Law enforcement in Sweden

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Law enforcement in Sweden is carried out by several government agencies, under the guidance of the Government of Sweden.

Structure

The administration of both law enforcement and the

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 which limits the use of the military to perform the tasks of law enforcement agencies in time of peace.^{[citation needed]}

This rule has recently come under review, in light of the upsurge of terrorist activity following the

The Swedish Police Authority is the central administrative authority for the

The Swedish Security Service (Swedish: 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 (

The Swedish Prosecution Authority (

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 cases.

There are also a couple of Swedish prosecution agencies, independent of the SPA such as the Swedish Chancellor of Justice, which is independent of the national government, and the Parliamentary Ombudsman. 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

The Swedish Prison and Probation Service (Swedish: Kriminalvården) does have, besides duties as guarding prisons and keeping arrested suspects in jail, certain powers to track down escaped convicts.^{[citation needed]}

Swedish National Board of Forensic Medicine

The

The Swedish Customs Service, or Tullverket, performs duties related to law enforcement including border guard duties and the trace of illegal narcotics attempted to be smuggled into the country.

Swedish Enforcement Administration

The

The Swedish Coast Guard, 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

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 (Swedish: Statens institutionsstyrelse) arrange compulsory care for young people with psychosocial problems and for adults suffering from substance abuse problems.

See also

• Crime in Sweden

Notes

References