Increased Gun Violence Among Young Males in Sweden: a Descriptive National Survey and International Comparison

Abstract

This population-based time-trend study examines gun violence rates among males in Sweden during the years 1996 to 2015 and compares the rate in Sweden to other Western European countries. Data were collected from six registries and are presented descriptively per 100,000 inhabitants. The risks among males in Sweden increased considerably in both lethal and non-lethal gun victimization and perpetration. Among males aged 15 to 29 there was a five-fold increase in risk for victimization in lethal and non-lethal gun violence during the 20year observation period. In a comparative perspective the rate of gun homicide victimization among males 15 to 29 years was higher in Sweden compared to other Western European countries, while the risk for males over age 30 was at an average level. Based on the results of this study we conclude that gun violence among young males in Sweden has been on the rise and is at a high level compared to other Western European countries. The development of gun violence in Sweden can be characterized as endemic, prevalent in both population and socially vulnerable areas.

Explosive violence: A near-repeat study of hand grenade detonations and shootings in urban Sweden

“…Sweden has witnessed a dramatic change in gun violence in the last 20 years (Khoshnood, 2017(Khoshnood, , 2018Sturup et al, 2018a), with an almost five-fold increase in risk among males aged 15 to 29 years (Sturup et al, 2018b). During a five-year period, the three largest cities in Sweden (Stockholm, Gothenburg and Malmö) experienced 958 shootings, resulting in 79 dead and 355 injured (Sturup et al, 2018a).…”

Holding Sweden hostage: firearm-related violence

“…Swedish scholars have reported the same unsettling findings [3–7]. A Swedish register-based study recently showed that Sweden has the highest rate of lethal and non-lethal firearm-related violence among youths aged between 15 and 29 years in Western Europe [8].…”

“…Although there are no studies or reports stating the contrary, many publications are either focused on a specific Swedish geographical location [3–5], have only used one source of statistics [2], have not properly cited the used references for their findings [1], or are focused on a timeframe that is capped at 2015 [8].…”

CCTV in deprived neighbourhoods – a short-time follow-up of effects on crime and crime clearance

“…Gerell, 2017;Sturup, Gerell, et al, 2019a). In particular, gun violence has increased substantially the past 20 years (Sturup et al, 2019b), to a large extent driven by increases in deprived neighbourhoods (Brå, 2015b), and this has led to a strong focus nationally from policymakers and police to combat these problems.…”