Payments in Sweden 2019

Security in Sweden is high from an international perspective

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Crimes linked to cash have fallen

Published: 7 November 2019

As cash usage has fallen, the number of robberies aimed at stealing cash reported to the police has fallen sharply. This applies equally to bank robberies and to robberies of shops and cash-in-transit operations. Much of the reduction can probably be explained by there now being less cash in banks and shops. For example, Sweden had no cash-in-transport robberies last year. However, the number of robberies aimed at private individuals reported to the police has remained stable at around 6,500 per year. These are aggregated statistics and do not differentiate between robberies for cash and for other objects.

Figure: Decrease in robberies of banks, cash-in-transit operations and taxis.csv

Sharp decrease in robberies of banks, cash-in-transit operations and taxis reported to the police in Sweden. The figure shows that the number of robberies of banks, cash-in-transit operations and taxis reported to the police has decreased sharply over the last 10 years. (Click on the explanations under the diagram to show or hide one or more series.) Source: Swedish National Council for Crime Prevention.

Figure: The number of robberies of shops reported to the police has decreased.csv

The number of robberies of shops reported to the police has decreased as cash is used less frequently. The figure shows that the number of robberies of shops reported to the police has more than halved since 2009. Source: Swedish National Council for Crime Prevention.