Police chiefs on secret report: Do not recognize the image

Last week, SVT's Crime of the Week was able to reveal a secret report from the police's national operational department (NOA), in which harsh criticism is directed at the police regions' investigations of sex crimes against children online.

The report directs scathing criticism at the police regions.

The authors of the report believe that the regions' handling of the cases in the long run risks downplaying sexual abuse of children.

According to the document, thousands of cases are also pending without investigators in the country.

But according to Lars Andersson, head of the regional IT crime center in the North, it is unclear where the data in the report comes from.

- I do not recognize the numbers or what is alleged, he says.

Need more staff

According to Lars Andersson, the region currently has over two hundred open criminal suspicions.

Do you have time to investigate more cases than you receive?

- No we do not.

We need to be more in order to have time to investigate as soon as it requires, he says.

The greatest demand is for IT forensics and investigators.

The region's department for internet-related sexual abuse of children (Isub) is no exception.

- We would need to be at least ten more in the region to handle the total need on the investigation side in all crime areas.

We would also need to be another four, five isub investigators.

"Not in phase"

The police region South also does not have time to investigate more cases than is currently the case, despite improvements in handling, according to Petra Stenkula, head of the investigation unit.

- We have undergone a journey in the last two years.

We are getting rid of the oldest balances, she says.

But the report's view that there is a lack of trained staff is correct, according to Petra Stenkula.

Both IT forensics and investigators are singled out as in short supply.

- The influx of cases has increased by 20 to 30 percent in 2019 and 2020. This means that we are not really in phase as we have a shortage of trained staff, she says.

The reason why the increase in the number of cases has been so marked can only be speculated on, according to Petra Stenkula.

- We can speculate that it is due to increased IT use.

It could just as well be that we discover more crime, she says.