The Brå Report: The authors reverse the party connection

The only party mentioned by name in the criticized research report is the Social Democrats.

On page 53 it says:

"Given criticism directed at Brå having a strong connection to the criminological department and to the Social Democratic Party, the current staffing of the council raises questions."

That wording has contributed to the report's political impact and the Swedish Democrats have reported the Social Democratic Minister of Justice Morgan Johansson to the Constitutional Committee.

But the wording about the connection to the Social Democrats does not want the researchers to stand when SVT News asks questions about the ground.

"Whether that is true, we do not decide," writes Stefan Holgersson, one of the report's authors, in an e-mail.

The report does not mention what time period or which reports the criticism of Brå applies. This is to protect the people interviewed.

- We have not addressed different issues, so it can of course be done from different angles. What we see and point out in the report is that it is not always conscious control, but precisely because you are in a dependency relationship you have to maintain good relationships with your client, says report author Malin Wieslander.

Does this mean that governments of different colors may have influenced research in different directions?

- Yes, we have not studied a specific government or time. We go back quite a long time and have talked to employees who worked at Brå several decades ago. But also with current employees and former employees who have recently quit at Brå, says Malin Wieslander.

At the University of Linköping, the debate has been followed and according to Vice President Per-Olof Brehmer, the researchers are behind it. Some of the results contained in the report have previously been published in, among other things, a Norwegian magazine.

- This is how research is normally conducted and we as a university are calling for it. Presenting on different forums and getting comments, says Per-Olof Brehmer.

The report, published on Monday, had received both rice and rose within a day, and led to a KU report by the Minister of Justice. In addition, a researcher who appears in the report believes he has been cited incorrectly.

- As a university, we have a responsibility that the researchers follow a good research practice. So far, I can see that nothing indicates that they have violated a good research ethic, but it is obviously serious if the majority comes out that they have been misquoted, says Per-Olof Brehmer.