Politicians promised 10,000 new police employees out on the streets and squares until 2024.
But TV4 News review shows that many police regions instead invested in civilian employees – who are mostly working inside.
– We from the Foundation Säggare Sweden said that this will not go. Now we can say that it was not possible, says Magnus Lindgren, former police officer.
In 2017, then Prime Minister, Stefan Löfven, promised 10,000 new police employees by 2024, and that more would be out on the streets and squares where people are.
But instead of more visible police officers, there have been more civilian employees around the country, TV4 shows the news review of police employment.
Since 2015, the number of civil servants has increased by 90 percent, while the number of police employees has only increased by 20 percent. Magnus Lindgren, who previously worked as a police officer, highlights the importance of the police being visible among the public.
“Must be accepted – loses legitimacy”
– The fact that we have received more civil servants is not in itself wrong. But then we have to get the police out on the street to a greater extent and that is what we have failed. All police operations around the world are based on the police knowing the residents and that the residents are known by the police, says Lindgren and continues:
– You must be accepted by the public, have that legitimacy in order to perform that work. If the police are too far from the citizens, you lose it.
National Police Chief Petra Lundh agrees that the recruitment of police officers in external service has been too bad. One reason is to get too few to the police training.
-If you look at the number of police officers in total, we are well below the EU average. But it is true that we did not get enough in external uniformed service. But during this year we actually got 719 new police officers in external service. This is an increase of eight percent, and we have not had such a big increase ever before, says Lundh.
Accommodation: “Never seen a police officer here – crazy”
An exposed area where residents feel that the police shine with their absence is Hagalund in the municipality of Solna. Traude Rothdeutsch has lived in the area since the 1970s and has never seen a patrolling police officer.
– No, I’ve never seen any police officer here. A police car sometimes, but I’ve never seen any police here. It is absolutely insane if they sit inside more than they are out, because it is out among the buses they do the most useful, she says and shakes her head.