- 24% was incidentally the average rate of all countries. Sweden was together with Holland and the Switzerland distinguished by a high rate of small crimes, such as theft of bicycle. Assaults and threats however are (relatively) common: Sweden in third of the countries. However, the risk of getting Mugged is lower -- 0,5% in Sweden reported to have been affected compared to 1,3% and 1,2% in the U.S and Canada. IMPRISONMENT The percentage of the population in prison is at a significant lower rate than most other countries. Of 100,000 inhabitants, 59 lived in prison facilities in 2001, which is about the same rate as the other Scandinavia n countries. Most industrial countres in Europe had a rate of around 100 ( England & Wales 125, Germany 97, Italy 90), and some eastern Europe states between 150-300; the U.S. high above with 682, only topped by Russia's 729. {Link without Title} Some of these numbers may be due to variations in prison types. Sweden makes frequent use of Electronical Fetters allowing the prisoner to live at home but sustaining contants supervision including a no-alcohol policy. Yet, the Swedish prison system is generally mild, and the maximum sentence ("life" sentence) is 15-20 years in prison. NOTORIOUS CRIMINALS AND CRIMES
CRIMES AND LEGISLATION Youth delinquency In the late 1990s a new kind of crime drew the attention of media: muggings among youths. This phenomenon bears a strong relationship to the waves of immigrants that arrived in Sweden the 1990s. These were generally grouped in areas and in particular in the larger cities a Ghetto -like climate emerged. Some examples that (sometimes unfairly) came to define the situation in respective city were Bergsjön in Göteborg ; Rinkeby in Stockholm; and Rosengård in Malmö. This areas with their Socioeconomic low standard and high unemployment led to segregation, and at the same time the rate of foreigner related crimes were reported as being at a significant level. The truth of this were much disputed in Swedish media. Opponents mantain this to be a result of Xenophobia , hostility and misunderstanding. Yet results continuously show the undisputed facts of foreigners from the low-standard socioeconomical neighbourhoods as much more likely crime suspects. In Malmö, the person injured was a native Swede in 71% of cases; the suspect mugger was however foreign-born in 61% of cases. A study was eventually called for and published in 2000 by the National Council for Crime Prevention . Of teenagers in 9th grade, 10% of boys and 5% of girls had been tje target of muggings during the last 2 years. The rates of Gymnasium students were about the same. Similarly, 10% of the questioned boys admitted as having mugged others; 5% of girls. Desirable objects are mainly money (35%) and cell phones (34%). The average value of stolen items were around 700 Swedish Crowns (~70 US$). Juvenile robberies reported to the police annually. The same study also showed that only ca 50% reported muggings to the police. Prostitution Sweden is one of few countires in the world to have criminalized the ''buying'' of sexual acts. The reason is the Swedish government's adaptation of the theory of Gender Role s with a male Ruling Class , with the notion that the clients of Prostitute s exploit the prostitutes. The law was put in effect on January 1, 1999 and inserted into the Criminal Code on April 1, 2005. The penalty is Fine or prison of maximum of six months. So far, the law has led to few conviction, due to difficulties of proving a person was indeed buying sex, virtually requiring the person to be caught "with his pants down". The law has however resulted in increased Sex Tourism to surrounding countries, with Tallinn , Estonia , being one city voicing complaints. In line with this, in 2005 a law was put into effect barring different taxations of men and women, which is common at Hairdresser s, and a prohibition of different age limits for men and women at pubs and Night Club s. Right-wing extremistic violence While this type of crime has attracted media attention in Sweden, especially due to some high focus attacks such as the shootings of the Laser Man John Ausonius , these type of crimes are likely not more prominent in Sweden than in other countries. A few political parties are often connected to violence against foreigners, most notably the National Socialist Front and the Vitt Ariskt Motstånd . For details, see Right-wing Extreme Crimes In Sweden . NOTES REFERENCES
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