In Avesta, the police see that minors move around and socialize with narcotics actors known to the police. The suspicion is that young people from middle school onwards are being exploited in the sale of narcotics.
"We are not able to capture individuals to the extent that we should. Outreach activities are important, and we have zero in Avesta and Hedemora," says Thomas Nordström.
Solutions in the pipeline
Martin Öhman, Acting Local Police Area Manager in Dalarna, agrees that there are shortcomings but that measures are underway.
"We don't have the outreach that we would like to have. This is something that we will fix at the beginning of next year. It's always a balance, what is optimal. What we are capable of is in relation to everything else that is happening. We are facing growth and will expand our crime prevention work," says Martin Öhman.
Youth mess in the city centre
Some time ago, the so-called "youth mess" was going on in the centre of Avesta. It was mainly about young people between the ages of 11 and 16 with norm-breaking behaviors that messed around in the city center and created insecurity among customers and store staff.
"A lot of good things are being done and we are good at handing over information to social services. But it would be good if you could have some form of outreach all the time, it gives us a better idea of who hangs out with each other, where and who they have contact with," says Thomas Nordström.
Join us in the police car and hear Avesta's municipal police about the problem in the video: "Young people are drawn into gang crime".