The National Audit Office's review shows that the police's crime clearance and cost-effectiveness are lower now than in 2015 — despite the goal of the merger of 21 local police authorities, the National Forensic Laboratory and the National Police Board into a single authority being the opposite.
Neither has the local police presence been strengthened – despite it being a main goal.
"Poorly anchored"
It is the internal governance that has been the main problem, the National Audit Office's investigator concludes.
We have seen that the governance has been poorly anchored in the authority and has had difficulty capturing the needs that actually exist in the operations, says Helena Fröberg, project manager for the review.
Another problem is that the police have focused too much on numbers — such as the number of employees, reported cases or traffic controls — without thinking about the effect of them.
The fact that this analysis has been lacking has meant that the Police Authority has not been able to learn from its work, we assess, says Fröberg.
It is thus the implementation of the reform that has been evaluated, not the content itself — even if it had flaws.
On the other hand, there is research on the reform itself that shows that it may not have been optimally formulated, says Jenny Lee at the National Audit Office, who has also worked with the review.
It is also noted that things are still getting better.
– We assess that the police's new management model can give the authority better conditions, says Helena Fröberg.
Changed playing field
Micael Säll Lindahl, who is the head of police region North, points out that the playing field has changed since 2015: Crime is no longer local — it is national, international and largely digital. The driving actors are more ruthless and the perpetrators come from all over the country and the world.
He opposes the description that the police have become less effective.
We see historically large reductions in support crime. We reduce the profits from fraud. We reduce the number of people killed in firearms violence and explosives violence. Fewer women are killed in relationship violence. But in their world, it is not a measure of effectiveness.
In the future, the National Audit Office recommends that the government be attentive to how the police implement the government's priorities. Also, to avoid too many numerical targets and instead look at effects.
The police are recommended to sharpen governance and follow-up, and become clearer with goals and priorities. Säll Lindahl agrees with the review.
The police reorganization came into force in 2015 and was the largest in 50 years. The National Police Board, the country's 21 police authorities and the National Forensic Laboratory were merged into one authority.
The hope was that the police would get clearer governance, more efficient resource utilization, greater flexibility and an enhanced ability to both intervene against and investigate crimes and public order disturbances.
