STOCKHOLM, June 30 (Xinhua) -- Swedish police said that they were paying extra attention to security at this year's Politics Week, held annually on the Baltic island of Gotland, reported Swedish TV on Saturday.
Every year in July, Swedish politicians, think-tanks, NGOs, journalists and other members of the public descend on Visby, the main city on Gotland, for a week of political speeches, debates, seminars and networking events. This year, the event, known as Almedalsveckan in Sweden, celebrates its 50th anniversary and it also takes place just months before the general election, meaning it will likely attract even more visitors and attention.
Police say they are prepared and that they are upping security, using drones and surveillance cameras in their operation, as police spokeswoman Annika Lindroth told Swedish Television.
"We feel ready and we have also taken into consideration the fact that this is an island and that it is difficult to get resources over quickly," Lindroth said.
The drones and surveillance cameras are being used for the second year in a row because the police have noticed that it alleviates crime investigations and helps them identify both criminal suspects and plaintiffs, Lindroth explained.
While the police have not openly announced how many officers will be on Gotland during Politics Week, Lindroth - who will be head of operations there for the third year running - said "this should be a politicians' week, not a police week".
"There shouldn't be 3 million police officers on every street. Instead, we should work a bit in the dark," Lindroth said.
