The police after the murders: "Not part of an escalation"

The sports hall became a murder scene when the spontaneous football in Älvsjö was interrupted by shots. After a quiet September, the 24-year-old youth leader Saba Abraham became the first victim of gang violence in Stockholm this autumn.

A week later, a 27-year-old man was shot dead in a car in another district in southern Stockholm.

The shootings raise questions: Is the temperature rising in the gang conflicts again?

No, is the police's current assessment.

- We must understand and monitor what is happening. But these two cases do not change our assessment of the current state of violence, says Alexander Wallenius.

Several times a week, the police stop young people who are suspected of being about to take on or carry out violent missions for the gangs, he says. It has continued after the murders in Stockholm. But no increased activity linked to the shootings is yet visible.

- If we had stopped five planned acts in southern Stockholm since then, we would have made a completely different assessment. But we don't see that.

The figures on gang violence perpetrated clearly point in the right direction, both when it comes to shootings and explosions.

But the statistics also show that conflicts remain. By the end of September, 76 explosions had occurred, but twice as many had been stopped in the preparatory stage.

Over time, the police see how the preparation and stamping crimes increase, while the completed and attempted shootings and bombings decrease.

- The level is significantly lower. But we still see that there is a great desire for violence within the criminal networks.

The will is also felt when the police trawl social media and messaging services. There, Alexander Wallenius and his colleagues continue to be met by a plethora of recruitment advertisements, both for violent crimes and other criminal activities.

Last summer, the authority received legal support to force the platforms to take down the content. Since then, 45 gang ads have been taken down. The police have also urged the companies to remove 200 recruitment posts that do not fall under the new legislation. On about half of the occasions, the companies have followed the authority's line.

The criminals adapt to the development, notes Alexander Wallenius. The police are noticing how the ads are becoming more public to avoid the risk of being removed.

- Before, it was more straightforward to look for a 'japa' who could carry out a shooting in a certain location. Now you are more vague. Rather, 'old men for jobs' are in demand.

The police's assessment is that it has become more difficult for the networks to find young performers. The discouraging examples of how children have become gangs' consumables are numerous. More people are aware of how it can end for whoever takes on an assignment, says Alexander Wallenius.

- This means that the gangs need to work harder to recruit. Ads stay out longer and they increase the promised payment.

When gang crime hit Sweden the worst, there were three dominant networks. The fact that two of them – Dalen and Rumba – are greatly weakened is often cited as an explanation for the reduction in violence.

But calm is not a law of nature, notes Alexander Wallenius. The space that Dalen and Rumba leave behind, others will want to take over. So far, however, no grouping has clearly advanced its positions, according to Wallenius.

- We do not see networks acting to step into the vacuum that Dalen and Rumba left behind. But we follow it closely.