Brandbekämpning...

....or 'Firefighting' (in Swedish):

The Swedish fire service is looking to hire more personnel with a foreign background in order to…

Oh, here we go, let me guess ‘reflect social diversity’, or some such nonsense, right?

… increase safety for fire fighters in big city areas, according to a report by Swedish broadcaster Sveriges Television (SVT)

Oh.

OK, I wasn’t expecting that….

”At one point some kids were throwing rocks at us. I caught hold of a guy and spoke to him in his own language,” said Ilhan Demir of the South Stockholm fire service to SVT.

The diversity project is meant to widen recruitment, according to SVT, not in the least when it comes to attracting staff with a different background than the traditional Swedish.

It is hoped that it will overcome language barriers and increase security for fire personnel in the big city areas.

I…

I just…

The project will cost 7.5 million kronor ($1.1 million) and will be funded by the European Social Fund (ESF). Part of the money will go to the South Stockholm (Södertörn) fire service.

In other words, the EU’s paying to try to overcome a problem of its own making?

”We're about 300 on active call-out duty, of which only 18 are of a different background than Swedish. There needs to be more,” said Christer Flodfält, union representative for the fire service to SVT.

According to the broadcaster it has become more frequent that fire personnel are attacked with stones and other objects and it is hoped that the new initiative may bridge the gap between the fire fighters and the gangs of unruly kids.

How about ‘bridging that gap’ with criminal charges for the ‘unruly kids’ and maybe deportation back to their country of origin for the parents?

Meanwhile, in Malmo:

(Reuters) - A wave of execution-style shootings and a police station bombing in Sweden's third largest city have sparked fears that gangster violence is taking hold in a Nordic country widely seen as one of the world's safest places.

Only minutes into the new year, a 15-year-old was found with gunshots to his chest and one to his head outside an apartment block in one of Malmo's poorest and most troubled districts, where firefighters have occasionally sought police protection.

Eight killings have occurred across the city since a 36-year-old with links to organised crime was gunned down in a parking lot in May last year. The latest victim, a 48-year-old man, was found shot in a car at the end of January.

More vibrancy, it seems:

With a population of just 300,000, Malmo is one of Sweden's roughest cities, long a base for smugglers because of its proximity to Denmark, with which it has been connected by a bridge since July 2000.

Roughly 40 percent of Malmo's population are first- or second-generation immigrants and one in three is unemployed, compared with a national rate under nine percent.

Among young immigrants, the rate is nearly 40 percent.

Yes, well, if they raise their kids to throw stones at the fire engines that are coming to put out the fires in their slums, it’s not really any wonder, is it?

"I don't think murders will become more and more frequent in the near future, but there is nothing that indicates things will improve a bit longer-term," said Tobias Barkman, a crime reporter at regional daily Sydsvenska Dagbladet.

"Society has fallen behind - with regards to the police and to the social situation. It's hard to see any rays of hope."

Yes. It really is hard. No doubt should Swedish Police actually grow a set and decide to deal with it's out-of-control introduced population firmly, they can look forward to being vilified in the media in the same way our police are*:

Joanna said the family were very concerned about reports that George was a "crazed knifeman" from Ghana who was wielding a sword. She said they were also upset by reports of an anonymous Metropolitan Police spokesman saying that "a number of knives were recovered from the scene".

She added: "It is not clear to us or to the authorities what the truth is of what has occurred. We are very concerned about the accounts that are being put out in the media.

We don't recognise George in the descriptions contained in the press reports at all".

Sounds like a statement worked out with the help of ‘community leaders’ or those brave crusaders for justice (and a big payout) like Sophie Khan and her ilk, doesn't it?

And, right on cue:

Jules Carey of Tuckers Solicitors who is representing the family said it is less than a week since the IPCC published guidance on police communicating with the press and prohibited unattributed briefings. He said: "It appears that this guidance is already being ignored by the police".

Perhaps you'd be better off pointing out to your client that the national press has already printed large images of the scene showing - oooo, lookie here! - a knife lying in the street. And that it's better to keep one's mouth shut and be thought a fool, than open it and remove all doubt?

*H/T: commenter 'Serf' at Inspector Gadget's blog