– The purpose of the reform is partly to make police training more attractive, and partly to ensure that more people complete the training and stay in the profession longer, says Minister of Justice Gunnar Strömmer (M) at a press conference.
The proposals are now going to the Legislative Council. They mean that those who are training to become police officers can have their student loans during their police training fully or partially written off. This will apply to loans taken out from August 2024 onwards.
To have them completely written off, officers must work for at least eight years after graduation. To have some of the loans repaid, officers must work for at least three years within eight years of completing police school.
Half a billion
The reform is estimated to cost approximately half a billion kronor a year when fully implemented, according to Gunnar Strömmer.
When asked why, for example, another profession such as nursing — which also has problems retaining trained staff — should not be eligible for loan write-offs, the Minister of Justice replies:
– This is not to say there is not a long list of other professions that are important to citizens and critical to society.
– At the same time, it is part of efforts to strengthen internal and external security, Strömmer said.
For safety's sake
He points out that the Armed Forces, the Coast Guard and the Customs also have various generous forms of paid training.
As a result of the reform, new police officers will serve alongside colleagues who have had to take out student loans or pay for their education themselves.
– It is always a matter of drawing a line, and if you want to place blame on someone, you can probably blame previous governments that have not prioritized police growth and paid police training, says Adam Marttinen, a member of the SD in the Justice Committee.
