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MALMÖ

Winter city guides for parents and kids: Malmö

Jennifer Heape checks out what Malmö has to offer for kids this winter.

Winter city guides for parents and kids: Malmö

Malmö proudly holds the title as the ‘city of parks’ and Folkets Park (‘folk park’ or ‘people’s park’), is the oldest public park of its kind in Sweden. As it has large open spaces and access to these is free, Folkets Park is a great cheap option for a football kick-around or a picnic.

However, within Folkets Park there are many further attractions for families. Petting zoos are always a winner with little ones and Folkets Park has its own children’s farm ranch called the Ark (‘Arken barnens gård’). Here rabbits, goats, chickens and sheep roam free and the kids can even go pony riding.

For fans of more exotic animals, the Malmö Reptile Centre (‘Terrarium’) is sure to thrill. At this small zoo, adults and children alike can enjoy seeing monkeys, spiders, snakes, parrots, kangaroos and crocodiles among other delights.

The centre even has its own celebrity, Douglas the scarlet macaw. Douglas, aka Rosalinda, starred in the 1970s production of Astrid Lindgren’s ‘Pippi on the Seven Seas’. Douglas has lived at the centre since 1984 and can apparently say over 50 words and wave goodbye.

Folkets Park also has several fairground rides including a giant Ferris wheel. The ‘Children’s Stage’ can be found here too, where theatre, film and circus acts specially created for children are shown year-round.

Around Christmas time the lake is transformed into an ice-rink for all the family. Please note that although entrance into the park is free, many of the attractions above do charge for admission.

Another beautiful green space in Malmö is Slottsträdgården, an organic garden located just next to Kungsparken. The garden has a lovely café selling a selection of cakes and light bites – a perfect pit-stop before moving on to Malmöhus Castle next door.

Originally built in 1434 by Eric of Pomerania, Malmöhus Castle now houses three of Malmö’s major museums; Malmö Art Museum, City Museum and the Natural History Museum.

Of the three, the Natural History Museum is likely to be of the most interest to parties with children and a great option if the weather forces activities indoors. Inside the museum there is an extensive exhibition of stuffed animals from all different species and the basement aquarium comes complete with amphibians, electric eels and piranha fish.

The Science and Maritime House has lots of exciting displays for kids including old aeroplanes and cars. A U3 Second World War submarine is docked outside where life on board a deep water sub can be seen first-hand.

Entrance into the main museum area (all three main museums, the Science and Maritime House and the Governor´s House) is covered by one ticket and only costs 40kr for adults, 10kr for children and the under 7s are free. This price includes the Castle itself, which is also well worth a visit.

A nearby fun and reasonably priced lunch option might be the medieval themed restaurant, Skeppsmagasinet. Alternatively, head to Möllevångstorget Square in the city centre, which contains many different eateries offering a wide range of culinary delights, so the whole family is bound to find something for every taste and budget.

For sheer playtime madness, Andy’s Lekland is great if the kids still need to let off some steam. The large playhouse has loads to keep children happy including climbing frames, indoor hockey, games and ball cannons.

The entrance fee is 100kr per child for three hours playtime and accompanying adults are free. Andy’s also has a good cafe for simple food and snacks.

For more information as well as upcoming events, check the Malmö local tourist board.

SHOOTINGS

US criminologist lauds Malmö for anti-gang success

The US criminologist behind the anti-gang strategy designed to reduce the number of shootings and explosions in Malmö has credited the city and its police for the "utterly pragmatic, very professional, very focused" way they have put his ideas into practice.

US criminologist lauds Malmö for anti-gang success
Johan Nilsson/TT

In an online seminar with Malmö mayor Katrin Stjernfeldt Jammeh, David Kennedy, a professor at New York’s John Jay College of Criminal Justice, said implementing his Group Violence Intervention (GVI) strategy had gone extremely smoothly in the city.

“What really stands out about the Malmö experience is contrary to most of the places we work,” he said. “They made their own assessment of their situation on the ground, they looked at the intervention logic, they decided it made sense, and then, in a very rapid, focused and business-like fashion, they figured out how to do the work.”

He said that this contrasted with police and other authorities in most cities who attempt to implement the strategy, who tend to end up “dragging their feet”, “having huge amounts of political infighting”, and coming up with reasons why their city is too different from other cities where the strategy has been a success.

Malmö’s Sluta Skjut (Stop Shooting) pilot scheme was extended to a three-year programme this January, after its launch in 2018 coincided with a reduction in the number of shootings and explosions in the city.

“We think it’s a good medicine for Malmö for breaking the negative trend that we had,” Malmö police chief Stefan Sintéus said, pointing to the fall from 65 shootings in 2017 to 20 in 2020, and in explosions from 62 in 2017 to 17 in 2020.

A graph from Malmö police showing the reduction in the number of shootings from 2017 to 2020. Graph: Malmö Police
A graph from Malmö police showing the reduction in the number of explosions in the city between 2017 and 2020. Graph: Malmö Police

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In their second evaluation of the programme, published last month, Anna-Karin Ivert, Caroline Mellgren, and Karin Svanberg, three criminologists from Malmö University, reported that violent crime had declined significantly since the program came into force, and said that it was possible that the Sluta Skjut program was partly responsible, although it was difficult to judge exactly to what extent. 

The number of shootings had already started to decline before the scheme was launched, and in November 2019, Sweden’s national police launched Operation Rimfrost, a six-month crackdown on gang crime, which saw Malmö police reinforced by officers from across Sweden.

But Kennedy said he had “very little sympathy” for criminologists critical of the police’s decision to launch such a massive operation at the same time as Sluta Skjut, making it near impossible to evaluate the programme.

“Evaluation is there to improve public policy, public policy is not there to provide the basis for for sophisticated evaluation methodology,” he argued.

“When people with jobs to do, feel that they need to do things in the name of public safety, they should follow their professional, legal and moral judgement. Not doing something to save lives, because it’s going to create evaluation issues, I think, is simply privileging social science in a way that it doesn’t deserve.”

US criminologist David Kennedy partaking in the meeting. Photo: Richard Orange

Sluta Skjut has been based around so-called ‘call-ins’, in which known gang members on probation are asked to attend meetings, where law enforcement officials warn them that if shootings and explosions continue, they and the groups around them will be subject to intense focus from police.

At the same time, social workers and other actors in civil society offer help in leaving gang life.

Of the 250-300 young men who have been involved in the project, about 40 have been sent to prison, while 49 have joined Malmö’s ‘defector’ programme, which helps individuals leave gangs.

Kennedy warned not to focus too much on the number of those involved in the scheme who start to work with social services on leaving gang life.

“What we find in in practice is that most of the impact of this approach doesn’t come either because people go to prison or because they take services and leave gang life,” he said.

“Most of the impact comes from people simply putting their guns down and no longer being violent.”

“We think of the options as continuing to be extremely dangerous, or completely turning one’s life around. That’s not realistic in practice. Most of us don’t change that dramatically ever in our lives.”

He stressed the importance of informal social control in his method, reaching those who gang members love and respect, and encouraging them to put pressure on gang members to abstain from gun violence.

“We all care more about our mothers than we care about the police, and it turns out that if you can find the guy that this very high risk, very dangerous person respects – literally, you know, little old ladies will go up to him and get his attention and tell him to behave himself. And he will.”

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