In 2023, more than 1.5 million crimes were reported in Sweden – an increase of four percent compared to the previous year, according to the latest preliminary statistics from the Swedish National Council for Crime Prevention (Bråttsförebyggande Rådet – Brå).
After two years of decline, crime statistics have returned to an upward trend, and fraud crimes stand out with an increase of 22 percent.
According to new statistics from Brå, fraud crimes were the most prominent category that skyrocketed in 2023. In ten years, this type of crime has increased by 53 percent. Particularly alarming is the increase in card fraud and social engineering fraud, up 44 percent and 36 percent respectively.
Social engineering fraud involves fraudsters contacting individuals, often by phone, and persuading them to perform actions that benefit the fraudster financially.
– Social engineering fraud is a type of fraud where the fraudster contacts an individual, often by phone, and tricks them into doing something that will benefit the fraudster financially. A common approach is for the fraudster to pretend to be a bank or government official, says Matheus Eriksson, statistician at Brå.
More assaults
Crimes against the person also increased slightly, with assaults accounting for a significant share and significant increases recorded for assaults against both women and men, especially assaults by acquaintances. The statistics show that assaults by strangers were the most common type of reported assault against men, while assaults by acquaintances were the most common type of reported assault against women.
Although crimes against individuals increased, some types of crimes within this category showed a downward trend. Reported crimes of sexual assault decreased by 6%. The decrease was most pronounced for crimes against women and girls. It should be noted that these crimes represent a small proportion of total crime statistics.
One third of the reported rapes against women (5,019) were rapes committed by a close relative in a relationship. The corresponding proportion for rapes against men (280) was 14%. A total of 8,993 rapes were reported, a decrease of two percent.
Increase in shoplifting
Theft and robbery crimes decreased overall by three percent, but with an interesting shift in the pattern. While reported bicycle theft decreased significantly, which may be explained by the fact that many victims do not report bicycle theft, reported shoplifting increased by as much as ten percent.
According to Brå, this can be partly explained by the increased use of a special e-service that makes it easier to report suspected shoplifting.
– In 2023, it has become easier for shopkeepers to report suspected shoplifting using a special e-service, which may have contributed to the increase in the statistics, says Matheus Eriksson.
