Police will establish a security zone in Norrköping tomorrow after yesterday's double murder. This is the first time it has happened in the country.
The security zone applies to the Hageby district, where two men were shot dead in an apartment during the night to Monday. A man in his 20s has been arrested on suspicion of murder.
The purpose is to increase security in the area and make it more difficult for criminals to prepare and commit violent crimes, according to the police.
"Anyone living or moving within the security zone may notice that the police are more present and conducting more preventive checks," the police write on their website.
On Monday, Frida Braf, local police area manager in Norrköping, told TT that a security zone was not yet in place, but that the possibility was being considered.
Hageby is located in southwestern Norrköping and was largely built in the 1950s and 1960s. The district has been affected by several violent incidents in recent times, at the same time as it is home to a number of people who the police believe are connected to criminal networks. In the winter, Hageby was added to the police's list of vulnerable areas in the country.
The security zone in Norrköping will be the first of its kind since the government introduced the possibility about a month ago.
Sophia Jarl, chairman of the municipal council in Norrköping, says that the municipality fully supports the police's actions in Hageby.
A security zone, also known as a visitation zone, can be introduced in areas where there is a "notable" risk of conflict between criminal networks that involve shootings or explosions – and where the zone is considered to be of "particular" importance to prevent this.
In the zone, which is expected to last for up to two weeks but can be extended with a new decision, the police will have the right to search adults and children, as well as vehicles, without a concrete suspicion of a crime.
Who will be subject to a search will be based on a "collective assessment". This can, for example, involve a person's behavior being unusual, the time of day, who the person is with, or tips.
Plans for security zones have been criticized by remiss bodies and organizations such as Amnesty International. Even the Supreme Court has raised objections.
Critics have pointed out that the system involves too many privacy violations and that the zones risk leading to discriminatory ethnic profiling.
A search involves a police officer feeling the outside of a person's clothing and may need to take out what is in their pockets. It is similar to a security check at an airport.
A man is generally only allowed to search other men. If a woman is to be searched, it is a female police officer who performs the action. A man can, however, perform searches on women if it concerns items a woman has with her.
Source: Police
