The police held a meeting with gang leaders

Published 7 June 2024 at 11.28

Domestic. Within the framework of Stop shooting, on Wednesday about 10 people from criminal gangs had a meeting with the police, the city of Malmö and the Correctional Service.

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The purpose of Stop shooting is to get people who move in the criminal circle to stop serious violent crimes such as shootings and explosions. An important component of the concept, which originally comes from the United States, is to gather people for a joint meeting, a so-called call-in.

During Wednesday's meeting, the participants got to listen to a former criminal, a mother who lost his son, a religious leader, a representative of the city, police, social services and correctional services.

– The benefit of the meetings is that we show that the whole community stands behind a common message to stop the violence and choose a another way, says Glen Sjögren from the police in Malmö on the police's website.

Wednesday's call-in was the sixth since Stop Shooting was introduced in Malmö in 2018. In parallel, the police and Malmö city's dropout team are working on outreach. They hold individual conversations with criminals who are judged to be in the risk zone for committing serious violent crimes or who themselves are at risk of becoming victims of violence. Since the start, around 250 such talks have been held in Malmö.

– The one-on-one meetings are ongoing all the time. The personal conversation can be decisive for people to dare to leave the criminal path, says Glen Sjögren.

During 2024, eight shootings have occurred in Malmö. It is a change for the better compared to 2023 when there were a total of 40 shootings in the city. Two people have been injured and no one has died as a result of shooting in Malmö so far this year. Two explosions have taken place in Malmö during 2024, which is also a break in the trend in a positive direction. In 2023, there were a total of nine explosions in Malmö.