The corona crisis has meant that all major events in Sweden have been canceled. It has freed up police resources and made the police pay less in overtime pay.

- It affects the police operations positively that there are not so many events, says Erik Nord, police chief in Greater Gothenburg and continues:

- Our operating costs in the form of overtime are not as high as they have been before. If we take a football match or a big concert, a fairly large proportion of the staff on duty go on overtime.

Thousands fewer cases

The police's preliminary figures for public gatherings and public events show a large change compared with last year. During the period 12 March to 30 June, the police handled 2,504 cases, compared with 10,252 cases in the same period last year.

- Our business can almost not be solved if you do not take people out in overtime. It is a normal instrument for us, but there is a much smaller need for it now than in a normal year, says Erik Nord.

Saves ten million

Police Region West has a calculated deficit of 20 million this year, according to Erik Nord. Now the region can save 10 million during the corona crisis.

The police in the capital see the same pattern.

- It is quite clear that when we have larger commands at short notice, it costs an incredible amount of overtime for Swedish police, says Mattias Andersson, deputy police chief in the city of Stockholm.

Over 200 police officers at high-risk match

The pandemic has also released resources in Malmö.

- That we save money is quite clear, but perhaps not so much at gatherings and events that were known for a long time. It's within planning. Everything that comes in the near future, you have to make sure to solve with overtime, says Stefan Sintéus, Malmö police chief.

The biggest benefit in the current situation, according to the police area chief, is that the police can focus on other parts of their activities. A high-risk football match requires 200-250 police officers, according to Stefan Sintéus.

- What gives the most is that we can free up resources for other things. Much is about crime prevention activities.