In the latest survey conducted by Novus in Sweden it has been revealed that a large number of Swedish people would feel safer if they could shoot, the respondents also expressed the need for more opportunities to practice shooting skills.
Novus conducted this survey over 1043 people who belong to the 18-24 age group. Torbjörn Sjöström, CEO of Novus said that the purpose behind conducting this survey was to amidst daily reports on shootings investigate the role of citizens in the connection between weapons, marksmanship, and serious violent crimes.
Sjöström stated that for Sweden, the percentage of people (almost 20%) who said they would feel safer if they had access to a firearm was very high.
This is not the United States, and the fact that more than a million Swedes would feel safer if they could arm themselves represents a significant shift from the normal in Sweden, he continued.
Notably, ownership of firearms for hunting and sports shooting is common in Sweden, however, owning firearms for self-defence is not very common. As per some reports, Sweden has become the country with the highest amount of gun violence within a decade, from its earlier position at the bottom.
‘Integration of migrants has failed’
Since 2000, Sweden has witnessed a dramatic surge in gun violence. According to a report by The Swedish National Council for Crime Prevention released in 2021 [PDF English Summery], the country, which was once considered one of the safest countries in the world, now stands at the number one position in Europe in terms of fatal shootings.
In April 2022, the Prime Minister of Sweden Magdalena Andersson said that the integration of immigrants has failed, and it has fuelled gang crimes in the Scandinavian country. PM Andersson had back then also announced multiple initiatives to tackle this. The announcement came after violent riots in Sweden left over 100 police officers injured.
The failure of the authorities to integrate the immigrants the country has received in recent years has led to the formation of parallel societies. Gang violence is much more prevalent in the country now compared to other European countries, data suggests.
Blaming criminals for the law and order situation, PM Andersson said extremism on both sides, i.e. Islamic and right-wing, was allowed to grow in Sweden. She said, “Segregation has been allowed to go so far that we have parallel societies in Sweden. We live in the same country but in completely different realities.”
Back in 2016, it was reported that the Swedish Police had lost control over 55 No-Go Zones where the police struggled to enforce law.
Interestingly, in 2016, World Bank’s Chief Economist Paul Romer suggested that the best way to deal with ‘migrant problem’ is to create a state-within-a-state where the Swedish national laws will not be applicable. Homer had suggested “rent out a land area the size of HongKong.”
