Friday, October 31, 2025

Polaris of Enlightenment

Swedish National Audit Office: Reduced admission requirements can increase “diversity” in the police

Published May 23, 2025 – By Editorial staff
Police training requirements have already been lowered several times - but this has not been enough to meet politicians' ambitions.

The Swedish National Audit Office has reviewed admissions to police training and concluded that major changes must be implemented if the Swedish police are to meet the requirements for diversity and representation set by politicians.

Despite the fact that police training has already been simplified in several rounds, there is still considerable disapproval of the fact that women and people with immigrant backgrounds are more often rejected than Swedish men.

In the case of women, it has been noted that they have difficulty passing the strength tests – and although it is acknowledged that the tests are based on scientific principles, it is stated that it is not certain that they are actually "adapted to measure whether the candidates have the abilities required to succeed in the police profession".

"It cannot be ruled out that the test disadvantages women. It may also be due to the fact that the thresholds are not clearly substantiated", the report states.

For immigrants, it is not the physical fitness tests that are the main problem – instead, it is the fact that many police cadets with immigrant backgrounds fail the aptitude test.

According to the National Audit Office, this "cannot be attributed to differences in grades or scores on the university entrance exam" – instead, a likely explanation for why fewer people with a foreign background pass the aptitude test is that it "is old and contains archaic language" – for example, words that were used in the 1960s.

Suggests discrimination

Even when the results of the university entrance exam are taken into account and compared with the scores on the aptitude test, significant differences remain, and it is clear that people with immigrant backgrounds perform worse than Swedes.

According to the agency, the fact that both women and immigrants fail more often than Swedish men may indicate that the selection process itself is problematic and that the tests should be changed.

"The selection method used means that candidates must pass one stage to move on to the next. This is particularly problematic in combination with unclear thresholds, and means there is an increased risk that suitable candidates will drop out of the admission process at an early stage on unclear grounds. Overall, this constitutes a potential obstacle to achieving the government's ambition of greater diversity in the police force", it concludes.

It therefore recommends that the Police Authority "review the admission process", including "ensuring that the requirements profile, tests, and thresholds are based on the job analysis and do not discriminate against any group".

"The government has long expressed a desire for greater diversity in the police force, with more women and people with foreign backgrounds. Despite this, the composition has not changed significantly over time", it states bitterly.

Lowered requirements may affect police safety and ability

However, the police themselves are very skeptical about some of the criticism – especially the parts about women being disadvantaged by the physical tests – and that these therefore need to be changed.

We believe that the strength test reflects the physical requirements of the profession and that a more in-depth analysis is needed before changing something that could ultimately affect both the safety of individual police officers and the overall operational capability, argues Marie Andersson at the Police Education Unit.

It should be noted that the requirements for police training have already been significantly lowered over the past 13 years. In 2012, the language test was removed, which required candidates to read a text and answer questions about it – something that many applicants with immigrant backgrounds found difficult.

In 2016, the requirements for passing the aptitude test were lowered, again with the justification that it would make it easier to fill places on police training courses.

In 2022, the requirement for passing grades in history in upper secondary school was also removed for applicants to the police training program. This was justified by the fact that history is not a compulsory subject and that the requirement for passing grades was considered to prevent suitable applicants from getting through the admission process. In the same year, the requirements for passing the aptitude test were further lowered.

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Swedish police warn of growing online abuse targeting children

Published today 11:41 am – By Editorial staff
Research shows that children who have been subjected to internet-related sexual offenses often suffer from serious mental health problems.

Children and young people are increasingly falling victim to sexual abuse and extortion on the internet. Cyber investigators are calling for more education and adult presence as countermeasures – not bans on apps and games.

Innocent chat conversations in gaming environments and on social platforms are increasingly turning into sexual exploitation and extortion of children and adolescents, and Swedish police are seeing a clear increase in internet-related sexual crimes against young people.

Alexandra Lindgren, police assistant and cyber investigator within the unit for internet-related sexual abuse of children (Isöb) in Region East, believes that the solution does not lie in banning digital platforms. Instead, better education is needed.

— We need to talk with children and young people and really make them understand that they need to be critical about who they choose to talk to. Often there isn't that mindset to question things, she says.

Certain platforms recur in police investigations: Snapchat, WhatsApp, Discord and various gaming environments. What begins as a harmless conversation can quickly develop into something dangerous.

— Children lack consequential thinking. In certain apps, such as Snapchat, there are different points to earn by adding many new friends. Then you don't reflect on who is behind the usernames, says Lindgren.

"Feel bad and ashamed"

It's not only adults who commit the abuse – young people also victimize each other. In some cases, the young people themselves take the initiative, driven by a desire for expensive branded clothes or other status symbols. They send images in exchange for money or products, without understanding that the images can then be used for extortion.

Girls are the most common victim group, but boys are also subjected to abuse to a greater extent than statistics show. The dark figure is also significant because boys have a harder time talking about the abuse.

The most common crimes are exploitation of children for sexual posing and child pornography offenses. Research shows that victims often develop mental health issues, partly because the abuse lacks a clear end – the images can be spread further and the victims never know who has seen them.

— They often feel very bad and ashamed. They don't want mom and dad to find out. Some also get scolded when it comes out, which in my opinion is the wrong way to go. It's much better to talk and listen and support, says Alexandra Lindgren.

The police have been criticized for investigations taking too long. Lindgren confirms the problem and points to bottlenecks in digital analysis and dependence on external parties such as internet service providers.

Swedish government moves forward with plans for a “Swedish CIA”

Published October 29, 2025 – By Editorial staff
Critical voices compare the new agency with the American CIA.

The Swedish government is moving forward with plans for a new civilian intelligence service directly under the Ministry for Foreign Affairs. The idea is that the agency will strengthen Sweden's analytical capacity regarding events and alleged threats abroad and complement the military intelligence service.

A special investigator, Annika Brändström, has been appointed to prepare the establishment of the new intelligence service, which according to the government's press release is to be operational on January 1, 2027.

The proposal is based on an investigation led by former Swedish Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Carl Bildt, who proposed that parts of the military intelligence service should be transferred to a civilian agency under the government.

It will be an independent agency that, among other things, handles collection through technical means and with open information, and will be under the government like all other agencies, said Bildt at a press conference together with Swedish Defense Minister Pål Jonson, earlier this summer.

According to the press release, the new agency will meet the Government Offices' intelligence needs and work closely with the Swedish Armed Forces, FRA (the Swedish National Defence Radio Establishment), the Swedish Security Service, and other relevant actors within the total defense.

"Broader security threats"

Today, much of the intelligence operations are handled by the Swedish Security Service (Säkerhetspolisen) and the military intelligence service Must, which provide the defense forces and government with analyses.

According to Carl Bildt, this system has shown shortcomings, including in the assessments before the war in Ukraine escalated in 2022.

We have seen a broader security threat against Sweden, just take cyber threats, terrorist threats, technology threats, investment controls and hostile state actors using different methods. We have not had quite as much control over things in our immediate area, which lie outside the immediate military sphere, as we should have had, he claimed in connection with the summer press conference.

"Swedish CIA" or British model?

Critics have compared the new intelligence agency to the notorious American intelligence service CIA.

Well, it's difficult to make that comparison. It's more a larger version of what the British have with their Joint Intelligence Organisation. An independent agency that is collecting to some extent, but primarily analyzing, said Bildt.

Sweden's former prime minister emphasizes that the international community will perceive the agency as a significant increase in ambition.

We have tripled resources over the past 15 years, there has been a continued expansion of this activity. It is an organization that is then a bit more similar to what most other countries already have.

Swedish government seeks mandatory deportation for prison sentences

Migration crisis in Europe

Published October 29, 2025 – By Editorial staff
Swedish Migration Minister Johan Forssell and Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson.

The Moderate Party-led Swedish government is close to introducing a law that would force prosecutors to demand deportation when foreign nationals are sentenced to prison. The penalty threshold will be lowered from six months, which is expected to dramatically increase the number of deportations in coming years.

Migration Minister Johan Forssell (Moderate Party) confirms that the government will soon submit the legislative proposal making it mandatory to demand deportation for persons sentenced to prison. The reform could increase the number of deportations sixfold in the first years.

The announcement comes after international criticism that a man who raped the then 16-year-old Meya in Skellefteå, northern Sweden, last year was not deported.

— I was very moved when I read about this case, both as a minister but above all as a parent, Forssell tells state-funded broadcaster Radio Sweden.

He emphasizes that the system is failing:

— Crime victims should receive justice and the system should be fair, but there is a systemic flaw here. I want to be honest in saying that this systemic flaw means that it is rather the perpetrators' well-being that is taken into account.

— People are still allowed to remain in Sweden despite having committed very serious crimes, for example rape, and I find that offensive, the minister adds.

"Toughest regulations in the Nordic region"

The upcoming legislation is based on an inquiry that the government received in May. The proposal means that prosecutors must demand deportation for prison sentences, and courts must decide on deportation when the conditions are met.

The penalty threshold will be lowered from six months to all prison sentences, meaning that even crimes such as assault and fraud could lead to deportation. According to the inquiry, the number of deportations could increase by 500–600 percent during the first years.

— Sweden will thus have the toughest regulations in the entire Nordic region, Forssell claims, adding that the government also wants to review the EU rules that make deportations more difficult.

— I hope that we will be successful there, but it is a more complicated process than Swedish legislation, which we control ourselves.

Lack of credibility

Although many agree that immigrant criminals should be deportable, critics question the migration minister's credibility and ask how many deportations will actually be carried out.

During the Moderate Party's previous period in government under Fredrik Reinfeldt (Swedish Prime Minister 2006-2014), Sweden's already generous mass immigration was expanded, which according to critics has led to many of the people who may now be deported, or their parents, being granted entry to Sweden in the first place.

Despite the sudden shift in rhetoric, many believe it is highly unlikely that extensive deportation programs will be implemented under a Moderate Party-led government.

Youth prisons for 13-year-olds to open this summer in Sweden

organized crime

Published October 28, 2025 – By Editorial staff
The number of young people convicted of serious crimes has increased dramatically in recent years.

The Swedish government has tasked the Swedish Prison and Probation Service (Kriminalvården) with preparing special youth prisons for 13- and 14-year-olds who commit serious crimes.

The purpose is to adapt the sentence execution to the child's age and to separate younger offenders from older youth, with the prison units set to be ready by summer.

The Swedish Prison and Probation Service has previously been tasked with preparing youth prisons for 15–17-year-olds convicted of serious crimes. Now the assignment is being expanded to also include criminals aged 13 and 14, in connection with the government's proposal to lower the age of criminal responsibility for serious crimes.

In August 2023, the government received the report A review of regulations on custodial sentences for young people, which proposes that secure youth care be replaced with imprisonment in special youth units at existing facilities.

– Lowering the age of criminal responsibility for the most serious crimes is needed for several reasons. It is important to strengthen redress for crime victims, to protect society and to help children leave the criminal path. This also provides a five-year window for preventive work to catch up with today's reality. The Prison and Probation Service is now tasked with preparing operations in the best way to receive the youngest target group, says Swedish Justice Minister Gunnar Strömmer.

Age-appropriate adaptation

The Prison and Probation Service must adapt both facilities and operations based on the children's age. Younger children must be kept separate from older youth, and operations must comply with the provisions of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.

– When 13–14-year-olds are running around with automatic weapons, it must be met with society's full force. To protect others, they must be able to be locked up, and by lowering the age of criminal responsibility, we open up the police's toolbox. It gives us a chance to both stop continued violence and turn around the development for these children before it's too late, says Henrik Vinge (Sweden Democrats), chair of the justice committee in the Swedish Parliament.

Torsten Elofsson, legal policy spokesperson for the Christian Democrats, points out that the need is urgent:

– The number of children, as young as 13–14 years old, committing serious violent crimes has increased dramatically. Measures to prevent this and to also take action after completed crimes are a must. At the same time, the execution needs to be adapted based on the perpetrator's age. It is welcome that the Prison and Probation Service is now tasked with examining how operations need to be adapted.

Martin Melin (Liberals) agrees:

– I have great confidence in the Prison and Probation Service and how they solve the strained situation they have, not least with the shortage of places. I am convinced that they will also be able to ensure that the 13 and 14-year-olds sentenced to prison will be taken care of in the best way.

Planned facilities and timeline

The Prison and Probation Service is planning special youth units for boys at the facilities in Högsbo, Rosersberg, Österåker, Kumla, Skenäs and Täby. For girls, units are planned at Ystad and Sagsjön. Implementation will occur in stages, and not all units will be operational from July 1, 2026.

On September 24, the Ministry of Justice sent out for consultation a draft legislative proposal to lower the age of criminal responsibility to 13 years for crimes with a minimum sentence of four years' imprisonment or more, as well as for attempts, preparation and conspiracy to commit such crimes. The proposal is currently time-limited to five years.

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