It is sometimes claimed in the media that there is a link between the Riksbank’s closure of its depots and the increase in cash transport robberies. I would doubt that claim. First and foremost, it must be remembered that approximately 85 per cent of the cash transports that are attacked are on their way to ATMs, and the Riksbank has never been involved in these transports. Only a very few transports to or from our offices have been the target of robberies. Furthermore, the large increase in the number of robberies took place while the Riksbank still had a network of cash depots throughout Sweden. One possible explanation for the increase in the number of cash transport robberies, which has been suggested by the Swedish National Council for Crime Prevention (BRÅ), is that criminality may to some extent have been transferred from robbing banks and post offices to robbing cash transports. Other possible explanations, according to BRÅ, are that cash transport robberies yield much larger amounts than bank and post office robberies, while increased security in post offices and banks may have discouraged prospective robbers. I think that we should ask the question of why Sweden has so many more cash transport robberies than other countries, not just other Nordic countries, but the majority of European countries. There have occasionally been suggestions put forward in the general debate that if one tried to reduce the use of cash in society, the number of transports to ATMs could be reduced.
Cash transport robberies – a social problem The large number of robberies of cash transports in Sweden comprises a major problem for all of us – each of us is affected in some way by cash management in our society. Developments have become even more troubled over the past years, as we have unfortunately seen an escalation in the violence used during the robberies and attempted robberies, through the use of explosives and heavy weapons. I regard these recent developments with great concern and hope that this forum will enable us to improve the security of cash transports and cash management in general. The number of robberies of cash transports doubled from the already high figure of 30-40 robberies a year to 70-80 robberies a year in 1998 and 1999 and has since then remained at this very high level. Statistics from the European Security Transport Association, ESTA, show that Sweden holds a scarcely honourable third place with regard to the number of cash transport robberies in relation to the population. We had a total of 224 cash transport robberies between 1998 and 2004, while the corresponding figure for Denmark was 93, for Norway 42 and for Finland only 4. Equally alarming is the fact that Sweden accounts for one tenth of the total capital losses in cash transport robberies in Europe; if one takes into account the size of the population, we were the country that lost the second highest amount of money, after Ireland.