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Law enforcement in Sweden is carried out by severalgovernment agencies, under the guidance of theGovernment of Sweden.
The administration of both law enforcement and thejudiciary of Sweden falls under theMinistry of Justice, a cabinet-level department in thegovernment of Sweden, headed by theMinister of Justice.[1] The Ministry is primarily concerned with policy-making and legislation. The actual day-to-day administration is the responsibility of agencies, such as theSwedish Police Authority (Swedish:Polismyndigheten).[2]
The organization mainly tasked with law enforcement is the Swedish Police Authority. In addition, under certain circumstances, other government agencies can be tasked with law enforcement, including investigations, arrest/probationary powers, or enforcement of judgements. Just like in the United States, Swedish law has provisions similar to the U.S.Posse Comitatus Act which limits the use of the military to perform the tasks of law enforcement agencies in time of peace.[citation needed]
This rule has recently come under review, in light of the upsurge of terrorist activity following the9/11 attacks and the bombings inBali,Madrid andLondon it has been suggested that the military should be allowed to aid the police in certain situations of heightened tension.[citation needed]
The Swedish Police Authority is the central administrative authority for thepolice inSweden and theNational Forensics Centre. It is responsible forlaw enforcement, general social order and public safety within the country. A number of special units are organized under this agency, such as theNational Task Force and theReinforced Regional Task Forces.[3]
The Swedish Security Service (Swedish:Säkerhetspolisen, Säpo) is tasked with protection of the constitution, close protection, counter-espionage and counter-terrorism.
The Swedish Economic Crime Authority (Swedish:Ekobrottsmyndigheten, EBM) is amultidisciplinary law enforcement agency with the responsibility to both investigate and prosecute in cases of economic crimes. Similar multidisciplinary organizations are theØkokrim inNorway and theScorpions inSouth Africa.
The Swedish Prosecution Authority (Swedish:Åklagarmyndigheten) is the principal agency in Sweden responsible for publicprosecutions. It is headed by the Prosecutor General of Sweden.
Swedish prosecutors, belonging or not to the authority, are responsible for leading and supervising criminal investigations done by the Swedish Police, and preparing and presenting cases for the courts. The prosecutors also hold a number of quasi-judicial powers like, though not officially, acting as judges in severalmisdemeanor cases.
There are also a couple of Swedish prosecution agencies, independent of the SPA such as the SwedishChancellor of Justice, which is independent of the national government, and theParliamentary Ombudsman. The Chancellor of Justice is responsible for supervising the lawfulness of government actions. The Parliamentary Ombudsman is responsible for supervising public authorities and also has powers to act as a special prosecutor and bring charges against public officials for malfeasance or some other irregularity. This happens very rarely.
The Chancellor, roughly theAttorney General of Sweden, acts, besides supervising lawyers and public officials, as a special prosecutor in several cases. The Chancellor does have, as being a prosecutor, investigative powers in cases regarding misconduct of lawyers and public officials, and violations of theSwedish laws dealing with press freedom.[citation needed]
The Swedish Prison and Probation Service (Swedish:Kriminalvården) does have, besides duties as guarding prisons and keeping arrested suspects in jail, certain powers to track down escaped convicts.[citation needed]
TheSwedish National Board of Forensic Medicine (Swedish:Rättsmedicinalverket) is responsible forforensic psychiatry,forensic chemistry,forensic medicine andforensic genetics.[4]
TheSwedish Customs Service, orTullverket, performs duties related to law enforcement includingborder guard duties and the trace of illegal narcotics attempted to be smuggled into the country.
TheSwedish Enforcement Administration, orKronofogdemyndigheten is the law enforcement agency in charge ofdebt collection,distraint,evictions, and the enforcement of court orders inSweden. The authority also supervises trustees inbankruptcy.
TheSwedish Coast Guard, orKustbevakningen enforce Swedish law on the sea, independently or together with the Swedish Police. This includes sobriety tests of the operators of any marine vessel.
The Swedishmilitary police is the law enforcement service of theSwedish Armed Forces. TheLife Guards is responsible for training military police soldiers,Royal Guards and other guards. The duties of the military police outside the military may include protection and safety of foreignHeads of State.
The connection between the military police units and the Life Guards is similar to the structure in the Swedish Police Service; the Life Guard is responsible for service, coordination and development of the military police, and the local unit is responsible to investigate and keep law and order at the camp.
The Swedish National Board of Institutional Care (Swedish:Statens institutionsstyrelse) arrange compulsory care for young people with psychosocial problems and for adults suffering from substance abuse problems.