Police issues
Translated from Swedish by AI; the translation may contain errors. The Swedish text is the original.
Summary AI, written in advance
M believes that the police need more resources and tools, such as secret wiretapping and restraining orders, to combat serious crime and prioritize violence against women 1. S argues that the focus should be on social preventive work, evaluation, and accountability of police chiefs 2. KD emphasizes the need for operationally adapted recruitment, increased local presence, and better investigative work 3. SD believes that the police should own the streets, have a constant presence in problem areas, and that the Armed Forces should be able to assist in criminal activity 4. SD also wants politicians to support the police leadership and that the authority be strengthened 4. V believes that the police need better resources to combat men's violence against women 5. C wants the police to reduce crime and handle mass crimes more effectively 6. MP emphasizes the importance of a good working environment, continuing education, and strengthening the National Forensic Centre 7. SD believes that paid police training is important to attract more people and that the campaign promise will be kept 8 9.
Written by AI in advance and may contain errors. The numbers lead to the speech a statement builds on; check against the text below.
Speakers (15)
Louise Meijer (M)
Madam Speaker! We shall now debate the Committee on Justice's report on police matters in connection with the motions that have been raised in this area during the general motion period.
A well-functioning police force is crucial for reducing crime and increasing safety. It is clear that the police need to function better and that there are a number of deficiencies that need to be addressed. It is therefore pleasing to see that the understanding and commitment to this is great in the Riksdag.
In several of the motions, good ideas and constructive proposals can be found. The committee majority proposes, however, that all motions be rejected, in most cases because the government is working very intensively to expand and improve the police, through more resources and more tools for the police.
Madam Speaker! In the coming years, record-breaking investments are being made in the justice system - from 69 to 90 billion kronor between 2023 and 2026. For the police, this means 10 billion more. We are therefore talking about a long-term growth path, with significantly increased appropriations.
Since the Moderate-led government took office, the police have also received several new effective tools, such as secret wiretapping of gang criminals, better opportunities to use camera surveillance, stay-away orders to remove criminals from certain places, security zones, expanded powers in border areas, and so on.
If we are to get order in Sweden, we must also get order in the police. Severely stricter sentences are necessary, but it is not enough. We also need a stronger and more visible police.
Madam Speaker! The police's work has the purpose of maintaining public order and security. Included in that are, in particular, the tasks to prevent, deter and detect crime and to investigate and prosecute crimes.
In the situation Sweden finds itself in, it is of course a completely central task to push back the heavy organized crime and re-establish safety in Sweden. In the long run, it is about safeguarding our open and free society. The government's plan for this is firm: It is about striking against the heavy violence, strangling the criminal economy, and breaking the new recruitment of children and young people into the gangs. The police have a critical role in all these parts.
The Moderate-led government has since taking office worked in several ways to strengthen the police throughout the country. This is happening, as I have already mentioned, through significantly increased resources and new, more efficient tools, but also by clarifying the governance and by setting higher demands for increased operational capacity and results for the citizens.
In December, the government appointed the former State Prosecutor and President of the Court of Appeal, Petra Lundh, as the new National Police Commissioner. Given both the complexity of the mission and the organization, we also saw a need to strengthen the authority's leadership with a Deputy National Police Commissioner and therefore appointed Police Chief Stefan Hector to that role.
The new management has a clear mandate for change: firstly, to re-establish a locally visible and safety-creating police and good service to the citizens; secondly, to increase the pressure in the investigative work so that more crimes can be solved; and thirdly, to ensure effective management, use, and follow-up of the police's growing resources.
The new management's mandate was formulated, among other things, against the background of several evaluations of the police's activities that have been conducted in recent years. I am thinking of the National Audit Office's evaluation of the reorganization of the police, the Swedish National Audit Office's audits of the police's handling of organized crime and work with special incidents, as well as the Crime Prevention Council's evaluation of the initiative for 10,000 more police officers. To that are added evaluations that the police itself has conducted.
Over the past year, the police have made exceptional progress in solving shootings and explosions, and that is due to new tools and new methods of working, including close cooperation with the Prosecution Authority. In Stockholm alone, the clearance rate for fatal shootings has gone from over 15 percent in 2022 to over 70 percent in 2023. The corresponding figure for Uppsala is 85 percent.
At the same time, these evaluations point to more structural deficiencies and problems to be addressed. It is connected to the fact that important goals with the reorganization of the police have not been achieved. It is about the fact that the police's visibility, accessibility, and contacts with citizens are not sufficient, that the growth of staffing in the local police areas has been far too weak, that too few crimes are solved, and that the investigation time and investigation results have deteriorated over time, especially regarding volume crimes, i.e., those crimes that citizens are affected by in everyday life, such as snatching, theft, vandalism, assault, and fraud.
There are also more general challenges regarding the Police Authority's efficiency, follow-up, governance, resource allocation, and so on. The annual report for the police 2023 also confirms that the problems with getting through for those calling the police contact centers remain. There are large local differences. In particular, Stockholm had problems with staffing and long response times.
Madam Speaker! In the Police Authority's regulatory letter for 2023, the following goals for the operations are listed, in line with what is stated in the Police Act: firstly, that the work to prevent, deter, and detect criminal activity shall be conducted in a structured manner and based on proven experience; secondly, that the work with the monitoring of public order and safety as well as intervention in disturbances shall be conducted in such a way that it corresponds to the needs in the entire country; and thirdly, that the work with investigating and prosecuting crimes falling under public prosecution shall be conducted efficiently and that the clearance of crimes shall increase.
These goals are fixed in the regulatory letter for 2024. There, we have also, in line with the change mandate to the police leadership, introduced a specific goal that the police's local presence shall increase throughout the country and that the service for the citizens shall be improved, for example through shortened response times at the police contact centers.
Several points in the regulatory letter aim at the task of increasing the pressure in the investigative work. The police shall, for example, take and report measures to strengthen the ability to investigate quantity crimes. The police shall also report how they have developed the ability to investigate and prevent violence against women, crimes against children, and honor-related violence.
This is intended to better be able to measure the police's results over time. In some police regions, for example, men's violence against women is more deadly than gun violence.
We, the Moderate-led government, are clear in our governance of the agency that the violence women are subjected to must be prioritized. In the police's strategic operational plan, it is also highlighted as a special priority. Several national initiatives have been implemented, but it is clear that it has not gained full traction within the organization.
Madam Speaker! The Moderate-led government prioritizes and wants to combat men's violence against women with the same force as we prioritize and want to combat deadly gun violence.
Madam Speaker! The Government is carrying out extensive, well-considered and strategic work to make the police function better. Against this background, I move for approval of the committee's proposal in the report and rejection of all motions.
Rasmus Ling (MP)
Madam Speaker! When we had this debate on police issues last parliamentary term, the Moderate Party's representative always raised an issue, which was also an extremely clear election promise from the Moderates in this area, namely that police training should be paid.
I would therefore like to ask Louise Meijer: Will the election promise regarding paid police training become a reality and if so, when?
Louise Meijer (M)
Madam Speaker! I cannot answer that directly. The Moderate-led government consists of several parties. In addition, there is a cooperation party. This is a matter that the government is working on and will have to return to.
Rasmus Ling (MP)
Madam Speaker! Some of us criticized this election promise during the previous term and in the election campaign, partly because it is not certain that this is something that can be implemented. One enters the government and has the Ministry of Finance's budget department and a Finance Minister who might say no.
It is also the case that this affects those who are seeking education and who are considering what they should choose. This will naturally play a role. I have heard those who hesitate to apply for the police training. They want to wait. They have heard that it will be made paid, so they do not apply now but wait a while. That is the effect that this can have.
I think one must take responsibility for that. Either you answer yes to such a question and say when it will happen, or you need to answer: No, it will not happen. We promised this, but we say one thing before the election and another thing after the election.
A no is at least something that those who are considering applying for the police training can rely on. In that case, they do not need to wait because they believe this will happen later.
Louise Meijer (M)
Madam Speaker! As I said in my previous answer to Member Rasmus Ling, I have no information to provide on that question here and now. The Government must respond.
Petter Löberg (S)
Madam Speaker! Initially, I must say that we have a number of reservations in the report but move for approval only to reservation 1, which concerns the crime prevention perspective.
When I have done this, I will thank Louise Meijer and Moderaterna for actually raising the issue of men's violence against women. It is not a day too early, I can say. But it is very pleasing that you clearly declare that you intend to view men's violence against women as seriously as crime between criminals. Thank you, Louise!
The Police Authority is the country's largest agency, and it is at the very center of the political conversation and in the news flow. In some respects, it has completely unique powers with the responsibility that follows therefrom. It is our most important tool - we must say that - for handling the situation where our country is perhaps at its most broken. It is about the extensive consequences that organized crime brings for our society.
But with stronger mandates also follow unique resource supplements, as has been the case over the last decade. Then there are also increased expectations. That is something one must expect. It is about being able to see that there are very clear tendencies towards increased clearance, not least in the Stockholm and Uppsala areas, even though those figures naturally need to be turned and twisted. And we expect to an even greater extent that resources are allocated to the local police areas and to the crime prevention and trust-building work that exists there. They should preferably be funded as well. We have seen historically that they have not been.
In Stockholm, according to a report, ten open drug scenes have been dismantled. There are more than 50 drug scenes remaining. The expectation from us in politics must be that they too shall be removed. Nothing else is good enough, even though there are international studies showing that in the short term it can lead to increased violence in the area when the drug scenes are dismantled. It is simply also the case that research shows there is a disproportionately large share of violent crime in connection with these open drug scenes. It is also primarily there that new recruitment to the gangs occurs. Therefore, this is naturally very important. But it is also important because law-abiding citizens pass these drug scenes daily on their way to school, the workplace, or the store at the neighborhood square. This must be removed, simply. It is a real insecurity, not just a feeling.
The goal must be that in our country there shall not be a single permanent location where the use and sale of narcotics occurs openly. The gangs may change their modus operandi after this, of course. It could be that one lets Postnord handle the delivery of narcotics or that one delivers to the customer's door with such devices as one travels around with on the streets. So it can be. We are not naive in that regard.
One has also seen how the gang criminals are expanding their activities. They enter over-privatized welfare sectors or under-controlled private service sectors. They plow money into other activities in order to wash it white.
But the open drug scenes must also be struck down for moral reasons. We cannot have a society that proves to be weaker than the gangs. This must happen together and in cooperation - with cameras and police presence but also with physical reconstruction and municipal interventions. Meaningful cultural and leisure activities must be rolled out. Now we are entering very sensitive matter in Swedish politics at the moment.
More youth centers should be built in our country, not fewer. There should be more swimming instruction and less grooming into gangs. Kids in these areas should have juice and buns, comrades. They should have juice and buns - to appropriate one of the right wing's favorite concepts. Children should have that. They should not have gang careers and brandishing weapons. We must remember that it is children, after all, that it is about and nothing else.
We Social Democrats cannot see it as a positive forecast that, according to certain statistics, we will in the future have Europe's largest prison population shortly after Turkey. It is nothing other than a grotesque failure for our society. That is how it must be seen.
We Social Democrats went to the election with a different perspective. Every krona that was invested in the repressive areas would also be invested in crime prevention work, in teachers, social workers, leisure educators, and others who support and help children to not enter these gangs.
This journey will not be easy, and it will not be able to be steered from this chamber or from the police headquarters on Kungsholmen. This is something that we need to do together with the citizens, and in that, trust in the police force is a central factor.
We have for a long time been very concerned that diversity within the police is not increasing to the extent that can be expected when it comes to having a police force that is representative of the population as a whole. This applies in particular when we, for example, have these proposals regarding visitation zones.
There is a criminologist named Mulinari who has studied trust in the police. He points out a rather interesting paradox. The group that has the lowest trust in the police is the one that has the greatest risk of being subjected to crime and who therefore also have the greatest need of being protected by just the police. It is a group that, according to him, is over-controlled and under-protected at the same time.
Some of us have been to the USA with the committee and gained some new perspectives on crime fighting. It is a country that naturally has a much larger problem than we do when it comes to gang crime. Evidence-based methods have been developed over a long period, and the experiences are many years old and sharp. One such proposal that we can take with us and that we will return to concerns RICO legislation, which has proven to be particularly effective in, for example, New Jersey and in other places.
Almost all politicians who deal with legal issues look blindly at the zero tolerance in New York that was launched almost 30 years ago on various levels. But strangely enough, one has missed what might be the key to why it succeeded in New York, namely a locally anchored and scientifically based crime prevention system. It is therefore about turning things around. Instead of counting heads and focusing on prosecuting, imprisoning, and having spectacular police operations, the focus is on good evaluation, accountability of police chiefs, and working socially preventatively. Naturally, it is also about maintaining law and order on streets and squares. There we have much to learn.
Madam Speaker! In conclusion, I would like to declare, as solemnly as one does, that we Social Democrats do not take the fight against gang crime lightly. We will never give up! Nor are we guests in the areas that may be most severely affected. It is there that our strongest voter groups are located. It is there that our S-associations work daily with meetings and conversations. Many of us, including myself, are children of these areas. We will not let go or fall into the stigmatizing and one-dimensional perspectives that are painted around these areas.
Now I will use harsh words, but I am completely convinced that we will look back on the time we are in now with some shame, partly over the failure when it comes to creating security and faith in the future, partly because we allowed the gangs to grow so strong. We have also not done the right things here in the chamber or in the government. We have not had the strength to see the whole solution. There has been too strong a focus on the repressive and too little focus on preventing new recruitment to the gangs. We have not found the right balance point in the trade-off between rule-of-law principles and efficiency in the justice chain. We politicians have preferred to make pronouncements and have press conferences instead of ensuring that cross-bloc agreements are in place ahead of this great challenge.
We will be ashamed of this. Above all, we will be ashamed that we allowed a deeply segregated and unequal society to emerge. There and nowhere else is the origin of our shame.
Torsten Elofsson (KD)
Madam Speaker! I have myself been active as a police officer for over 40 years, so let me first say that I hold the greatest respect for my former colleagues, who work hard and do a meritorious job on the front line. They deserve all our support in their difficult and responsible work.
The police have the primary responsibility for our country's internal security and are society's spearhead in combating a crime that threatens people's safety and which, unfortunately, is growing ever stronger. Fundamentally, it now constitutes a threat to both our democracy and our welfare.
Europol and Eurojust report on crime from an international perspective. The situation is, to say the least, concerning. Organized crime in our country branches out both within the EU and to countries in Latin America, the Middle East, and Africa. Much of what is now happening in Sweden in the form of violent crime, drug crimes, welfare crime, and cross-border crime has strong links to organized crime in other countries. The capital of violence is enormous, as are the economic muscles. Often, the activities are controlled from countries that are themselves corrupt and where extradition agreements are lacking.
Madam Speaker! Unlike the justice system, criminal networks have no regulatory frameworks to follow. When crime crosses a national border, legal hurdles immediately arise which in themselves constitute an obstacle for the police and prosecutors. Europol and Eurojust are of great help and a step in the right direction, but more must be done so that we and other countries receive legislation that is better adapted for globalized crime.
Organized crime is also advancing its positions in both the business sector and the public sector. The risk of infiltration and corruption has increased significantly. It is now seen as such a serious threat that the Swedish Police Authority's department for special investigations has designated this as a particularly prioritized area in its operations.
The fight against organized crime is resource-intensive, time-consuming, and costly. Police and prosecutors must inevitably allocate large resources to meet the threat, and we must, as said, obtain legislation that is better adapted for the purpose. Increased international police cooperation is necessary as a success factor.
Madam Speaker! At the same time, there is a desire for an increased police presence in the local community. It is not the case that what we can call traditional crime and public order offenses have ceased. The major reorganization carried out in 2015 with the creation of a police authority was done with the motto "A police force closer to the citizen." It became rather the opposite – increased centralization, local withdrawals, and closed police stations. The waiting times to file a report are many times unreasonably long, and many experience an absence of local police as inconvenient and as something that affects safety.
Confidence in the police remains high, but dissatisfaction is simmering among those who have been victims of crime. According to a survey by the Crime Prevention Council, only 25 percent of crime victims perceive the police as effective. The proportion of solved crimes is frustratingly low in a majority of crime areas, and traffic surveillance has its shortcomings.
Madam Speaker! What do we do then to get a better and well-functioning police force? Fundamentally, it is about four components.
The first part is recruitment and training, which previous speakers have also touched upon. We must achieve more operationally adapted recruitment and training. In recent years, the focus has been placed on training police officers for external service. There is nothing wrong with that, but we need more competent police investigators and preliminary investigation leaders with increased specialization who can handle the more everyday crimes. Today, the investigative activity is the weak link in the legal process. We also need to recruit more police officers with interest and aptitude for traffic issues, something that is severely neglected at the moment.
We also need good police activity in the local area. Such police activity is largely based on good knowledge of people and the locality, continuity, and good cooperation with the rest of the local community. The police should be available to the citizens in the municipality where they operate and not be consumed by reinforcement movements to other parts of the country. We see examples of this now when the Eurovision Song Contest in Malmö attracts thousands of police, obviously at the expense of the rest of the country.
The municipalities now have a crime prevention responsibility, and therefore a strengthened and closer cooperation between the municipality and the police is certainly required. It is clear that security guards, despite increased powers, cannot replace the lack of police officers. The police authority and the national police commissioner now have a clear mandate to work towards an increased local police presence. We wish her good luck in that mission!
The third part is the investigative activity. I have touched upon it but say it again: The police must strengthen the investigative activity.
I will take some examples. The retailers conducted a pilot study some time ago regarding theft and other disturbances in stores. Before a police report was made, a consultation was held with a former prosecutor to test the report. When it was finally submitted, the conditions for prosecution were therefore considered good. But not a single report led to prosecution. All cases were dropped.
Svensk Handel also testifies to gloomy figures. In the latest survey, the Safety Barometer, a full 52 percent of retailers state that they have been subjected to crime, but only one-third have filed a police report. It is worth noting that many of these crimes, particularly theft, are entry crimes for young people moving into heavier criminality.
The municipalities have also stopped filing police reports when it comes to subsidy fraud. The reason is that nothing happens and the reports are dismissed.
Crime victims experience that reported crimes are not investigated despite a good evidence situation.
Thefts, violent crimes, sexual crimes, crimes in close relationships, and fraud are all examples of crimes that must receive better handling and increased clearance. Now that I am on the subject of crimes in close relationships, I can say that I took the opportunity to visit Malmö Police on Monday. I asked them about crimes in close relationships, and it turned out that they have a completely new approach. Project Igor, which has been mentioned, has received a further development regarding this. Much more focus is now placed on perpetrators, and they will ensure that there is compliance from police in outer service to what can be reported to the prosecutor in a very good way. I will not go into more detail on this, but it is a very interesting development that is ongoing. One has, therefore, not set crimes in close relationships aside.
Finally, it concerns a sharpened operation against organized and international crime. This requires a high degree of specialization with a number of distinct competencies and increased international cooperation. We must be responsive to the need for new or changed legislation identified by prosecutors and the police. In that part, the government has largely complied with the requirements. We must also increase efforts against crime in the digital environment, i.e., cyber crime.
Madam Speaker! The Government is working intensively on the areas I have now highlighted. With this, I move for approval of the committee's proposal to reject the motions currently pending, with reference to ongoing investigation and preparatory work.
Katja Nyberg (SD)
Madam Speaker! With relatively small resources, the police do everything they can to uphold Swedish law. The police ensure that the vast majority of law-abiding people are protected so that criminal gangs do not take over. In order for the police to be able to work effectively with everything from crime prevention work to increased crime clearance, we need to give the police all the tools and resources required so that they can perform their work in the best possible way. But there is one additional factor, and that is that the Swedish police need to have the politicians' trust and support in order to be able to perform their work fully.
Sweden has a police force to be proud of. Swedish police officers are professional, well-educated, and hardworking. Regular excessive use of force or widespread racism does not characterize the force. They deserve appreciation and support. The police's primary problems are instead understaffing and substandard working conditions.
Madam Speaker! Last week, a horrific murder occurred in Skärholmen. A father who was on his way to the swimming hall with his twelve-year-old son was executed, and the son witnessed the murder. Sweden's citizens should be able to feel safe and not have to be afraid of being harmed or killed in their residential area.
To reach the street gangs, a police presence is needed. As things stand now, the police do not have power in certain areas. The police need to own the streets and be present in these areas 24/7. That armed gangs can be among ordinary, law-abiding citizens is a huge failure. What is needed in these areas to succeed is a constant police presence. The police must own the territory.
What will happen after the shooting in Skärholmen is that the police will, in the usual manner, carry out a security-creating operation, which means that a large number of police officers will be present in the area for one to two weeks. Then everything will return to normal, and the gangs will once again stand armed in the same places as before.
Madam Speaker! I hear from my former police colleagues that those who want to work and clean up are being opposed, which is a major problem. If we have a police force that does not dare or have the mandate to work and do their job for fear of being portrayed as racist or discriminatory, how are we even going to have a chance to protect our citizens and reduce the number of shootings and explosions?
I can guarantee you that the Swedish police do not make a distinction between people based on whether they have a foreign background or not. What the Swedish police make a distinction between are those who behave as they should and those who behave deviantly. It is about seeing and evaluating behavioral patterns and striking back against those who threaten the safety of our law-abiding citizens. The Swedish police should feel secure knowing that there is solid support from both the police leadership and politicians.
Madam Speaker! Last week we had a debate regarding security zones. It is a proposal that will come into force on April 25 this year. Security zones are a tool that might have been able to prevent the fatal shooting of Mikael in Skärholmen.
The opposition says they are ready to do everything to prevent violent crimes such as the murder of Mikael. But despite that, all opposition parties voted no to security zones with the justification that they are afraid that Swedish police will be racist or use ethnic profiling. The identity politics that the opposition uses will neither facilitate crime fighting nor the police's work.
Other necessary factors to facilitate the police's work are cooperation with other authorities, such as the Armed Forces and social services. The Armed Forces can today, upon request from the Police Authority, support the police in the event of a large-scale or imminent terrorist attack. But the Sweden Democrats believe that the Armed Forces' right to assist the police should not only apply to terrorism but also to other criminal activity or in extraordinary situations.
Madam Speaker! Offensive police work will result in unrest in the areas where the police are working. If the criminal networks are not allowed to work in peace, they will become aggressive and express their dissatisfaction in various ways, such as riots or cars being set on fire. What must not happen when this occurs is that the police back down. We politicians therefore need to support the police leadership so that they dare to make the decisions required to curb crime and riots.
It is not one, two, or three measures that will be required to push back crime. What will be needed, given the situation that previous governments have left us in, is an arsenal of precise attacks against crime. The attitude that the police cannot be given more authority or more tools because they risk being misused must go. We must show that there is a fundamental trust in our capable police officers.
The shift within politics that has occurred under the new government came in the count of years, but I am not sure that we will manage to get a handle on this even during my lifetime. That is how far it has gone. It will take time, but the course is being redirected, and I can still feel a glimmer of hope for the future.
Lotta Johnsson Fornarve (V)
Madam Speaker! Today we are debating a report with a number of proposals regarding police matters from the general motion period. For us in Vänsterpartiet, it is important that there are enough police officers and that the officers who are active have a good working environment, that the supply of competence and the level of continuing education is good, and that new working methods for more efficient work are developed.
I would like to join Louise Meijer, who in her speech mentioned the importance of working against men's violence against women. It is also an incredibly important issue for us in Vänsterpartiet, and we have prioritized it for many years.
If we are to seriously address violence against women, we must work in a different way. The police must be given better resources to focus on that work. The women's shelters must also receive increased, not decreased, support.
Vänsterpartiet has presented several proposals. Today, I have chosen to raise the issue of building up and strengthening trust and confidence in the police in society at large and, in particular, in areas that are politically neglected.
We are fully aware that the vast majority of police officers do an absolutely excellent and good job. However, we see that there are things that can be improved and that can be developed.
The police's work in vulnerable areas is of great importance to reverse a negative development and curb crime. However, it is difficult for the police to work towards a positive change if they do not have the trust of the local population.
To build up good preventive work that counters crime, good cooperation between the local community and the police is required. We have seen this, among other things, in our neighboring country Denmark but also in several places in our own country. But for this to succeed, increased trust in the police is required.
Unfortunately, several incidents in recent years indicate that ethnic profiling occurs within the police's activities. This leads to certain individuals being singled out by the justice system to a greater extent. It damages trust in the justice system and for the society's democratic structure.
That the police conduct more checks in vulnerable areas cannot explain the entire problem. The police's working methods must not be based on prejudices. It leads to mistrust towards the police in the areas that are most in need of the police's interventions.
In order for it to be possible for the police to build trust and confidence among the residents in a vulnerable area, there must be guarantees that ethnic profiling does not occur. Every time the police act in a racist manner, it destroys the trust from the residents in the area.
I therefore consider it positive that the issue of ethnic profiling has been raised by the police themselves through Brå's report. At the same time, I fear that it will be very difficult for the authority to achieve real and positive change in the current political situation.
Instead of presenting more repressive proposals that entail an increased risk of discrimination, the government should task the Police Authority with long-term strengthening of diversity work and deepening the multicultural competence of the agency's employees. Furthermore, the Police Authority must be tasked with specifically strengthening trust among people in politically marginalized areas for crime prevention purposes. It is absolutely necessary if we are to address the new recruitment to gangs and the increasing crime.
The prohibition of discrimination applies only within the areas of society specified in the law, including work life, education, and health and medical care. There is no specific provision concerning police activity.
In the Discrimination Act, there is a general provision that prohibits discrimination when public employees assist the public with information, guidance, advice, or other such assistance, or otherwise have contacts with the public in their employment. This provision is therefore applicable to employees at the Swedish Police Authority but only in the specified situations.
In the report "An expanded protection against discrimination," it is proposed that the Discrimination Act be expanded to include a prohibition against discriminatory police interventions. The report, which is now undergoing consultation, is being prepared in the Government Offices.
Brå, the Swedish National Council for Crime Prevention, has studied the police's work with profiling and equal treatment and published the results in the report Polisens arbete med profilering och likabehandling.
The study was initiated through a desire by the Swedish Police Authority that an independent party investigate how this work looks at different levels in the organization. The purpose of the report is for it to contribute to the Swedish Police Authority's development work within the area.
Brå makes the assessment that the Swedish Police Authority faces several challenges. However, the report contains several proposals and good examples of how the authority can continue its work to promote equal treatment and counter discriminatory ethnic profiling. The work must be viewed as a constant process that requires continuous follow-up.
It is important that these proposals are completed and become a reality. It is particularly important that the police have a sense of tact, not least when it concerns children and young people because they are vulnerable to falling into the hands of network criminals, who are skilled at using bad experiences with the police for their own purposes.
Ulrika Liljeberg (C)
Madam Speaker! We often speak in debates here in the chamber and in the media almost every day about violence, about shootings and murders, about serious crimes. They are far too many, too cruel and too devastating.
The police have a very important, often decisive, role here in creating and restoring safety.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank you, all police officers and all police employees, for the efforts you make day and night, all year round, for all of us in Sweden.
Centerpartiet has stood behind the historically and much-needed large increased resources for the Swedish police which are now being realized.
The police are to work with crime prevention, crime fighting, and crime investigation, as well as with public order and safety in many different contexts. What is struck by is, however, that it is rarely set as a goal in regulatory letters or other documents to reduce crime or that crimes should not be committed.
Several have mentioned in the debate the study trip that the Committee on Justice made to New York. There, the local police chiefs did not have a primary focus on clearance, but the most important thing was the focus on how many crimes were committed and that the number should decrease. I will return to that.
Several have also mentioned police presence. Rarely have we talked so much about it as we have now, for example in last week's debate on search zones.
In Denmark - despite the absence of more solid research and evaluation of the Danish zones - it has been said that the primary reason that crime was reduced was the increased police presence, which was continuous over a long period, and that it was that which yielded results.
We know that a police force that is accessible in every way ensures that citizens gain confidence and both report crimes and, above all, cooperate in investigations in a completely different way than if the police only arrive if something has happened – if at all.
Then I come to what the Center Party highlights in motions and in other contexts - that the majority of the crimes committed in Sweden are volume crimes, which are primarily handled solely by the police. They are unlawful threats, acts of vandalism, thefts, assaults, and harassment.
These crimes concern and affect many. They hit individuals but also associations and small business owners. There are many crime victims, and the crimes occur across the entire country.
We have previously received the Swedish National Audit Office's report, which shows that quantity crimes are not being handled effectively within the police. The Swedish National Audit Office assessed the situation as serious.
That we solve the quantity crimes is an important part of upholding the social contract, which has been mentioned by others – that one follows all laws oneself and that one can expect society's action and reaction when one is subjected to a crime, regardless of the crime's severity. A crime is a crime. That we solve this is crucial for the trust and confidence in the police and the justice system.
We have also received industry reports. A study shows that almost all investigations of shoplifting were discontinued or that the report was dismissed immediately. It is unacceptable.
What is striking then is that representatives for the government parties here sound almost as if they are part of the opposition. You have taken on a great responsibility, and that obliges you not to demand anything of the police without leading the police, to act and ensure that crime decreases. You have taken on a responsibility, and that obliges.
Madam Speaker! The country's 290 municipalities look different, but the residents in these municipalities all have the same right to have a present police officer - not always a locally stationed police officer, but one who is present and available.
A locally present police force is needed throughout the country with competence in specifically quantity crimes but also in sexual crimes, men's violence against women and violence against children, because when it comes to sexual crimes and violence against women and children, the whole of Sweden is a vulnerable area.
Special competence is needed from the police to investigate these crimes, and more needs to be done there.
A Brå report shows that the preventive work, where specially trained police focus on ensuring that the men, the perpetrators, stop committing crimes, has been successful. We view that positively, but even here more needs to be done.
Now we are finally talking about what to a large extent should be the police's primary goal. It cannot be to prosecute more or investigate faster, but it must be to prevent crimes from being committed and reduce crime. It should be expressed in the government's goals in the regulatory letters that crimes must become fewer. That is prevention in the true sense.
In conclusion, I move for approval of reservation 4, which concerns the police capacity throughout the country, both in rural areas and in large cities.
Rasmus Ling (MP)
Madam Speaker! The Swedish Police Authority is one of the most important authorities in Sweden, not least in the area of crime fighting. What resources and tools are available, what the competence supply and working conditions look like, and what conditions are provided overall are crucial for the police and thus for crime fighting. The Swedish Police Authority has grown over time, but it also has to handle an increasingly complex, difficult, and brutal crime where many perpetrators are getting younger.
It is pleasing that the results in several areas have improved, not least when it comes to the clearance of the most serious violence. This is extremely important in the gang environments. The most important thing, however, is that crime is pushed back so that the number of cases also decreases in actual numbers.
Madam Speaker! That the Swedish Police Authority is a pressured organization with a difficult mission and at the same time wants to hire more people is not entirely simple. It is important that the police leadership, both nationally and in the police regions, also succeeds in having a focus on the police officers' work environment. Despite the fact that things are constantly happening, police officers must be given the opportunity for further education and to train for different situations. If one fails to provide this over a long period, more experienced police officers will seek other jobs, and if one loses this knowledge and experience, it will obviously become a less functional organization.
Madam Speaker! In the Green Party's party motion on criminal policy, we emphasize, among other things, the importance of the National Forensic Centre. It is today a part of the police but was previously an independent agency. NFC, as it is abbreviated, performs, among other things, DNA analyses and is increasingly decisive for solving serious crimes, sexual offenses, and violent crimes. This part of the police needs to be strengthened because it is important for being able to obtain evidence against individuals but also for being able to exonerate suspects who are innocent. Long lead times at NFC mean that a detainee, who later turns out to be innocent, can be held for a long time unnecessarily. This is obviously worst for the innocent person but is also associated with costs and other matters.
Madam Speaker! I have previously in the debate mentioned the Moderates' election promise regarding paid police training, something that was raised in every debate about the police before the election, even in the law enforcement policy debate in Agenda. Now, however, the Moderates cannot give any statement on this, which is serious.
The pledge has been criticized from several sides, among others for becoming skewed. Even though the police are extremely important, there are other activities within both the crime-fighting area and other areas that are also important for safety in society. Pointing out one training over others therefore leads to errors.
But now that this has been promised, it has consequences. I pointed out in an exchange earlier that young people considering becoming police officers are aiming for it because they believe in the Moderate election promise. The Moderates and the government are jointly responsible here. Is this something they will proceed with, and if so, when? If not, they need to tell all young people in Sweden who are considering going into police training that they should not wait in the belief that the promise will be fulfilled.
Katja Nyberg (SD)
Madam Speaker! I agree with Rasmus Ling regarding the police training. We have discussed this because it is an important aspect of being able to attract more people who are in the middle of their lives to become police officers. The police profession is very much about experience and being able to handle people.
The fact is that there is an ongoing dialogue between the government and the Police Authority regarding police training specifically. It has not fallen between the chairs; rather, a dialogue is ongoing. The Police Authority has submitted what it considers important, and the government is in the process of looking at it. I just wanted to clarify that so that the member does not think that nothing is happening in that matter.
Rasmus Ling (MP)
Madam Speaker! I thank the member for the clarification.
My follow-up question is then: When can we expect a decision on whether there will be a paid police training according to the Moderates' election promise, which I believe the Sweden Democrats also stand behind?
Katja Nyberg (SD)
Madam Speaker! As I said, a dialogue is ongoing between the Police Authority and the government, so nothing is finalized yet. It concerns what is appropriate and what should be included in the paid training. There is much that must be decided, and therefore it is taking some time. I cannot answer as to when exactly it will be, but the most important thing is that a dialogue is ongoing. From what I understand, the election promise will be kept.
Rasmus Ling (MP)
Madam Speaker! I will not be too agitational. I appreciate that Katja Nyberg explains how this is discussed.
But I am, as I have mentioned, concerned. I do not think that Katja Nyberg means that people should wait for a decision from the government and the Sverigedemokraterna on how this will look. But if one says that a decision will come eventually, there is a risk that people will wait to start the training, because it would be an injustice if the person who starts the training now has to take out a student loan while the one who perhaps starts in two years gets paid by the state. I think that the government and Sverigedemokraterna should realize that this creates an uncertainty that could result in fewer people applying for the police training, which we agree would be very negative.
The deliberation was hereby concluded.
Source: The Swedish Parliament. The speeches come from the open data of the Riksdag, translated into English by AI, which may contain errors.