In total, 5,700 more cases were investigated and submitted to prosecutors, compared with last year.

Police Region South is one of the areas where you see a clear difference. There, the number of cases submitted to prosecutors has increased by more than 2,000 compared to the first half of 2019, and the corona virus is one of the factors that contributed.

- In a high-risk match in football, it is not uncommon for around a hundred police officers to be required. Instead of being involved in such resource-demanding contexts, we have been able to focus on, for example, the drug trade in Malmö, says Jarl Holmström, Deputy Regional Police Chief in the Police Region of South.

Set internships contribute

In addition to canceled events, resources have also been released when the police were forced to suspend training and conferences as a result of the corona pandemic.

- It is possible to do so in the short term, but in the long term it is not good, because it is important that we continue to develop skills within the police, says Jarl Holmström.

Police Region South has also been assisted by the national police operation Rimfrost, which contributed extra resources. But despite the positive figures, Jarl Holmström states that the number of cases waiting to be completed must be even fewer.

Low sick leave

When the corona pandemic struck in March, the police in Bergslagen worried about a spring characterized by high absenteeism. But to the surprise of the police, it turned out to be just the opposite.

- Absence due to illness has almost been absent, and we are even at a lower level than we usually are. We have simply been a lot of people on the scene, ”says Niclas Hallgren, Deputy Regional Police Chief in the Bergslagen Police Region.

This, combined with the increase in personnel in the region, has led to the Bergslagen being able to investigate almost 2,000 more cases this year, compared with the corresponding period last year.