Home break-ins drop by more than half in Stockholm as coronavirus hits
Fewer break-ins have been reported to the police since the coronavirus epidemic hit Sweden, according to police statistics reported by the public radio broadcaster’s news show Ekot.
In Stockholm, they have more than halved compared to the average.
Last week, 68 home break-ins were reported in the Greater Stockholm area, down from a weekly average of 150 so far this year. The nationwide figures were 254 break-ins compared to 370 a week.
The reason is believed to be the fact that more people are spending time at home – whether they are self-quarantining after catching the virus, or working from home to avoid it – which makes it harder for would-be thieves to break into houses, according to Stockholm police analyst Sven Granath.
"It could also be that international gangs, which carry out a large number of these crimes, are finding it harder to move between European countries. And that affects the statistics," he told Ekot.
The coronavirus in Sweden:
Concerns had previously been raised of a potential increase in domestic violence, as more people spend time together at home, but it is not yet possible to discern such a trend, according to police.
But reports of fraud and attempted fraud have increased slightly in the last week. Scammers are believed to be taking advantage of the epidemic to trick mainly elderly people self-isolating at home, by for example promising to do their food shopping for them but then instead taking their money.
Police advise people never to hand out bank cards or bank codes to strangers, nor allow anyone else to log into your internet banking.
Swedish vocabulary
break-in – (ett) inbrott
average – (ett) genomsnitt
violence – våld
fraud – bedrägeri
thief – (en) tjuv
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In Stockholm, they have more than halved compared to the average.
Last week, 68 home break-ins were reported in the Greater Stockholm area, down from a weekly average of 150 so far this year. The nationwide figures were 254 break-ins compared to 370 a week.
The reason is believed to be the fact that more people are spending time at home – whether they are self-quarantining after catching the virus, or working from home to avoid it – which makes it harder for would-be thieves to break into houses, according to Stockholm police analyst Sven Granath.
"It could also be that international gangs, which carry out a large number of these crimes, are finding it harder to move between European countries. And that affects the statistics," he told Ekot.
The coronavirus in Sweden:
Concerns had previously been raised of a potential increase in domestic violence, as more people spend time together at home, but it is not yet possible to discern such a trend, according to police.
But reports of fraud and attempted fraud have increased slightly in the last week. Scammers are believed to be taking advantage of the epidemic to trick mainly elderly people self-isolating at home, by for example promising to do their food shopping for them but then instead taking their money.
Police advise people never to hand out bank cards or bank codes to strangers, nor allow anyone else to log into your internet banking.
Swedish vocabulary
break-in – (ett) inbrott
average – (ett) genomsnitt
violence – våld
fraud – bedrägeri
thief – (en) tjuv
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