Lethal violence in Sweden 1990–2014

Lethal violence is a central type of offence in studies of crime trends in Sweden and in other countries. The rate of unreported cases, i.e. events which never come to the police’s attention, is believed to be low for such offences and there is relatively consistent data over time.

This report analyses all cases of completed murder, manslaughter, and assault with a lethal outcome of which the police were aware from 1990–2014. The purpose is to describe lethal violence in Sweden, both with a focus on the general trends and with a specific focus on lethal violence with firearms.

The latter type of lethal violence has been given a great deal of attention during recent years, not the least in connection with reports of shootings in major cities while, at the same time, there has not yet been a detailed analysis of lethal firearm violence. In addition to information from the criminal justice system regarding cases of lethal violence (police investigations, sentences, etc.), the report also uses data from the National Board of Health and Welfare’s cause of death register and patient register.

Original report, in Swedish: Det dödliga våldet i Sverige 1990-2014 (2015:24)