FREE now and never miss the top politics stories again. SUBSCRIBE Invalid email Sign up fornow and never miss the top politics stories again. We will use your email address only for sending you newsletters. Please see our Privacy Notice for details of your data protection rights.

Last year the country’s National Criminal Investigation Service admitted more than 50 areas had been “blacklisted” where police did not have control. In the report, attacks on police officers were detailed, along with incidents of sex attacks, children carrying weapons and other violent crimes. The light was shone further on Sweden’s problems by Donald Trump earlier this month, who claimed “large numbers” of migrants had caused “problems [Sweden] never thought possible”.

STOCKHOLM UNIVERSITY•GETTY Professor Jerzy Sarnecki said migrants were not to blame for crime in the country

The crime in Sweden is not increasing, even though we have an increasing number of immigrants Professor Jerzy Sarnecki

The Republican’s comments sparked outrage among the Nordic country’s political establishment - who insisted Mr Trump’s remarks were “misleading”. Jerzy Sarnecki, a professor of criminology at Stockholm University, has also railed against the US President’s statement. Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme he insisted crime was not on the rise.

GETTY Rioters torched cars and threw rocks at officers during a recent incident

“The crime in Sweden is not increasing, even though we have an increasing number of immigrants,” he said. “Our population is now composed of 17 per cent of people born abroad. If you also add children born then it would be around 25 per cent. “This [immigration] number has been growing for many years now, but at the same time crime in Sweden has stayed the same.”

Shocking images depict violence in Sweden Mon, March 6, 2017 Violence erupts in Sweden Play slideshow IBL/REX/Shutterstock 1 of 15 Riots in Stockholm, Sweden - 20 Feb 2017

A long-serving Swedish police officer recently took to Facebook to blame migrants for the country’s most serious crimes. In the social media rant, Peter Springare of Obrebro police said the lion’s share of crime were committed by migrants. He wrote: “I’m so f***** tired. What I’m writing here isn’t politically correct. But I don’t care. “Our pensioners are on their knees, the schools are a mess, healthcare is an inferno, the police is completely destroyed. Everyone knows why, but none dares or wants to say why.”