Security work and civil contingency planning
Stockholm is one of the world’s safest and most secure capitals. The City’s work on security and the ability to deal with crises is a prerequisite for Stockholm to maintain its attractiveness.
The City’s security work is based on the City of Stockholm’s Security Programme 2020–2023, which has been adopted by the City Council. The programme applies to all of the City’s councils, committees and executive boards, and forms the basis of how all of the City’s operations plan, implement and develop their work on security.
This work includes systematically identifying the risks and vulnerabilities that could affect the City and its operations, in order to be prepared if something unexpected would occur. Work on security in all of the City’s operations is based on up-to-date, operationally adapted risk and vulnerability assessments (RVA). Each council, committee and executive board must have an up-to-date, long-term action plan for the most prominent risks facing the operation. Measures linked to these risks must be integrated into the operation’s regular operational planning.
There are five focus areas at the heart of the City’s security work:
- Civil contingency planning
- Civil defence
- Security protection and information security
- Preventing accidents
- Unauthorised influence, and threats and violence against employees.
Governing principles
When incidents occur, one important element of Swedish crisis management are three basic principles. These are central to the City of Stockholm’s management of disruptions and crises. In addition to the basic principles, there is a geographical area-based responsibility that aims to enable coordination of crisis management.
The principle of responsibility
The principle of responsibility means that those who are responsible for an operation under normal conditions continue to be so during a crisis. This also includes, if necessary, initiating and conducting collaboration.
The principle of equality
The principle of equality means that organisation and location should, as far as possible, function in the same way as under normal conditions.
The principle of proximity
The principle of proximity means that a crisis is managed where it occurs, by those most directly affected and responsible. This does not prevent the operation from collaborating and seeking help to deal with the crisis.
Geographical area-based responsibility
The City, through the City Executive Board, has a statutory geographical area-based responsibility that covers the City’s geographical area. The city district councils have corresponding geographical area-based responsibilities within their respective council areas. The geographical area-based responsibility entails a responsibility to coordinate all relevant actors – such as government agencies, the business community or voluntary organisations – within the boundaries of the City or city district council area before, during and after an undesirable event or during a state of heightened preparedness.
Regional coordination
Well-established collaboration with other actors, such as the emergency services, the Swedish Police Authority and other government agencies, regional actors, the business community and civil society, is a natural element of the City’s security work. It contributes to reducing both the risk and consequences of societal disruption throughout Stockholm.
One important element of the geographical area-based responsibility is undertaken by the City by participating in the development of regional collaboration within the framework of the Stockholm Resilience Region. The aim is to maintain a safe, secure and disruption-free region and more effective interventions if something happens. This also forms the basis of effective collaboration with the national level.
Stockholm Resilience Region’s website (In Swedish)
Seveso facilities
All of Sweden’s municipalities are responsible for making available information about facilities and operations that handle larger amounts of hazardous chemicals within the municipality, so-called Seveso facilities.
The Seveso Directive, County Administrative Board’s website
The municipality is obliged to draw up a plan for rescue operations in the event of an accident, and to ensure that the public is informed. This is done by the Greater Stockholm Fire Brigade. Within the Greater Stockholm Fire Brigade’s area, there are operations that are subject to two different levels of requirements: lower and higher.
Undertaking to prevent crime and create public safety
The City's security programme and its public safety programme are interconnected. The public safety programme describes the City's work to prevent crime and create public safety in practice, conceptual frameworks, responsibilities and roles, and the collection and analysis of data. Together, the two programmes describe the overall direction for the City's work to achieve the goal of a safe, secure and well-managed city to live and spend time.
Undertaking to prevent crime and create public safety (in Swedish)
Work against crime and violent extremism
Work against crime and violent extremism is a responsibility of several different government agencies. The City of Stockholm works primarily with preventive measures, but also has outreach activities to pick up people with high-risk behavioural patterns, and also with activities for those who want to want to get out of a criminal lifestyle or leave violent extremist environments.
Work against crime and violent extremism
Organisation
The City Executive Office’s security unit is responsible for the overall coordination of the City’s work on security and contingency planning.
There is a central security council to provide support for this work. The council advises the CEO of Stockholm on risk and security issues that require City-wide coordination.
As far as possible, the City of Stockholm's organisation should be the same in a crisis as it is under normal conditions. But in order that the City’s crisis management process can get under way quickly, constant preparedness is required. At the central level, the City must always have the CEO, the Director of Security, one official on standby (TiB) and one communications strategist on standby (KiB) on duty. Departments and companies are responsible for ensuring that there is always a department director or a company director on duty.
Disruptions and serious incidents are handled at the local level, with some central coordination from the City Executive Office. Each department and company must have its own designated crisis management organisation. In the event of a major crisis, the City’s central crisis management organisation and the crisis management committee can be activated.
Central crisis management
In the event of a major crisis, the City Executive Office is responsible for leading and coordinating the City’s overall crisis management. This includes defining a central direction and prioritising the allocation of resources. The central crisis management organisation is led by the CEO.
The CEO is tasked with keeping the chair of the crisis management committee informed of developments.
Crisis management committee
The crisis management committee comprises the Vice Mayors, and its main tasks are to make strategic decisions in the event of extraordinary events. This work is governed by special regulations for the committee. The crisis management committee has the opportunity to take over all or part of other committees’ areas of responsibility in order to be able to reallocate resources and rationalise its work.
The crisis management committee can make decisions on matters such as
- prioritisation of the City's operations, such as the reallocation of personnel between the City's operations or the closure of operations
- relocation of operations, such as homes with round-the-clock care
- request for assistance from another municipality or other actor, such as the County Administrative Board
- activation of backup systems and distribution of backup power.
Members of the crisis management committee (In Swedish)
Insurance cover
S:t Erik Försäkrings AB is responsible for ensuring that there is adequate insurance cover for the City's assets and operations. The company is responsible for overall knowledge of the municipal group's damage picture and improves risk management for the entire municipal group.