We believe it is very serious. The police profession involves great authority, so it is very important that it is the right people who begin police training, says Linda Jönsson, leader of the National Audit Office's review.
A fundamental problem is that the police have not made a proper analysis of what qualities a police officer should have.
The admission is currently handled by the Conscription and Assessment Agency, which uses approximately the same process as for the officer programme. This is not necessarily right for police officers, believes the National Audit Office.
The consequence of not having a job analysis adapted to the police profession means an increased risk that suitable individuals are rejected or disqualified in the admission process on unclear grounds, says Linda Jönsson.
Disadvantages certain groups
The police agree with some parts of the conclusions, but not others. In a response, they write that the report exaggerates the importance of having an analysis of what is required of the applicant to be suitable. The selection process is already based on a "comprehensive empirical foundation", they state.
The authority criticizes, among other things, that the applicants must be approved in each test to move forward. Instead, they advocate a comprehensive assessment of the tests.
An explicit government goal is to achieve greater diversity within the police force, but some of the current tests are considered to disadvantage certain groups.
Every fifth female applicant does not pass the strength test, which involves lifting a barbell from the ground up to the chin. In other Nordic countries – where they instead test strength with other exercises – women perform significantly better, according to the report.
Outdated language?
The police think the conclusion is unfortunate.
"We believe that the strength test objectively the physical demands that the profession poses and that a deeper analysis is needed to change something that could ultimately affect both the individual police officer's safety and the overall operational capability", says Marie Andersson at the headquarters for police education in a press comment.
More than every third applicant with a foreign background is rejected in the aptitude test – even though they do not have worse grades or results from higher education entrance exams.
It may be that it is an outdated language, so that one does not understand the words when they are not used currently, says Linda Jönsson.
Another problem is that the psychologists who interview candidates cannot share information with the police due to confidentiality, which complicates the assessment. The lack of language tests is also criticized by the National Audit Office.
