Sweden orders new map of high-frequency offenders
Brå will estimate the group's size and offence patterns after an earlier study found a highly concentrated share within its sample.
Sweden has instructed the National Council for Crime Prevention, Brå, to produce an updated assessment of people who account for a disproportionate share of offending. The government says the work should improve knowledge of the most crime-active offenders and their role in crime trends.
Under the new assignment, Brå must describe and analyse the group, estimate how many such people are in Sweden and report the types of offences involved. Where possible, it should also track how the group and its offending have changed over time.
The government cites a 2014 Brå study that identified nearly 12,000 high-frequency offenders. They accounted for about 61 percent of all offences committed during the studied period by the convicted people included in that research.
That figure does not mean the group committed 61 percent of all crime in Sweden. The new assignment is intended to update the evidence base for crime prevention and measures aimed at reducing repeat offending.
Brå must report its findings to the Government Offices by 25 November 2026. The assignment orders a statistical and analytical mapping; it does not itself introduce a penalty or enforcement measure.
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