To manage what the police officers on site at the school in Örebro did requires that you have practiced – and already before the sharp situation mentally prepared yourself for what needs to be done.
This is what the Chairman of the Police Union, Katharina von Sydow, says, who after the incident at Risbergska school in Örebro went there and met her colleagues.
She says that the most important thing for the union now is to be a support.
Simply to be there for our members in the way they need.
Long-term support
Katharina von Sydow emphasizes that it is very important that the support for the police officers who worked on site does not stop, but remains for a long time to come.
Reactions can come and one does not know when they do. There must be an awareness among managers and that they have control over their employees, says von Sydow.
She points out that for police officers, who often meet different types of tragedies and traumas in people's lives, preparation and practice are just as important as follow-up afterwards. And that all police officers, regardless of whether they are in external or internal service, have the same training. Katharina von Sydow says that it became extra clear during the incident in Örebro.
Same training
The first reserves that could connect and support the police officers on site at the school came from within the police station in Örebro, which was "emptied" of personnel who went out to support. And it was, according to von Sydow, possible because the Swedish police force still has a cohesive training.
I have a trustee, he is a forensic expert, he geared up and went out to support and help.
She says that there are discussions about not all police officers, depending on their work tasks, should receive the same training regarding weapons or tactics. But it is a development that the Police Union absolutely does not want to see.
There are not that many police officers in Sweden, so we must hold together, says Katharina von Sydow.
