A record number are prosecuted for crimes related to protected objects.
Among other things, a couple on a date has been convicted after a walk on Drottningholm.
– It is an act that has up to two years in prison on the penalty scale. The public is ignorant of how serious it actually is, says Mats Ljungqvist, prosecutor at the National Security Unit, to P4 Stockholm.
In the last five years, prosecutions relating to breaches of the Protection Act have increased significantly. In the first half of 2019, three prosecutions were brought against 33 so far this year.
– I am quite convinced that it is due to the changed security situation that currently prevails in Sweden, says Mats Ljungqvist, prosecutor at the National Security Unit, to P4 Stockholm.
“You take chances – the public is ignorant”
A broker who photographed the castle with a drone, a couple on a date who walked through a protected area on Drottningholm and tourists who photographed the Kronoberg Prison are some of those who have been sentenced.
– They are cases that are prioritized to a higher degree by the police and prosecutors. As a result of the security situation, the armed forces above all have a completely different focus on protecting their facilities.
But Ljungqvist does not believe that they photographed by mistake or that it would be poorly signposted.
– I rather perceive that you are taking a chance, that you understand that it is a question of an object of protection. It is an offense that carries up to two years in prison on the penalty scale. The general public is ignorant of how serious it actually is to photograph protected objects.