Now the police can introduce visitation zones | Sweden

The law on security zones, better known as visitation zones, comes into force on Thursday.

It allows the police to introduce a so-called security zone in an area where there is a “substantial” risk of a conflict between criminal networks involving shootings or explosions and where the zone is considered to be of “extraordinary” importance to curb it.

– It is therefore both a matter of tangible risk and extraordinary weight. These are strong legal terms, and in other words, nothing that will be taken lightly and happen everywhere, says Kristian Malzoff, commissioner at the development unit of the national operational department, Noa.

Valid for two weeks

In the zone, which will apply for a maximum of two weeks but can be extended with a new decision, the police are given the right to body search adults as well as children, as well as search vehicles, without there being a concrete suspicion of crime.

Kristian Malzoff, who has been involved in the authority’s work in developing guidance for the law, emphasizes that the vast majority of people who move in the area will not be searched.

– That is my absolute conviction, he says.

Who is subject to a body search must be based on a “collective assessment”. This could, for example, be about the person behaving differently, the time, who the person is with or intelligence.

Not randomly

It is not possible in advance to point out particular characteristics or behaviors that may be the basis for a visitation.

– We must not routinely search anyone or randomly select. It must be circumstances on the ground that make the police make the decision, says Malzoff.

The purpose of the zones is to prevent serious acts of violence in a gang environment and to “cool down” acute conflicts. The hope from the police is that they will act as a signal to criminals to stay away.

– I hope and believe that if we are good at communicating why we set up a security zone and what measures can be taken in a security zone, the criminals will also find out and stay away.

The main criticism of the zones has been that they open up to arbitrariness and risk leading to a distrust of the police in areas where they are used. Kristian Malzoff believes that it is crucial how the police communicate.

– I think it is extremely important that we explain the purpose of being here, how a body search is carried out, what we are allowed to do and what we are not allowed to do.