Law enforcement in Sweden
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Law enforcement in Sweden is carried out by several
government agencies A government or state agency, sometimes an appointed commission, is a permanent or semi-permanent organization in the machinery of government that is responsible for the oversight and administration of specific functions, such as an administratio ...
, under the guidance of the
Government of Sweden The Government of the Kingdom of Sweden ( sv, Konungariket Sveriges regering) is the national cabinet of Sweden, and the country's executive authority. The Government consists of the Prime Ministerappointed and dismissed by the Speaker of the ...
.


Structure

The administration of both law enforcement and the
judiciary of Sweden The judicial system of Sweden consists of the law of Sweden and a number of government agencies tasked with upholding security and rule of law within the country. The activities of these agencies include police and law enforcement, prosecution, c ...
falls under the
Ministry of Justice A Ministry of Justice is a common type of government department that serves as a justice ministry. Lists of current ministries of justice Named "Ministry" * Ministry of Justice (Abkhazia) * Ministry of Justice (Afghanistan) * Ministry of Just ...
, a cabinet-level department in the
government of Sweden The Government of the Kingdom of Sweden ( sv, Konungariket Sveriges regering) is the national cabinet of Sweden, and the country's executive authority. The Government consists of the Prime Ministerappointed and dismissed by the Speaker of the ...
, headed by the
Minister of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a v ...
. The Ministry is primarily concerned with policy-making and legislation. The actual day-to-day administration is the responsibility of agencies, such as the
Swedish Police Authority The Swedish Police Authority ( sv, Polismyndigheten) is the national police force (''Polisen'') of the Kingdom of Sweden. The first modern police force in Sweden was established in the mid-19th century, and the police remained in effect under loc ...
( sv, Polismyndigheten). The organization mainly tasked with law enforcement is the Swedish Police Authority. In addition, under certain circumstances, other government agencies can be tasked with law enforcement, including investigations, arrest/probationary powers, or enforcement of judgements. Just like in the United States, Swedish law has provisions similar to the U.S.
Posse Comitatus Act The Posse Comitatus Act is a United States federal law (, original at ) signed on June 18, 1878, by President Rutherford B. Hayes which limits the powers of the federal government in the use of federal military personnel to enforce domestic p ...
which limits the use of the military to perform the tasks of law enforcement agencies in time of peace. This rule has recently come under review, in light of the upsurge of terrorist activity following the
9/11 The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial ...
attacks and the bombings in
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,
Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...
and
London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
it has been suggested that the military should be allowed to aid the police in certain situations of heightened tension.


Agencies under the Ministry of Justice


Swedish Police Authority

The Swedish Police Authority is the central administrative authority for the
police The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state, with the aim to enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers include arrest and t ...
in
Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...
and the
National Forensics Centre The Swedish National Forensic Centre ( sv, Nationellt forensiskt centrum, NFC) — previously known as the National Swedish Criminal Police Registry and Forensic Laboratories (1939–1964) ( sv, Statens kriminaltekniska anstalt, SKA) and the Nationa ...
. It is responsible for
law enforcement Law enforcement is the activity of some members of government who act in an organized manner to enforce the law by discovering, deterring, rehabilitating, or punishing people who violate the rules and norms governing that society. The term en ...
, general social order and public safety within the country. A number of special units are organized under this agency, such as the
National Task Force The National Task Force ( sv, Nationella insatsstyrkan, ''NI''), formerly known as the National Task Force of the Swedish Civilian Police ( sv, Ordningspolisens nationella insatsstyrka), is a police tactical unit within the National Operations Dep ...
and the
Reinforced Regional Task Force Reinforced Regional Task Force ( sv, Förstärkt Regional Insatsstyrka), prior to 2015 officially known as Piketen (or Piketenheten) is a regional special operations asset of the Swedish Police Authority, similar to SWAT type units in the Unit ...
s.


Swedish Security Service

The Swedish Security Service ( sv, Säkerhetspolisen, Säpo) is tasked with protection of the constitution, close protection, counter-espionage and counter-terrorism.


Swedish Economic Crime Authority

The Swedish Economic Crime Authority ( sv, Ekobrottsmyndigheten, EBM) is a
multidisciplinary Interdisciplinarity or interdisciplinary studies involves the combination of multiple academic disciplines into one activity (e.g., a research project). It draws knowledge from several other fields like sociology, anthropology, psychology, ec ...
law enforcement agency with the responsibility to both investigate and prosecute in cases of economic crimes. Similar multidisciplinary organizations are the
Økokrim The National Authority for Investigation and Prosecution of Economic and Environmental Crime ( no, Økokrim) is Norway's central unit for fighting economic and environmental crimes. The unit, created in 1989, has its main office in Oslo. Økokr ...
in
Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...
and the
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in
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.


Swedish Prosecution Authority

The Swedish Prosecution Authority ( sv, Ã…klagarmyndigheten) is the principal agency in Sweden responsible for public
prosecution A prosecutor is a legal representative of the prosecution in states with either the common law adversarial system or the civil law inquisitorial system. The prosecution is the legal party responsible for presenting the case in a criminal trial ...
s. It is headed by the Prosecutor General of Sweden. Swedish prosecutors, belonging or not to the authority, are responsible for leading and supervising criminal investigations done by the Swedish Police, and preparing and presenting cases for the courts. The prosecutors also hold a number of quasi-judicial powers like, though not officially, acting as judges in several
misdemeanor A misdemeanor (American English, spelled misdemeanour elsewhere) is any "lesser" criminal act in some common law legal systems. Misdemeanors are generally punished less severely than more serious felonies, but theoretically more so than adm ...
cases. There are also a couple of Swedish prosecution agencies, independent of the SPA such as the Swedish
Chancellor of Justice The Chancellor of Justice is a government official found in some northern European countries, broadly responsible for supervising the lawfulness of government actions. History In 1713, the Swedish King Charles XII, preoccupied with fighting the ...
, which is independent of the national government, and the
Parliamentary Ombudsman Parliamentary Ombudsman ( fi, Eduskunnan oikeusasiamies, sv, Riksdagens ombudsman, is, Umboðsmaður Alþingis, da, Folketingets Ombudsmand, no, Sivilombudet) is the name of the principal ombudsman institutions in Finland, Iceland, Denmark, Norw ...
. The Chancellor of Justice is responsible for supervising the lawfulness of government actions. The Parliamentary Ombudsman is responsible for supervising public authorities and also has powers to act as a special prosecutor and bring charges against public officials for malfeasance or some other irregularity. This happens very rarely.


Chancellor of Justice

The Chancellor, roughly the
Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...
of Sweden, acts, besides supervising lawyers and public officials, as a special prosecutor in several cases. The Chancellor does have, as being a prosecutor, investigative powers in cases regarding misconduct of lawyers and public officials, and violations of the Swedish laws dealing with press freedom.


Swedish Prison and Probation Service

The Swedish Prison and Probation Service ( sv, Kriminalvården) does have, besides duties as guarding prisons and keeping arrested suspects in jail, certain powers to track down escaped convicts.


Swedish National Board of Forensic Medicine

The
Swedish National Board of Forensic Medicine The Swedish National Board of Forensic Medicine ( sv, Rättsmedicinalverket, abbreviated RMV) is a Swedish government agency organized under the Ministry of Justice, responsible for forensic psychiatry, forensic chemistry, forensic medicine and ...
( sv, Rättsmedicinalverket) is responsible for
forensic psychiatry Forensic psychiatry is a subspeciality of psychiatry and is related to criminology. It encompasses the interface between law and psychiatry. According to the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law, it is defined as "a subspecialty of psychiat ...
,
forensic chemistry Forensic chemistry is the application of chemistry and its subfield, forensic toxicology, in a legal setting. A forensic chemist can assist in the identification of unknown materials found at a crime scene. Specialists in this field have a wide ...
,
forensic medicine Forensic medicine is a broad term used to describe a group of medical specialties which deal with the examination and diagnosis of individuals who have been injured by or who have died because of external or unnatural causes such as poisoning, assa ...
and
forensic genetics DNA profiling (also called DNA fingerprinting) is the process of determining an individual's DNA characteristics. DNA analysis intended to identify a species, rather than an individual, is called DNA barcoding. DNA profiling is a forensic tec ...
.


Agencies under the Ministry of Finance


Swedish Customs Service

The
Swedish Customs Service The Swedish Customs ( sv, Tullverket, , Customs Administration) is the customs service of the Kingdom of Sweden. It is a department of the Government of Sweden. It is one of the oldest governmental agencies in Sweden, as it was founded in 1636. ...
, or ''Tullverket'', performs duties related to law enforcement including
border guard A border guard of a country is a national security agency that performs border security. Some of the national border guard agencies also perform coast guard (as in Federal Police (Germany), Germany, Guardia di Finanza, Italy or State Border Gua ...
duties and the trace of illegal narcotics attempted to be smuggled into the country.


Swedish Enforcement Administration

The
Swedish Enforcement Administration The Swedish Enforcement Authority ( sv, Kronofogdemyndigheten; literally: ''The Crown Bailiff Authority'') is a government agency in charge of debt collection, distraint, evictions, and the enforcement of court orders in Sweden. The authority also ...
, or ''Kronofogdemyndigheten'' is the law enforcement agency in charge of
debt collection Debt collection is the process of pursuing payments of debts owed by individuals or businesses. An organization that specializes in debt collection is known as a collection agency or debt collector. Most collection agencies operate as agents of ...
,
distraint Distraint or distress is "the seizure of someone’s property in order to obtain payment of rent or other money owed", especially in common law countries. Distraint is the act or process "whereby a person (the ''distrainor''), traditionally even ...
,
eviction Eviction is the removal of a tenant from rental property by the landlord. In some jurisdictions it may also involve the removal of persons from premises that were foreclosed by a mortgagee (often, the prior owners who defaulted on a mortgage ...
s, and the enforcement of court orders in
Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...
. The authority also supervises trustees in
bankruptcy Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor ...
.


Agencies under the Ministry of Defence


Swedish Coast Guard

The
Swedish Coast Guard The Swedish Coast Guard ( sv, Kustbevakningen) is a Swedish civilian government agency tasked with: * maritime surveillance and other control and inspection tasks as well as environmental cleanup after oil spills at sea. * co-ordinate the civil ...
, or ''Kustbevakningen'' enforce Swedish law on the sea, independently or together with the Swedish Police. This includes sobriety tests of the operators of any marine vessel.


Swedish Military Police

The Swedish
military police Military police (MP) are law enforcement agencies connected with, or part of, the military of a state. In wartime operations, the military police may support the main fighting force with force protection, convoy security, screening, rear recon ...
is the law enforcement service of the
Swedish Armed Forces The Swedish Armed Forces ( sv, Försvarsmakten, "the Defense Force") is the government agency that forms the armed forces of Sweden, tasked with the defense of the country as well as with promoting Sweden's wider interests, supporting internati ...
. The Life Guards is responsible for training military police soldiers,
Royal Guards Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal, Iowa, a cit ...
and other guards. The duties of the military police outside the military may include protection and safety of foreign
Heads of State A head of state (or chief of state) is the public persona who officially embodies a state Foakes, pp. 110–11 "he head of statebeing an embodiment of the State itself or representatitve of its international persona." in its unity and le ...
. The connection between the military police units and the Life Guards is similar to the structure in the Swedish Police Service; the Life Guard is responsible for service, coordination and development of the military police, and the local unit is responsible to investigate and keep law and order at the camp.


Agencies under the Ministry of Health and Social Affairs


Swedish National Board of Institutional Care

The Swedish National Board of Institutional Care ( sv, Statens institutionsstyrelse) arrange compulsory care for young people with psychosocial problems and for adults suffering from substance abuse problems.


See also

*
Crime in Sweden Crime in Sweden is defined by the Swedish Penal Code ( sv, Brottsbalken) and in other Swedish laws and statutory instruments. Over the past decades, the number of reported crimes in Sweden has increased slightly. This fact is due to several ...


Notes


References

* {{Europe topic, Law enforcement in