Critical customs staff: “Great danger for Sweden”

Critical customs staff Great danger for Sweden

Published: Less than 30 min ago

full screen23 group managers within the Swedish Customs Administration in the southern region express concern about how the agency is developing. Archive image. Photo: Johan Nilsson/TT

Group managers within the Swedish Customs Service direct harsh criticism towards the customs’ organization and management, Sydsvenskan reports.

In a letter signed by 23 group managers within the Swedish Customs Administration’s control unit in the southern region, concern is expressed that the authority’s current development is “a great danger for Sweden”.

Customs’ new organization is described as culvert-like with four units working in parallel. Distribution of money and personnel between the units is described as inflexible. The control unit, to which the letter’s signatories belong, is too low a priority, they claim.

At the same time, Director General of Customs Charlotte Svensson’s leadership style is criticized in harsh terms.

“Ahead of the upcoming elections, the message from the current government is that we must turn over every stone to fight crime in Sweden. Our view is that our management rather puts the stones in a pile and hopes that no one turns them over and sees the problems”, write the group managers.

– Charlotte Svensson takes the criticism very seriously. It is largely new to her, says Customs’ press manager Mattias Ragert to the newspaper.

She does not want to comment on the criticism until she has spoken to those who made it.

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