The police’s work with special events in serious crimes receives sharp criticism from the National Audit Office in a new review. Above all, it hits local police areas that have to draw from their scarce resources. – It will be more difficult to deal with serious crime locally, says project manager Linda Jönsson. A special event is used by the police when something happens for which the regular operations are not adapted, and resources are then taken from different areas within the authority to be able to mobilize quickly, for example in the event of a terrorist act or a presidential visit. But in a new review by the National Audit Office, the working method is criticised. – Special event can be an effective way to lead the work for a few hours up to a week after a serious crime has been committed. But long-term special events do more harm than good, says Linda Jönsson, audit manager and project manager for the review. Deficient The review also shows that the Police Authority was deficient in documentation of special events and in half of the cases relating to serious crime was unable to account for the additional costs. At the same time, the transfer of resources affects the police locally. – The consequences are that it leads to reduced staffing at the local police area level, which makes it more difficult to deal with serious crime locally. We see that serious crime is spreading across the country, outside the metropolitan regions, and that underlines the importance of a police presence throughout the country, she says. How should the police work forward with special events? – It is important to work to end the particular incident as quickly as possible. And to constantly have a continuous assessment of how we have used the resource. If we can send the resource back, we need this competence, so that it can be used more efficiently, says Linda Jönsson. 1,600 special events In its review, the National Audit Office found out what the police could not report. During the period 2015–2021, almost 1,600 special events were issued and 230 of them related to serious crime – for more than half of these, the additional cost cannot be traced due to a lack of documentation.
t4-general
Harsh criticism of the police in new review: “Does more harm than good”
