After a 20-year-old was shot dead in a parking garage in Norrköping on Thursday evening, a film has been widely circulated on social media. It allegedly depicts the crime in the parking garage.
Police have not confirmed that the video depicts the incident. However, DN has been able to verify that the material was filmed in the same parking garage where the suspected murder allegedly took place. In the video, a perpetrator appears to film his own hand gripping a firearm, which then fires several shots at a person lying on the ground.
According to Sven Granath, criminologist at Stockholm University, there are mainly two reasons why perpetrators generally film their crimes. Among other things, the practitioner may need to have proof that they performed the act for their client.
– It is a receipt that you have done the deed, says Sven Granath.
Another reason is that the practitioner wants some sort of trophy from the event.
– You want to be able to impress and shine with this.
Taking a trophy with you creates a sense of being able to recreate the moment, according to the criminologist.
Photo: Anders Wiklund/TT
Both phenomena have existed for a long time. Sven Granath describes the films as a modern trophy, whereas in the past something was taken from the crime victim – it could be a necklace, a shoe or a body part. And a receipt from a torpedo mission a few decades ago could be an analog photograph.
The “trophy mentality”, as Sven Granath calls it, is more common in unplanned violent crimes and at younger ages.
Why is it more common when people are younger?
– Younger groups have more of that mindset. You see that in other areas as well, with increasing age people become a little less inclined to notoriously film at parties and the like, he says.
Why film something when it also reasonably increases the probability of getting caught?
– Yes, it may seem to defeat its purpose. But sometimes the people might think that it must be worth it or that they didn’t know it would spread a lot. You may think it’s stupid to film, but people have a hard time keeping quiet. You could see the same thing already in the 80s.
The explicit video that has now been circulated of an act of violence can, if it turns out to be genuine, be seen as an exposé of violent capital and as a threat to potential enemies. But it is not a theory that Sven Granath believes very much.
– It will probably come out anyway (who are behind the crime). But it is difficult to say anything about, it becomes speculation.
The former police Nadim Ghazale, now a debater and author, was one of those horrified that the clips were being spread among children – like his 11-year-old son. But he also does not feel that the phenomenon is new. In his role as a municipal police officer, he began to see more and more of its clips about four years ago.
This type of footage is generally used as a showcase for the criminal networks, according to him. But this video reached new lows, he believes.
– It is filmed as if it were a video game, I have never seen anything like it. It is completely surreal to have the coolness, awareness and planning that the video requires, says Nadim Ghazale.
According to him, the idea that the films are used for purely marketing purposes is known within the police authority.
– The police are fully aware that it is used as PR and for recruitment.
Photo: Anders Wiklund/TT
Johan Qvartoft, deputy local police area manager, does not want to speculate on why this type of footage is recorded. He also cannot comment on details in the film. What he wants to talk about is that people who share this kind of material can be reported for crimes.
– If you spread material where someone is in a vulnerable situation, it can be an illegal breach of privacy. You could be reported for that – or slandered. But the police do not judge, we only report and the court can decide whether it is criminal or not, he says.
Read more:
Suspected murder in Norrköping – film circulating on social media
Viral clips of violent crimes a growing problem – undermining investigations
