Investigations | Motverket

Motverket investigates Swedish authorities, due process, and public power using documents, data, and open sources.

• First anonymous witness: Umeå District Court heard someone whose identity was not disclosed to the defense

  The law on anonymous witnesses has been in effect since January 1, 2025. The first time it was applied in a courtroom was at Umeå District Court in 2026, in case number 764. The defense was not informed of the witness's identity. The judgment later stated that the testimony was not decisive. The review distinguishes between threats, evidentiary value, and the right to challenge.

• The school considers the indictment, not just the verdict: the suspicion register became an employment condition on July 15

  Since July 15, 2026, anyone employed in preschool, school, or adult education (komvux) must present an extract from both the criminal records register and the suspicion register. The extract must be no older than six months. The employer may note that it has been shown but may not copy it. The review separates charges, verdicts, and employment decisions.

• Failed security clearance – and still in the systems

  DN reports that an official close to the Prime Minister's security advisor failed the security clearance but retained access cards, secret IT systems, and entry to Rosenbad. The review contrasts this with the Security Protection Act: clearance, access, and employment are three distinct matters.

• Interventions without consent: fines for parents, curfews for children, and an electronic tag awaiting a date

  The Act (2026:1637) on Measures within Social Services when Consent is Lacking is effective from January 2, 2027. The Social Welfare Board may decide on measures, home curfews from 18:00 to 07:00, and drug tests without consent, impose fines on parents, and call the police. The electronic monitoring device has been decided upon but lacks a start date. The review distinguishes between what is currently applicable, what is forthcoming, and what the referral bodies warned about.

• Reception Act October 1: county as a boundary, attendance control at the accommodation, and one week without money per day

  The Reception Act (2026:999) replaces the LMA on October 1, 2026, and is amended again the following day. Asylum seekers are not permitted to leave the county, must participate in attendance checks from the age of 16, and lose daily allowances for each day spent outside the county. The review examines what applies on which day, what cannot be appealed, and what the Asylum Rights Centre warned about.

• When the police are allowed to entice the crime: the legislative council referral on provocation, fictitious abuse images, and concealed vehicles

  The government's legislative proposal from September 7, 2026, provides explicit legal support for police and prosecutors to undertake actions that may lead someone to commit a crime, allows the police to produce and share fictitious child pornography images, and establishes a law on covert vehicles. Proposed effective date is March 1, 2027. The review distinguishes between what is proposed, who is authorized to decide, and the objections raised by the Parliamentary Ombudsman (JO), the Swedish Prosecution Authority, and universities.

• Child Interviews as Evidence: Teddy Bear Cards, Taping, and What is Missing in the File

  Uppdrag granskning revealed unscientific child interviews that can lead to LVU (Care of Young Persons Act). The investigation contrasts the methods against the evidence requirement in the new Social Services Act, SBU's knowledge gaps, recorded child interrogations, and what is actually submitted to the administrative court.

• Mandatory Reporting Against Corruption: The Proposal That Does Not Address Conflicts of Interest – and May Lead to a Vote

  Municipalities and regions are proposed to be obligated to report employees who are reasonably suspected of committing crimes in the course of their duties. Consultation deadline is October 10, 2026, with the proposed effective date being July 1, 2027. The review contrasts the memorandum with LOA Section 22, police's 14 out of 39, and three documented cases.

• Real-time facial recognition: the law from July 1 and the images that have already been tested

  The Act (2026:806) and the Ordinance (2026:815) are effective from July 1, 2026. The police tested the system in June using material from the national camera platform. The review distinguishes between the thresholds of the law, test data on innocent individuals, and what is not Palantir.

• Five-year-old taken by police: police powers, possible offences and the child’s rights

  A court order authorised police to collect the child, but did not give them unlimited discretion. Motverket examines the requirements of a gentle and proportionate intervention, the child’s best interests and possible criminal liability if the limits were exceeded.

• When Disclosure Is Not Enough: 80 Municipal Scandals, Soft Landings, and a Law That Rarely Bites

  Uppdrag granskning maps out 80 municipal scandals and observes the same pattern: few police reports, even fewer prosecutions, and whistleblowers who are dismissed. The investigation compares UG with CPI, OECD, the police's own figures, and three documented cases – Ystad, Vingåker, and Skinnskatteberg.

• The Police's Two Streams: Public Accounts, Strategic Communication, and Closed Corps Spirit

  Review of the police's public social media, communication budget, and framework agreement for strategic communication, contrasted with the closed Facebook group UMF where thousands of police officers spread mockery against critics and women.

• Surveillance Behind Bars: Kumla, Forensic Psychiatry in Växjö, and the Room That Must Not Exist

  The Parliamentary Ombudsman (JO) is investigating suspected illegal surveillance and misconduct at Kumla. In Växjö, two employees were dismissed following the discovery of hidden cameras at the forensic psychiatric facility. The review distinguishes between investigation and established oversight—and demonstrates why the protection of privacy is most fragile precisely when the state already holds the key.

• Abuse of Public Office: New Offense from August 1, 2026

  On August 1, 2026, the crime of abuse of public office was introduced. It covers a broader scope than misconduct in office – but requires intent. Motverket reviews the law, the guidance from Statskontoret, and what still falls outside its scope.

• Nybro: two boys mildly injured after crash with police bus during a stop

  Update August 3: The injury status has been adjusted from serious/ICU to minor injuries according to Region Kalmar län's bulletin. The collision occurred during police control on August 2 and is being investigated by special investigations.

• Police vehicles in traffic accidents: how common during emergency driving?

  The VTI study commissioned by the Swedish Police Authority shows that pursuits dominate emergency response accidents, that ramming is the most common, and that one in ten police officers in external service has been involved in a serious accident during an emergency response.

• Lerum 2020: 16-year-old moped rider died after police followed – officer acquitted

  Alexander Storåker, 16, died in Lerum on May 12, 2020, when a plainclothes police patrol pursued the cross moped. The police officer was charged with causing another person's death and misconduct but was acquitted. The case highlights the regulations for the pursuit of unprotected vehicles.

• Detention without oversight: The Swedish National Audit Office on deprivation of liberty in the return process

  RiR 2025:32 indicates that detention costs exceed one billion, that proportionality is often lacking in the decisions, and that Migrationsverket and the police do not control who is detained—even though the government plans for 1,000 places by 2029.

• Codename EA20: When the Swedish Migration Agency's Language Analysis Becomes Hidden Evidence

  SVT's investigation Codename EA20 revealed how the Swedish Migration Agency purchased language and knowledge analyses from Sprakab—while anonymous analysts, whose qualifications could not be verified, held decisive weight in asylum decisions.

• Sweden’s 2025 Ombudsman complaints: police cases rose by nearly 50 per cent

  Sweden’s Parliamentary Ombudsmen registered 15,429 new cases in 2025. Police complaints rose from 1,334 to 1,998, but a complaint is not a proven error. A source-critical review of the figures, the oversight gap and JO’s actual powers.

• Social-services decisions and legal certainty: the inquiry and proposed LVU replacement for 2027

  Directive 2026:60 launches an inquiry running to 2028. Bill 2025/26:294 proposes replacing LVU in 2027. A source-critical review of what the documents mean, current law, and what JO, IVO and system data actually show.

• Sweden’s 2026 Somalia support: deportations, IOM and corruption risk

  The Swedish government is providing about SEK 5 million to IOM Somalia for six technical advisers. We examine the deportation claim, the earlier aid controversy, and what is actually established about transparency and corruption risk.

• Angiverilag 2026: six authorities become the police's source of information

  On July 13, six authorities will begin reporting suspected unauthorized residence to the police. Examination of side information, the low evidence threshold, mobile searches, and the risks to trust in authorities.

• Mental violence criminalised: statistics, dark talk and what the law actually covers

  July 1, 2026, repeat mental violence becomes a crime. Brå and NCK show that it was already most common in close relationships — but almost never reported. Review of Prop. 2025/26:138 and the gap between legislative text and practice.

• The principle of public disclosure in practice: documents, confidentiality and delay

  The principle of public disclosure is one of the strongest tools for auditing government agencies. Here is a practical review of public record, confidentiality, urgency of proceedings, delay and how to press forward an appeal decision.

• Whistleblowers against authority: what the Whistleblower Act protects and when to go external

  The Whistleblowers Act can protect those who raise the alarm about corruption, fraud, procurement fraud and other malfeasance in government agencies. But protection depends on how you report, what you can show and whether the data is of public interest.

• Kristersson, grants and questions: when the role of prime minister meets private networks

  A review of periodic reviews in which Ulf Kristersson or his closest circle has been caught in the wind about housing, grants, public premises, recruitment, interior design and housing risks.

• Da Costa case and legal certainty: how an acquittal verdict could ruin two lives

  Catrine da Costa was murdered and dismembered in 1984. Two doctors were acquitted of murder charges in 1988 but were singled out in the reasons for the dismemberment. It was not possible to appeal. Almost 40 years later, the state gives them two million kronor each.

• Sweden's increased corruption figures: public procurement, yobs and the expensive silence

  Sweden still ranks high in international measurements, but the curve is weaker and the authorities' own reports point to the same vulnerability: public procurement, fraud, friendship corruption and weak contract control.

• Child care: the statistics, the Al Jazeera controversy and the case of Malin

  Placements under SoL and LVU, the control of family homes, the controversy surrounding Behind Closed Doors and Malin's case, in which an incorrect record entry followed an entry into the court.

• Police violence, reports and violence: the statistics behind the review

  Special Prosecution Chamber, SU statistics, fatal police interventions and the older DN review on women violence as most common off-duty police offences.

• Police stun guns: stun guns, risks, TASER 7 and increasing use

  Review of police stun guns: model and make, volts, what the electroshock does to the body, medical risk groups, improper use and interactive statistics on coercion, firing and driving shocks.

• Armatech, Defensor and the police stun guns: the supplier, the owners and former ÖB on the board

  Review of the supplier ranks behind police stun guns: Armatech/AXON, Defensor Group, Flat Capital, SAFE4U and board details of former ÖB Sverker Göranson.

• The demands of police training: aptitude tests, lowered limits and the risk of quantity before quality

  Review of the admission requirements of police training, the UNIQ aptitude test, the National Audit Office's critique, Aftonbladet's 200 seconds-alarm and new proposed requirements 2026.

• Independent and extended confiscation: seizure, loaned car and when authorities seize property

  Examination of independent forfeiture, extended confiscation, confiscation of criminal proceeds, open cases and amounts, loaned cars taken by the Swedish Enforcement Administration and risks when seized goods disappear from the police.

• When police records become a private service: The Skaraborgs case, the entrepreneur and the secret data

  A police officer in Skaraborg is charged with carrying out records checks on behalf of a car owner and for private searches of relatives. The case shows why logs, permissions and control are not technical details but the very protection against authority power on order.

• Palantir police: review of AI system, privacy and Swedish pension money

  What kind of police officer is Palantir? According to reports, Swedish police are using Palantir's analysis platform. Here you get what we know, why it's controversial, which Swedish authorities are concerned and what it means for your privacy.

• Police reconnaissance records (ASP): criticism, gypsies and what is meant by Z-register

  From the computerization in 1979 to the Scanian mapping in 2009—2013 and the IMY criticism in 2014: this is how the debate grew about police reconnaissance records, groupings such as gypsies and the unofficial term Z-register.

• Documentation deficiencies in social services: when children are waiting and cases cannot be followed

  IVO writes that more than 3,000 children a year wait too long for interventions after decisions. At the same time, the JO has directed serious criticism at social welfare boards where the documentation was so deficient that cases could hardly be followed.

• When school deficiencies become family problems: concerns, support and documentation

  The Schools Inspectorate describes failings at the majority of schools audited. For families, lack of support, sitting at home and unclear notes can at the same time become grounds for contact with social services.

• Teenage deportations: when young adults are separated from the family by the migration system

  Aftonbladet has surveyed 92 expulsions of teenagers in 2025. RESCUE describes how temporary permits, the 18-year limit and tougher rules can divide families who have already built their lives in Sweden.

• Fasces in the Police Arms: the Ghost Bunch, the Rule of Law and the Fascist Associations

  The emblem of the Swedish Police includes crossed ghost bundles, fasces with bilas. The symbol has older roots in Roman law and state power, but has also been criticized for modern links to fascism.

• When gangs trained at shooting range: police as instructor and the control that burst

  DN states that a police officer worked as an instructor at a shooting range where people connected to rough gang environments trained. This raises larger questions about by-pursuits, gun environments and the police's own risk control.

• The Gotland affair and Peter Rätz: infiltrators, drugs and evidence that never became simple

  A careful review of what can be coated about the Gotland affair: the orchestrated heroin deal, the role of Peter Rätz, denials from police leadership and the issue of hidden evidence.