Translation
POLICE LIFE
Tema 1
I had to ride a bike around and collect taxes.
It was terribly boring, completely soul-crushing.
Sometimes it seemed that those I visited
suspected me of keeping the money for myself.
There was often an uncomfortable air
during my visits. It seemed quite a sensitive thing
to reveal that the family could not afford to pay.
John Bårman, fjärdingsman, Helgum, 1939
In the past, parish constables
were called fjärdingsmän, literally “quartermen”.
The title was introduced in the 16th century.
The job was a local position of trust
in one quarter of a härad, or county district.
Each härad also had a supervisor
who was called a kronolänsman,
the head of the county chief constable.
In 1850, the assignment became a government position
with special instructions and regulations.
Now there would be a fjärdingsman in every parish,
in the area around a church. The title existed until 1954,
when it was changed to police constable.
19 years old. Proud, but anxious. How would I manage being the sole fjärdingsman?
With no money to buy a uniform. But my father paid for the police cap,
which was a must.
Ingvar Robertson, fjärdingsman, Torsås Parish, 1939
One summer evening, a young man was found dead on the dance floor in Ulvoberg.
Witnesses said a post from a roundpole fence was used in the fight.
The perpetrator said he stopped hitting immediately when the man fell.
He was later sentenced to prison for manslaughter.
Tycho Forssén, fjärdingsman, Dikanäs, 1940
A person had been murdered in the middle of my district.
As fjärdingsman, I was to assist in autopsies.
First I had to saw off the head and hold him still here and there.
Then I had to sew him up. No one can blame me for making long stitches.
Karl Henning Fröbom, fjärdingsman, Odensvi, 1917
Private life? What private life?
My wife got telephone calls round the clock, whether she wanted to or not,
because my office was in my home. She had to listen and promise the “fjärsman”
would return the call when he got home.
It was, unsurprisingly, quite disruptive to our family life.
Olle Falk, fjärdingsman, Skärplinge, 1947
Only a man who could read and write,
was at least 170 centimetres tall
and had “honourable behaviour,
good health and a strong constitution”,
could join the police in the mid-19th century.
The policemen were often young and poor.
After just a few weeks’ training
they were put to work. At any moment
they could be judged unsuitable and sacked
for no apparent reason.
In the mid-19th century, the preferred recruits
were men with a military background.
They were trained to obey orders
and do as they were told.
“It wasn’t easy being a policeman in the early 20th century.
We had one free day every third week,”
recalls police constable Victor Öhrman.
It was eagerly awaited.
People planned what they were going to do far in advance
and rejoiced at being able to sleep a whole night.
Before being hired as a regular officer,
you had a sort of trial employment with the lowest wage of all.
“The pay envelope wasn’t fat,” says police constable Gustaf Rosén.
“I earned two kronor for every shift
and I had to pay for the uniform myself.
It was impossible to get more than six hours’ continuous sleep.
I only had eight hours off. Before the next shift, I also had to eat
or run other errands.
Gustaf Adolf Blomberg, police constable, Stockholm, 1918
Police boxes were installed in Stockholm in 1931. They contained a telephone so policemen could report in to the station twice an hour. Red lights lit up on street corners when the station needed to contact the policeman. The public could also use the telephone in the police box if necessary.
In Gothenburg, policemen could telegraph messages between police stations. A bit like the text messages of our day. This particular type of telegraph was called a pointer telegraph and was manufactured by Öller & Co. This model was most common along the railway and required a bit less training than regular telegraphy.
Police officers have always shared information with each other to fight crime. Three times a week in the years 1878–1982, a newspaper called Polisunderrättelser (Police Intelligence) was sent to all police stations. It contained information about drifters and wanted men, people in custody and released, and also about stolen goods.
On the streets you were on your own
When I started patrolling,
I felt very uncertain.
The uniform gave me a specific role.
It felt as if people became tense and watchful,
maybe even scared, whether or not
they had a reason to be.
I was more on my guard too,
because on the streets you were on your own.
You walked the beat alone,
with no colleagues to turn to.
Jan Olsson, police constable, Stockholm 1959
I knew a constable
who removed his helmet on a warm, sunny day.
Suddenly a superintendent came along
and wondered why he was holding his helmet.
“It was so hot I had to take it off a moment,”
the constable replied.
“I see,” said the superintendent, and left.
The next day the constable was sacked.
Henning Steijnick, police constable, Stockholm, 1915
The first Police Act was enacted in 1925.
After that, police constables could no longer be fired
on arbitrary grounds.
A constable on patrol
could be inspected and examined
at any time
by constabulary inspectors,
the chief superintendent,
the district superintendent,
the district inspector,
the deputy inspector
the central inspector
and the central constabulary.
Victor Öhman, police constable, Gothenburg, 1909
The constant inspections
created a desire to cheat the system.
There is a story of a constable
who was offered a meal
after clearing a restaurant of criminals.
Suddenly the top superintendent was outside.
The constable quickly put on a skirt and shawl
and called for an ambulance.
He rode with it a while, got out
and went back to his beat.
Other constables talk about special places
where they could escape from the inspectors
and the cold for a half hour or so.
These places were called “Parisian cafés”.
“I’ll never forget my first shift. I put on my uniform, my Sam Browne belt with my sabre, and walked up to the police station. What if something happened?
But everything went well. There was only a lady asking about a bus stop.”
Leif Blom, police constable, Stockholm, 1958
A police officer could be recognised by his uniform, equipment and insignia.
He was to be visible, but not talk to people. This was to inspire respect.
Police officers were only allowed to speak to the general public to correct or assist them. The ban on speaking was lifted in 1947. This would be the dawn of a friendlier breed of police officer.
Police officers were equipped with sabres for more than 100 years. All the way to 1965. The sabre wasn’t sharp and was used largely like a baton.
Policemen were only allowed to strike with the broad side of the sabre.
They were absolutely forbidden to chop with it.
When police officers went out on patrol, they were equipped with their insignia,
a whistle and a key to the town’s emergency alarm box. Handcuffs were included, of course, as well as tokens to use public transport in professional business. Later, they also had coins to be able to use telephone booths.
The police monitored public order
through assigned patrol beats.
They patrolled the town’s streets alone,
up and down pre-defined routes.
They were only allowed to leave their beat
if the public needed their assistance.
We patrolled in the middle of the street.
It wasn’t so dangerous when traffic was horse-drawn,
but then cars came along. One foggy night,
a constable was run over on Drottninggatan.
It was many years before we were allowed
to patrol on the pavements.
Georg Konrad Carlsson, police constable, Gävle, 1917
In the right place at the right time
As night patrols, we stopped at several police boxes in the town.
They contained a key to the time clock we carried with us.
When you turned the key, the clock stamped a strip of paper inside it.
These papers showed whether we did our work punctually.
Ivar Edhlund, police constable, Östhammar, 1929
Emergency alarm boxes were placed in several locations in towns.
Police officers could unlock the box to call the station if they needed help.
In the 19th century, many people
moved to cities and towns to find work
in the then-new factories.
Poverty was rampant.
Public disturbances were common.
A new police organisation was needed
to manage the new situation in towns.
Stockholm was the first place to launch
the new police organisation in 1850.
Other towns soon followed suit.
But they had to pay for their own police officers,
while the state continued to pay
for country police.
It would take a long time
before we got a nationalised police force.
One day, a drunk man was arrested on Tegelbacken.
Under his arm was a giant ham.
The man said he was going to Kungsholmen
to trade the ham for a few litres of moonshine.
I sent out a police constable
to the area. There, we found
one of the best seizures we’ve ever made:
A brass distillery.
Johan August Gustafsson, contraband officer, Stockholm, 1923
We were used to encountering a lot of drunks in Gothenburg,
but one day the drunk tanks were already full by midday!
We had to carry or drive the drunks in carts
and horse-drawn carriages to the police station.
Finally we realised what had happened.
The drunks had found liquor barrels on the quay
and inserted hollow reeds to suck out the booze.
The barrels were loaded onto a ship
and then the party was over
Victor Öhman, police constable, Gothenburg, 1909
In the 1910s, Stockholm had civilian patrols
looking out for bootleggers.
They worked on commission
and were paid according to
how many smugglers they caught.
To find home distilleries,
the police had to search in attics
and dirty cellars. The devices were often dismantled
and the parts hidden in different places.
In the 1920s, liquor smuggling
exploded across the Baltic Sea.
The alcohol police was founded
to try and stop the smugglers
before they got to Stockholm.
Back then, like now, alcohol consumption
had a major impact on what the police had to deal with.
Between 1890 and 1910,
half of all arrests were for “public drunkenness”.
These days, it is no longer a crime
to be drunk in a public place.
In 1977, the Care of Intoxicated Persons Act,
or LOB, replaced the alcohol police.
People are taken into custody to keep them
from harming themselves or others.
There is no specific figure, but these days
the police take 55,000 to 60,000 people
into custody under LOB each year.
I arrested a man for public drunkenness.
Later I learned that the drunk had left me 10 kronor.
I’m afraid that’s the only time I’ve been rewarded for that work.
If I had 10 quid for every drunk over the years, I’d be rich.
Ragnar Lidberg, police constable, Gothenburg, 1925
We found part of a home distillery in an anthill and sat down to wait.
Soon, three men popped up with materials for distilling. As soon as the alcohol began dripping, we moved in. The men asked if they could keep going until they’d filled a cask.
“Nope,” I said. “But you can have a swig from my flask.”
Gustaf Henning Eriksson, police constable, Jämtland, 1930s
He who laughs last, laughs best
The police found this flower box with four flower pots at a woman’s home in Södermalm. In a secret compartment in the box were three litres of export alcohol.
The woman had previously sneered at the constable looking for alcohol.
But she wasn’t laughing now.
August Verner Felin, Ernst Hilmer Köpper and Ernst Johan Sigfrid Magnusson, detective inspectors, Stockholm, 1925
In the early 20th century, various attempts were made to limit alcohol consumption.
In 1922, a public referendum on a total alcohol ban was held. The people said no.
But the restrictions remained and extensive alcohol smuggling began. The Baltic Sea was given the nickname “The Vodka Sea”.
Public drunkenness took up so much of the police’s time that a drunkenness stamp was manufactured in 1965 to speed up bookings. The stamp was used until 1977, when public drunkenness was decriminalised.
It’s not always easy to search women.
We’ve taken the occasional fist to the face,
but little things like that are part of the job.
But I have huge respect for big hatpins.
That’s why I disarm the most belligerent women
before I start. As long as I eliminate their hatpins and shoes,
they’re fairly harmless.
Signe Stranne, Gothenburg’s first police nurse, 1911
In 1908, three nurses were hired
on Stockholm’s police corps.
Women, with their caring qualities,
were thought to be better at handling other women.
Drunk women were considered extra-difficult.
The new police nurses’ primary responsibility
was women and children who were taken into custody
or needed social services.
Eventually, police nurses also got
to conduct surveillance, investigate crimes and earn promotions.
But they retained the title of police nurse until 1954.
I attended the first police nurse training course in Stockholm in 1944.
That’s when I discovered that men got paid during their internships, but not women.
I wanted to find out why, but the other women didn’t want me to rock the boat.
It ended well and everyone got paid.
Irene Åström, police nurse, Eskilstuna, 1944
In the 1950s, new emergency alarm boxes came
that both police and the public could use
to contact the police station.
Because traffic signals were controlled by timers,
we had to regulate traffic to avoid congestion.
Most vehicles headed into the town centre
in the mornings and out from the centre
in the afternoons.
We easily changed the traffic signals
by pressing buttons,
but sometimes the signals were broken.
When that happened, we had to hand-direct traffic
until the signals were fixed.
Leif Blom, police constable, Stockholm, 1959
When cars became more common, the police had to adapt.
It was too dangerous to patrol in the middle of the street.
Traffic direction became a necessity,
and the police had to get cars of their own.
The Stockholm police bought a police van in 1913,
a Scania Vabis with seats the length of the sides.
It was to be used for major turnouts.
The first regular police cars came in the 1930s.
But it took longer before rural police got cars.
In Åmål, police constables rode bikes
until 1961, when a Volvo Amazon was purchased.
Police constable Gustaf Blomberg had a driving licence
and was ordered to the motorcycle division in 1923.
He and his colleagues rode their motorcycles with sidecars
through 1920s Stockholm.
On one of their missions, they had to go to Norrtälje.
Along the road were 17 bar gates
that had to be opened and closed.
Perhaps a child occasionally helped them for a coin or two?
But the sidecar passenger
probably still had to jump in and out many times.
Red Indian Powerplus motorcycle, 1918
registration number A591. The A stands for the City of Stockholm.
Motorcycle police were called “interceptors”. They made sure no one drove too fast. As they couldn’t measure speeds, they judged them by feel.
The first speeder, or “report for reckless driving”, was stopped on 18 May 1900.
In 1923, the speed limit was 35 kph in urban communities.
To ensure that people crossed the street correctly in Stockholm,
pedestrian crossings were implemented in the 1930s. Some of them were experimentally marked with lighted glass globes.
Police constable Helge Henriksson said that the glass globes
were called “oranges” because they resembled the fruit.
Newspapers wrote about
how improper it was for women to be police.
When they got pregnant,
they wouldn’t be of any use to the force.
The first day we stepped outside in uniform
we were met by camera clicks and flashes.
We had practised taking equally long strides as men
so we could all walk in step.
On my first shift, I directed rush-hour traffic.
We stood in traffic shelters to keep warm
and avoid being hit by cars.
But when the traffic lights didn’t work
we had to stand in the middle of the street.
Sigun Ekström, police constable, Stockholm, 1957
Detective superintendent Gillis Cassel designed the women’s uniform in 1957.
It didn’t have real breast pockets because it was considered inappropriate for women to put anything in a breast pocket. But without one their busts became even more visible. The solution was decorative pocket flaps that were sewn in place.
Tema 2
The police took a historic step in 1957:
Now women could train as police constables too.
The next year, fourteen female uniformed police officers
began patrolling the streets of Stockholm.
Many of their tasks were the same
as for the male officers,
but there were differences.
No night shifts, a baton instead of a sabre
and a uniform with a skirt.
Today, about 35% per cent of Sweden’s police are women.
All police officers have the same mission, the same responsibilities
and similar uniforms, no matter their gender.
The female police uniform was impractical in the job. The skirt and the thin jacket made their work shifts intolerable when it was cold outside. In 1967, Inga-Brita Jonsson asked permission to work in trousers in the winter. The Swedish National Police Board approved the use of ski trousers and ski boots in winter.
I never thought about the fact
that I was the first woman
to become chief of police.
Karin Värmefjord, district police commissioner, Ludvika, 1981
Karin became district police commissioner in Ludvika in 1981.
When asked if she could handle the job,
she replied, “Why not?”
But she admitted that she sometimes longed to get away
from the mounds of paperwork and back into the field.
In Karin’s time as district police commissioner,
the Ludvika police were at the forefront
of changing the working conditions of police officers.
1850 The Stockholm police are established.
1878 Polisunderättelser (Police Intelligence) magazine is founded. It is published regularly until 1982.
1884 The mounted police are founded.
It is not the wish of the police to ride over people and trample them, but to try and stop a mob and make it disperse.
Oskar Ruithzén, head of the mounted police, Stockholm, 1917
1908 The first police nurses are hired.
1910 The first police training course starts in Uppsala on order of Police
1916 The port police are established in Gothenburg.
1925 The first Police Act is introduced.
1926 The first standard police uniform is launched.
1933 The Swedish State Police and National Criminal Police are founded.
Two years previously, army troops fired on a demonstration in Ådalen. Five people were killed. To avoid similar events happening again, the Swedish State Police were founded to support rural police. The task of the National Criminal Police was to support efforts to stop serious crime nationwide.
1933 The first patrol car in Gothenburg.
1939 The National Swedish Criminal Police Registry and Forensic Laboratories are established.
1941 The forage cap is added to the uniform regulations.
1947 A new police instruction is introduced. Police officers’ behaviour is to be characterised by politeness, tact and consideration.
1954 Police hats get a new coat of arms badge.
1958 The first female police officers are hired.
1965 The police are nationalised. First National Police Commissioner – Carl Persson.
1977 The first female detective superintendent – Inga-Lisa Emitslöf.
1979 To take on a troubled world, a modern riot squad is established. As of 2015, it is called the Reinforced Regional Task Force.
1981 The first female District Police Commissioner is appointed – Karin Värmefjord.
1989 The Security Service is formed.
1990 The national emergency force, later called the National Counter Terrorist Unit, is founded.
A police officer needs three eyes:
Two to see with
and one to overlook with.
Björn Eriksson, National Police Commissioner 1988-1996
1994 The first female county police chief – Ann Charlotte Norrås.
2023 The first female National Police Commissioner is apponinted – Petra Lundh. The title Deputy National Police Commissioner is introduced. The first holder of this title – Stefan Hector.
So, who really is in command?
In the police force, it’s quite easy to see
who has the highest rank.
Just look at the uniform.
In the past, hierarchical differences were shown
in the material and insignia on the uniform
or which sabre you had.
These days, rank is displayed
in gold on the uniform’s epaulettes.
The more oak leaves and stripes,
the higher the rank.
At the very top is the National Police Commissioner.
From 1908 to 1926, this dress uniform from 1890 belonged to chief superintendent Nils Sjunnesson. The uniform was only used on special occasions. The military influence on the police force is clearly visible. The spiked helmet was used by police in the field until the 1920s.
The role of the national police was to support those at the local level. Police constable Gustaf Blomberg described how the national police could be viewed with suspicion, confusion and contempt when they arrived. For people in the countryside, it was often the first time they saw a uniformed officer.
In 1974, a whole new basic uniform was launched, in eight different models that could be mixed and matched. Women were now allowed to wear trousers, but many still chose to wear a skirt.
Inga-Lisa Emitslöf became Sweden’s first female detective superintendent in 1976. She herself didn’t consider it particularly noteworthy.
Beaver cloth jacket, 1980 model
The beaver cloth jacket was a step towards a more functional uniform. Opinions
about the jacket were strong and varied among police officers. Some thought it was sturdy and comfortable. Others disliked the “taxi jacket” – it was short
and rode up in the back when you sat down.
In the 1970s, foot-patrol officers wore suit coats and a white Sam Browne belt.
But those in cars had leather jackets. The coolness factor was massive.
Many officers wished they could have a leather jacket one day.
Even though it was so heavy.
Law and order apply to everyone.
If a uniformed or plainclothes police employee
is suspected of a crime, the department
of internal affairs steps in.
This is an independent department
in the police authority
that investigates crimes
committed both on and off duty.
The personnel management board
determines consequences for employees of the police
who have mishandled their job or broken the law.
Their measures can lead to suspension,
pay deductions or termination.
The archives – the police department’s memory
General documents such as cases,
minutes of meetings, decisions and letters to the police
are summarised and stored in the police archives.
They are a collection of photos,
investigations, videos and sound recordings.
The archive is the end station for all documents.
As a citizen, you have a right to some transparency,
but not into everything.
The Public Access to Information and Secrecy Act
determines what you’re allowed access to.
Some documents must be protected
so they don’t jeopardise investigations
or put people in danger.
Public oversight is the most important thing
The police archives consist of millions of documents, on paper or in digital format. I organise, take notes and reply to requests for public documents. To be able to provide requested documents, we need good organisation and searchable systems. One of the most important parts of my job is to ensure everyone’s legal right to transparency into the cases and decisions of the police authority.
Annette Bergman, archivist, Uppsala, 2025
After the Second World War, things went really well for Sweden.
The demand for raw materials and products was great.
In the 1950s and 1960s, our industry and exports grew.
Sweden became one of the world’s richest industrialised countries.
The police, too, had to keep up with the times,
with new facilities, better equipment and more staff.
It cost a lot of money.
But the National Police Board made it work.
Prior to 1954, every police district had its town or county crest on its uniform’s buttons. There were a total of 562 districts in Sweden. Many were very small.
One in three police districts only had one to five police officers.
On 1 January 1965, everything changed.
The police became nationalised.
Sweden was divided into 119 larger districts.
Each district was to be manned
by at least 20, but preferably 50 police officers.
Now it didn’t matter anymore
where in the country you lived;
the police would have the same procedures
and methods everywhere.
Counting moose is not the police’s job!
Nationalising the police organisation was like launching an ocean liner and turning it into an easily manoeuvred racing boat. We sent letters about police work to county administrative boards and police districts with lists of tasks we did not consider police matters. For example, that police shouldn’t have to count moose in the forest to see if the figure matched the moose harvesting fees paid.
Carl Persson, national police commissioner, 1965
The first dedicated police flag was hoisted in 1967.
The idea came from Gothenburg’s district police commissioner, Hugo Höfde.
He thought the police needed an external symbol to rally around.
The flag symbolises coordination, collaboration and uniformity.
Archive documents and other things came from various sources. We tried to keep things organised, but papers came pouring in. A whole truck full of papers came from Örbyhus. We stamped and registered them as best we could,
but started lagging behind with criminal cases. Soon they filled an entire room.
The phones never stopped ringing, but even so, many things just rolled along.
Börje Landfors, district police commissioner, Tierp, 1965
The effects of nationalisation were felt quickly.
Almost immediately, 600 new cars and motorcycles were purchased.
The shopping list also included boats, helicopters
and modern forensic equipment,
including cameras and new tools
for lifting fingerprints.
In just ten years, over 60 police stations were erected.
Finally, the police got a better working environment
with purpose-built facilities.
The Technical Instructions for the Police Force binders
contained everything about how modern police officers should work.
There were regulations about uniforms, equipment and facilities.
The binders became a manual for the new era.
According to the tens of thousands of members of Arkitekturuppropet (the Architectural Rebellion), several police stations from the 1960s and 1970s are candidates for the title of Sweden’s ugliest building.
The square concrete buildings quite simply trigger a lot of emotions.
Ugly or attractive? What do you think?
Every call in Sweden’s telephone network
was manually connected by female switchboard operators until 1972.
But when the police hired female civilian radio dispatchers,
criticisms came from many sources.
The public wanted to talk to a man.
Police officers questioned whether untrained people
should direct their work.
The management stood its ground: It would be wasteful
to use police officers on the radio dispatch system.
These days, all phone switchboards are automated.
If you call the police non-emergency number 114 14,
you’re met with an interactive voice-response system.
In every call, I’m the whole police authority
Those who call 114 14 want to talk to the police. My first challenge is to find out if the call is a police matter.What is the person calling about? The greatest challenge is interpreting things. You can’t read emotions over the phone. Is the caller in shock or sad? Angry or calm? We ask initial questions and prioritise. A sort of triage system, but by phone.
Linda Winberg, coordinator at the Police Contact Centre, Malmö, 2025
In the past, it was difficult to get in touch
with police in the field. Whistles, alarm boxes
and police boxes were examples of solutions
that were used before modern technology.
In Gothenburg, police cars were equipped
with com radios in 1933.
The squad car was born!
The new technology quickly spread across the whole country.
And still, it was difficult to communicate
across district boundaries,
because they didn’t all use the same radio system.
The first nationwide radio system, System 70, wasn’t implemented until 1970.
In 1956, Sweden got a nationwide public emergency number: 90 000.
It went to SOS Alarm, which would then connect the call to the police.
Now, the emergency number is 112. It was implemented in 1996
and is used throughout the EU.
With the new nationwide radio system, the police could easily get in touch with each other. The system was analogue and easy to tap into. Unfortunately, this was good for journalists, photographers and others who were interested in knowing what the police were up to.
112, POLICE WHAT’S THE NATURE OF THE EMERGENCY?
The right police officer to the right place
At the regional command post,
operators receive calls from the public on 112.
With information about what and where the police can act.
While the operator talks to the caller,
another operator is in contact
with the responding police officers.
This ensures that the right resource with the right information
is sent to the right place as fast as possible.
Without the regional command post,
policework wouldn’t be as efficient.
Tema 3
Police equipment is continuously under development
to give the officers the best possible support
in their work.
In 1965, for the first time,
all officers on patrol had the same equipment.
The sabre, which had been used for more than 100 years,
was completely eliminated.
Today, police officers have more weapons
in the form of pepper spray and tasers.
But their most important weapon
is their voice.
Most situations can be resolved
with good communication.
And police officers almost never
need to use their guns.
When the police became nationalised,
a lot of money was invested in technological development.
The need was great after years of neglect.
Tekniska Byrån (the technology agency)
made sure that police in the whole country
got access to modern, safe equipment.
On the road, in the mountains, in the air and at sea.
The vehicle fleet grew, radio systems were expanded.
CCTV surveillance was developed,
and the police got their own computer system.
But a few old faithful items
stuck around in the new era.
Like the lollipop stop sign.
The father of police technology
With Lars-Erik Freeman at the helm
of Tekniska Byrån, Sweden’s police corps
became the best equipped in Europe.
The Amazon police car developed
into the most roadworthy vehicle of its time.
Lars-Erik earned a helicopter pilot licence
and organised the Police Air Service.
They say he always ran up and down the stairs
of the police station instead of taking the lift.
When Lars-Erik retired, he had flown
about 2,500 hours in helicopters.
And run a million stair steps.
Lars-Erik Freeman, agency manager 1964–1987, Stockholm
Police officers have to be able to intervene anywhere, even on water. In 1933, the police finally got a boat equipped for their purposes. Prior to that, they had rented or borrowed boats to access the archipelago. When the police were nationalised in 1965, the last harbour police boat became the first marine police boat.
In preparation for a state visit in 1964, the Police Air Service was formed when a helicopter was rented. Two years later, the first police-owned Bell helicopters were put into action. Since then, the helicopter has been an effective tool for crime fighting and life-saving interventions. There are currently nine police helicopters located around Sweden.
UAS – Unmanned Aircraft Systems
Since 2015, the Police Air Services have been expanded with drones. They can be placed on the roofs of strategically located buildings to be activated and controlled from the police CCTV centre. Drones take pictures and videos and convey aerial images of the situation.
Finally secure communications!
Over time, it became clear that the s70 and s80 radio systems
needed improvement to prevent illegal tapping.
Gunnar Södergren, police officer on Gotland,
told about the new radio system that was in the making.
It’s more secure, safer
and has a much longer range.
RAKEL – an acronym for “radio communication
for effective management” in Swedish,
was launched in 2006. But now that system is 20 years old,
and it’s soon time for a new one.
No later than 2030, all RAKEL users
will switch to SWEN, the Swedish Emergency Network.
Prior to 1970, police cars had red lights on their roofs.
To attract attention, a rotating orange light could be added.
In 1970, the police switched to blue rotating lights. The switch
was an adaptation to the standard in other European countries.
I was there in the Dodge from 1981 to 1985.
We managed all communication and just had to make sure
to park in a location where transmission and reception worked.
At a rock concert in Blekinge, the car was positioned behind the stage.
That didn’t work at all.
The roof of the car was black and the car interior was like a sauna.
One time, we had to stand right in the sunshine
at the police station in Sjöbo. “Not a chance”, I said.
Instead, we ran antenna wires across the lawn
and parked in the shade. And here we sit.
Christer Kiander, police inspector, Malmö, 1985
The hostage crisis at Norrmalmstorg
On 23 August 1973, police receive an alarm
about a robbery at Kreditbanken on Norrmalmstorg.
It is soon clear that this isn’t an everyday robbery.
The armed robbers take four bank employees hostage
and start making demands.
One is that a famous criminal who is now in prison
be brought to the bank. This demand is met.
A command centre is established on the top floor of the bank.
The media report from the square, side by side with the police.
For six days, all of Sweden follows the hostage crisis in real-time.
The radio alert: Robbery at Norrmalmstorg
We were the second car on the scene. I don’t know what we were thinking,
but we drove all the way up to the bank’s window.
Before I had time to open the car door, we were fired on.
I threw myself out of the car and took shelter
behind the biggest thing I could see nearby.
We had no idea what was going on.
Everything was quiet until someone called out,
“We need an ambulance over here!”
After 55 minutes, I got the signal
to take shelter a bit further away.
Barbro Lundgren, police constable, Stockholm, 1973
After many creative proposals,
the police drilled a hole through the ceiling
into the vault where the robbers and hostages were.
When the police dropped in teargas,
the robbers gave up
and could be arrested fairly undramatically.
The hostages were not harmed physically,
but several police officers were fired on.
Two of them, Ingemar Warpefeldt
and Olle Abrahamsson, were wounded.
During their days in the vault,
the hostages began sympathising with the robbers.
This reaction gave rise to
the now controversial “Stockholm syndrome”.
The robbers were sentenced to ten years in prison.
Negotiating in critical situations requires active listening.
The most important thing is to try to get the person calm and try to find a solution together. The negotiator’s toolkit contains a megaphone, a telephone and earpieces so several people in the negotiation team can hear and communicate with each other.
Some types of crime become less common
or disappear completely when society changes.
As cash has become increasingly uncommon,
bank robberies are a thing of the past.
In 2022, not a single one was reported.
When the phenomenon decreases, there are also fewer people
who know how to carry out a robbery, and there’s no one
who can transfer the knowledge to someone else.
Sven Granath, criminologist, Stockholm, 2023
IT COULD HAVE HAPPENED ANYWHERE
Just before midnight
on 29 October 1998,
the first police officers arrive
at Backaplan in Gothenburg.
A party venue is engulfed in flames,
and nearly 400 young people are inside.
The worst fire disaster in Sweden
in the modern era is under way.
About 50 police officers
are on the scene within the hour.
In the midst of the chaos,
they are to save lives and tend to the injured.
While at the same time, they must also arrange
a makeshift morgue for the dead
and maintain order at the scene.
63 young people lost their lives in the Backa fire.
More than 200 were injured.
The investigation began the next morning.
We determined early on that the fire was an act of arson.
It was important to leave no clue unexamined
and not to contribute to the spread of rumours.
The media incorrectly claimed that racists were behind the fire.
Our group investigated the events from start to finish
in collaboration with the prosecutors.
The work took 15 months and led to
four young men being convicted of aggravated arson.
In terms of the number of casualties and others affected,
this is the biggest investigation in Swedish legal history.
Anders Sandholm, detective superintendent, Gothenburg, 2025
When Östgöta Enskilda Bank in Kisa is robbed,
Olle Borén and Robert Karlström took off
in pursuit of the robbers.
As they speed towards Malexander,
the command centre tries to reach them:
Their colleague Kenneth Eklund
has been fired on.
But Malexander is a dead spot on the radio network,
so Olle and Robert don’t get the information.
When a suspicious car appears, they follow it.
Suddenly, shots ring out.
Both men die at the scene.
The murders of Olle and Robert
leave a deep wound in the hearts of the police corps.
Olle or Robert had just enough time to write down the getaway car’s registration mark. As the police radio didn’t work, they called the command centre by phone to find out the car’s owner.
The operator caught the words, “It’s driving really strangely ...?” Then the shots rang out.
All three perpetrators were arrested
and sentenced to life in prison
for the murders of Olle and Robert.
The police authorities started an internal project
to improve the safety of their officers.
Their Kevlar vests hadn’t been enough
during the car chase. It was decided that every officer on patrol
would be equipped with personal body armour.
To fix the shortcomings in radio communication,
RAKEL was developed, with much better range
than the old system.
The light blue shirts of the police uniform stood out in the crowd.
They became easy targets for the robbers.
So County Commissioner Lars Engström decided
that in the future, police officers on patrol
would wear the dark blue
dog handler’s uniform.
Since then, response police officers
wear dark blue uniforms.
We have a constitutional right
to express our opinions, criticise those in power
and demonstrate alongside others.
That’s part of democracy.
At demonstrations, the job of the police
is to maintain order and safety.
You as a demonstrator have the right
to express your opinions without being disrupted,
no matter what you’re demonstrating against.
But there are some things you’re not allowed to say or do.
Freedom of expression has its limits.
If that limit is exceeded,
or other crimes are committed, the police are to intervene.
Cobblestones - The Gothenburg riots
“But then a lady says the young people don’t understand that a stone like this could hurt someone. ‘For heaven’s sake’, I told her. ‘Do you think they’re stupid? Pick up a cobblestone, feel its weight, and then tell me they don’t understand.”
from report 187, THE GOTHENBURG RIOTS, psychological defence board.
A standard cobblestone weighs between 3 and 5 kilograms.
The EU summit in Gothenburg in 2001
brought out thousands of demonstrators
to protest against globalisation
and social injustice.
The demonstrations degenerated into riots
when people began throwing cobblestones at the police.
Shop windows were smashed and fires were started.
Two police vans were destroyed.
A riot squad officer who was hit by a rock
threw it back at the demonstrators.
Being forced to throw rocks to protect yourself
and your colleagues is a low point.
I’m not proud of it.
But there were no alternatives.
Number of demonstrators: 50,000
Taken into custody: more than 500
Injured: about 90, of which 50 were police
Police at the scene: 2,500
Number of police operations: 600
59 per cent of police officers in Gothenburg lacked the proper training for their tasks. 66 per cent lacked personal protection gear. 80 per cent of patrol cars and 40 per cent of riot police resigned within a year after the riots due to stress.
Several demonstrators and police officers
were severely injured. The majority of police officers
lacked the necessary equipment
and training for the situation.
It became clear that change was needed.
The result was new training courses
in national basic tactics and special policing tactics.
When the police are dealing with demonstrations
and big, angry mobs,
their interventions must be fast and easily mobile.
The police are to focus on dialogue
and using secured vehicles
instead of lining up with shields and batons.
In a letter of thanks to his helmet, police inspector Tobbe Isaksson writes about violent situations he and other officers have to deal with in their work – at football matches and demonstrations, where they can encounter beatings, burning torches, bricks, firecrackers and thrown bottles.
Activists threw road signs and bicycles. I took a cobblestone to the arm.
It was horribly painful, but I had to keep going. The thoughts started coming unbidden. Was this ever going to end? I thought about my three small children.
Police officer, EU summit riots in Gothenburg, 2001
When we rode home on the Saturday, we were hailed as heroes.
The operation was finally over. I was never debriefed, but we in the mounted police were a close-knit group. We could support each other because we’d all been there.
Mounted police officer, EU summit riots in Gothenburg, 2001
We worked for a whole hour without back-up.
It was a huge physical burden. And it could have gone badly.
I was unharmed, but I have colleagues with broken bones and sprains.
It was the luck of the draw that determined who was hurt and who wasn’t.
Police officer, Easter riots in Örebro, 2022
We’re going to get tougher on those who try to put themselves above the law by impeding the torchlight procession. We can never give up when people try to trample anyone’s constitutional rights.
Police officer, Lunda riots, 1988
From horseback, a police officer can see great distances.
Since the late 19th century, the mounted police
have been a resource when large groups of people gather.
Horses have a calming effect.
But if things get disruptive,
they can disperse crowds
to try to prevent violence.
Sweden has about 60 mounted police.
You see them at demonstrations,
football matches and festivals.
However, their most common task
is patrolling like regular officers,
but on horseback.
The first female mounted police officer
I joined the mounted police in 1974.
I never got any breeches from the police.
I had to use my own and dye them dark blue.
In the daytime, I guarded nature reserves and parks.
When there was a state visit,
we were kept on standby behind the embassies.
The job also included patrolling in a car.
One day a week, we trained with the horses.
And if you fell off, you had to buy cake for everyone!
Ingrid Sandberg, mounted police officer 1974–1975, Stockholm
I was pinning down a violent person.
Out of nowhere, a man came along
and swung a kick right at my head.
I managed to raise an arm to protect myself.
The man was arrested and charged.
I met him in the metro after the trial.
He had already done his time –
just two weeks in detention.
It felt as if my safety
was less important than his.
As if I, as a police officer, wasn’t a priority.
Peter, retired police officer, Stockholm, 2024
We had no body armour when I joined the police in the 1960s.
Usually there wasn’t much time to think when we went out on a call that could be dangerous. Of course I’ve been scared sometimes.
But if I don’t go in, who will?
Björn Astborn, police superintendent 1964–2006, Stockholm
Killed in the line of duty in 1900
Police constable Fredrik Hedén and his colleague
were ushering two drunk people out of a tobacconist’s in Gothenburg.
A simple, routine assignment.
When they tried to make the troublemakers go home,
one of the men dragged Fredrik into an alley
and stabbed him with a knife.
Just when his colleague came to the rescue,
Fredrik collapsed. He died in his partner’s arms.
The perpetrator was sentenced to six years at hard labour.
Tema 4
Every year, over a million “volume crimes” are committed.
These are crimes that happen often,
such as theft, property damage or assault.
For someone to be charged with a crime,
there must be evidence.
For example, witnesses, footprints or other traces.
Without evidence, an investigation might not be opened.
The case is dropped. Many volume crimes are never cleared up.
The police have to prioritise. Serious crimes are more important.
But for those who are victimised in volume crimes,
that’s little comfort.
Volume crime = Million-kronor crime?
In 2023, 1.5 million volume crimes were reported in Sweden.
Just over half were written off immediately.
When volume crimes are investigated, various items are seized. Break-in tools, mobile phones, drugs and stolen goods are common examples.
Some seizures are confiscated, meaning that the owner doesn’t get it back.
Items that have been used to commit crimes are almost always confiscated.
Scam text messages, romance frauds and fake companies.
Fraudsters continuously find new ways to deceive us.
They are wherever we are. On the phone, on apps,
they can even knock on your door.
Goods no one wants to buy aren’t worth forging, either. Before the internet and streaming services, criminals forged stamps, cassette tapes and DVDs, among other things. Passports, driving licences and money are still being forged.
And we’re practically drowning in fake brand-name products.
The search for two stolen works of art in 1978
led the police to a businessman outside Jönköping.
They found 307 paintings hidden in his home.
But were they genuine?
Inspector Ingemar Ericsson tells us
about an extensive, complicated crime investigation.
Some of the paintings were easy to spot as forgeries.
Others required international expertise
and a forensic examination.
Eventually, 160 paintings were judged to be genuine
and were returned to their owners. The remaining ones were forgeries.
These days, they are part of the Police Museum’s sample collection.
But the two stolen paintings were not found.
Here, the counterfeiter used a classic trick: Instead of directly copying a painting,
he creates a new work by combining motifs from several paintings.
For this painting, one-third of the motif was borrowed from one of Olle Olsson’s paintings and two-thirds from another. A textbook example of art forgery.
The painting has dark and glowing colours in a magnificent romantic style, while the artist Nils Forsberg painted more in grey. On illuminating the painting with infrared light, we see a signature in an underlying layer of paint. The portrait is a copy based on an original.
Julius Kronberg normally painted girls as oriental and alluring.
A shy, innocent middle-class girl like this is described by experts as “a hopeless case and not made by Kronberg”. We can only agree, as the girl appears to have two right feet.
A POLICE OFFICER’S BEST FRIEND
Police dogs came into use in Sweden in 1910.
They were to track down people and stolen goods,
and also capture criminals and defend their owners.
Currently, there are about 400 police dogs in Sweden.
They can be divided into two categories:
specialist search dogs and patrol dogs.
Specialist search dogs are trained
to search for specific things,
such as drugs, guns or blood.
Patrol dogs are used to track
or arrest people, but can always be used
as reinforcement at demonstrations.
One of the first dog handlers on the police force was Carl Fredrik Walldén. He and his K-9 partner Kara av Myrén competed in several police dog competitions.
They won their first trophy in 1913, and that was only the beginning.
2025 Police Dog of the Year
The Jagdterrier and specialist search dog
Hivlingen’s Rocco “Ivan”, born in 2022.
Citation:
In a society and a region with increasing gang crime,
Ivan has both prevented a significant amount of drugs
from getting out on the street and saved lives by preventing murder.
Ivan serves Region South in collaboration
with his handler Fredrik Lindqvist.
A police dog must have a stable mentality,
be unafraid and have a good fighting spirit.
I’ve had six Alsatian dogs.
They have all been K-9 officers
that were also trained to find
concealed drugs and weapons. You train your dog yourself.
One day a week in your work schedule
you train obedience, tracking, searching and protection.
You usually work alone with the dog.
And after work, you stay together.
Now with your family.
Göran Nilsson, police inspector, 36 years as a dog handler, Jönköping County
A dog has 1,000 times better sense of smell than a human
In the 1850s, the first criminal investigative departments
were formed in the police force.
The job of surveilling, monitoring and investigating crime
was one that many longed for. As an added bonus,
police detectives didn’t have to wear uniforms
or patrol the streets.
When the department grew,
the work was organised in squads by type of crime.
For example, the fraud squad
investigated various types of scams.
Another task was keeping tabs
on drifters and prostitutes.
The vice squad recorded
and monitored women until 1919.
Otto Wendel was highly analytical,
with an unusually good eye for detail.
He became a crime scene investigator in 1937
and has become a legend among police.
Otto wrote forensics instruction manuals
that spread internationally
and were used by the likes of the FBI.
But keeping Swedish police
from trampling crime scenes
before all forensic evidence has been secured
was harder than he thought.
Otto Wendel, crime scene investigator 1937–1960, Stockholm
A crime scene investigation can never be too careful, Otto said.
But many tools are needed to do it well.
That’s why he created this homicide toolkit. It contains all the equipment that might be needed to investigate the scene of a suspected homicide.
Not just a forensic technician
Problem-solving has always interested me.
I was hired as a civilian crime scene investigator
at the National Swedish Laboratory of Forensic Science in 1966.
During my career, I realised that our methods
must be continuously improved and made more reliable.
Even after my retirement,
I couldn’t stop inventing. If someone asked me
which of my inventions I like best,
I think the answer would have to be Mikrosil.
Kjell Carlsson, crime scene investigator and inventor 1966–2010, Stockholm
The armoured car robbery in 2025
Mikrosil is used for creating casts of such things as tool marks. When a cash service depot was robbed in Akalla in 2005, the robbers placed caltrops in the roads to impede the police. Mikrosil casts of the caltrops later proved that they were made in a vice in a car repair shop owned by one of the suspects.
Tape is cheap and useful. Criminals appear to think so, too. Tape can also be used to lift fingerprints and save them for a long time. And with Kjell’s invention Wet Powder, fingerprints can be obtained even on sticky services. Good news for the police. Bad news for thieves.
How common is deadly violence?
Not as common as you might think
when you watch the media.
About 100 cases of deadly violence
are reported each year. Most of them are solved.
Murder and manslaughter are among the most serious crimes.
Extensive resources are put into investigating them.
Crime scene investigators, surveillance officers and experts
work round the clock to bring the perpetrators to justice.
They are also working to give survivors justice and answers
that might help them in their grief.
The whole congregation was waiting in church
One Sunday in 1936, Parson Gustav Moberg
didn’t come to church. The police were called.
Gustav and his wife Selma
were found at the vicarage.
Murdered.
Crime scene investigators combed through the house for evidence.
An axe and a shoeprint were found,
but the most important find was a fingerprint.
It led to the identification of the suspect,
who was then put on a wanted list.
For four months, the killer roamed free
before he was arrested in a raid on vagrants in Oslo, Norway.
He was sentenced to life in prison.
Olle Nordin, director of the central agency for fingerprints, compared the fingerprint from the vicarage with thousands of others in the police register. Finally, he got a hit. The murderer was identified. This was the first time the police found a suspect with just a fingerprint to go on.
In June 1962, dentist Robert Aspelin was reported missing.
When nothing suspicious was found in his home, the case was dropped.
But two years later, some of Robert’s notes were found
that made the police start to investigate his bank contact.
After hours of questioning, the suspect confessed
that he had embezzled his client’s money and murdered him.
The banker had killed Robert,
carved up the body
and burned it in three tiled stoves in his flat.
The murderer was sentenced to life in prison.
It seemed unlikely that a body could be burned in a flat without anyone noticing. So the police did an experiment: The forensic team bought a pig, put clothes on it, carved it up and burned it, just as the suspect had described. And it worked perfectly!
Instead of using aggressive questioning, the police took things slowly and methodically. The interviews with the banker lasted for hours.
Bit by bit, they were able to uncover his lies. The method was groundbreaking in its time. The recorded interrogations were used in police training for nearly 30 years.
Yaacoub and Eddie Moussa were shot to death
at a gambling club in Södertälje on 1 July 2010.
Witnesses at the scene saw the murder
and how the killers fled on two mopeds.
The murders were suspected to be part of a conflict
between two gangs in the city.
Intense surveillance began,
both in person
and via secret phone taps.
The investigation of the double murder
became one of the biggest in Swedish history.
18 men were sent to prison with varying sentences
for their involvement in the murders.
The telephone records from the night of the murder showed two burner phones. The numbers were almost identical and had only been used on the night of the murder. One of the suspects had topped up one burner phone with 50 SEK from his own phone.
Several debit cards in the same numerical series were later found at another suspect’s house.
700 metres from the murder scene, police found burned remains of two getaway mopeds, two guns and one of the murderers’ phones. No forensic evidence was found, but the police knew the mopeds had been stolen a few days earlier. A key part of the investigation was that one of the suspects confessed to stealing the mopeds.
Not all crimes are solved.
Sometimes there are no witnesses or trace evidence.
A cold case is a crime
the police weren’t able to solve,
so they are no longer working actively on it.
After some time,
charges can no longer be pressed for some crimes.
This is called a statute of limitations.
But there is no statute of limitations on murder.
This means that if new forensic methods
or new information come along,
the case can be reopened.
Sometimes the police can solve cold cases
many years after the crime was committed.
The Prime Minister has been shot!
On 28 February 1986, Sweden was stunned
when Prime Minister Olof Palme
was shot to death on the street.
The investigation was gigantic.
It has been harshly criticised,
in part for careless questioning of witnesses
and how the crime scene was cordoned off.
The investigation went on for 34 years,
generating 250 running metres of materials.
Eventually, the investigation was dropped
without a conviction.
The Palme murder remains a bitter defeat for the police.
It is a painful hole in the Swedish national psyche.
Tema 5
The number of young people involved in serious crime
and criminal networks is on the rise.
Older criminals take advantage of younger people
to avoid punishment.
In a special government remit called Bob,
the police authority works in partnership
with other organisations and government agencies.
They share knowledge about various measures and initiatives
in a collaboration council at the national,
regional and local level. Together, they try to find
methods that work to prevent
children and youths from getting involved in major crime.
The police have always communicated with the public in various ways. From the brochures of the past to today’s social media posts. There have been many police campaigns over the years. Some more successful than others.
When I design police uniforms,
I have to know what needs they must meet.
The uniform should facilitate the work
of the person wearing it.
You should be able to do everything you need to in your uniform,
while also looking decent.
Because the uniform represents the whole Swedish Police Authority.
It ties us all together visually.
We are also more secure together if no one stands out.
That way no one risks becoming a target.
Sara Strömberg, garment technologist, Stockholm, 2025
A veil, a turban and a kippa were developed in 2012
to expand recruiting to the police academy.
Everyone was to feel welcome in the field of policework.
However, we don’t know how many people actually wear these items,
because it is illegal to register people’s religious beliefs.
The police can’t stop violence
without the help of civil society.
We must be accessible
and show that we care.
I’m part of civil society myself,
so I can’t stop being a police officer when I go home.
My phone has become its own central command.
People trust me.
They leave tip-offs or ask for advice.
Many people I’ve been in touch with
have left their lives of crime.
But I’ve also wondered sometimes
if I’ve done enough.
Rissa Seidou, community police officer, Stockholm, 2025
The modern uniform is designed for functionality, safety and recognition.
The forage cap, reflector vest and visible badges make a police presence hard to miss. Seeing a uniformed officer creates a sense of security for many. For others, the uniform might deter them from committing a crime.
Hackshield is a Dutch game that aims to teach children about cybercrime and online safety. The game is a non-commercial product that was launched in Sweden in collaboration with Stiftelsen Tryggare Sverige (the Safer Sweden foundation) and the Swedish Police Authority.
Nearly all crimes have international connections.
But often, Sweden only has a few pieces of the puzzle.
To complete the picture,
we need information from other countries.
And they need information from us
to solve their crimes.
By asking questions and sharing information
via Interpol, Europol and the Schengen Information System,
police departments worldwide can work together.
Caroline Jegerfalk, operative coordinator, International Section, Stockholm, 2025
The first civilian UN police force
was established in Cyprus in 1964.
Since then, Swedish police have participated
in international peacekeeping and safety-promoting activities,
called missions.
The missions aim to strengthen the justice systems in the countries,
in part to reduce global crime.
Every year, Sweden contributes about 70 police employees
to international operations. The support operations are funded
primarily in the framework of Swedish international aid.
The same things happen here that happen there
After 23 years as a police officer in Sweden,
I applied to the peace support operations.
I was sent to South Sudan,
where I worked in a refugee camp.
Now I’m in Armenia in a peacekeeping mission
patrolling the border region to Azerbaijan.
Swedish police have a good reputation in the world.
But it’s important to learn to adapt
and be modest in international contexts.
to become a better police officer.
Susanne Yhde, Operations Officer, Yeghegnadzor, Armenia, 2025
A UN force was established in 1964 when an armed conflict broke out on Cyprus between the island’s two ethnic groups. For the first time, a civilian police division was included. The Swedish civilian police remained in Cyprus until 1993, five years after the military force was disbanded.
The first peace support mission
In 1912, Swedish police received an unusual request.
The nation of Persia asked for help
with modernising its police force. After a revolution in the country,
there were major problems with public order.
Three police officers were asked first.
There was no chance they’d say no to such an exciting mission.
For eleven years, a total of six Swedish police officers
worked with the Persian police’s reorganisation.
One visible impression was
that the Persian police force’s service emblem
was designed like that of the Stockholm police from 1890.
The photo album and service emblem tell us about the Swedish police who were sent to Persia to build up Tehran’s police force. They worked under difficult conditions. The initiative is an early example of Swedish police in international service.
