More than half the time has now passed since the government commissioned the police to become 10,000 more by 2024. So far, close to 5,000 people have been employed, but only one in five are trained police, the rest civilians.
The government has no requirement as to how many of the 10,000 should be police officers, but the police authority itself has a goal that 70 percent of the employees will be police officers by the end of 2024.
For that to happen, more people need to be trained. In the last nine semesters, places have been empty in police training, some semesters up to 40 percent of the places.
- We have a selection model that does not produce enough police officers, says Anders Sjöberg, associate professor of work psychology at Stockholm University.
Together with several other researchers, he has investigated the admission process to the police program, and believes that today an unreasonable number of people are rejected.
In addition, they are rejected on grounds that the research group, according to Anders Sjöberg, has not been given sufficient insight into - despite the fact that they have signed a confidentiality agreement with the police.
- What is it that makes them not good enough to get into police training?
I have no idea, we have not found out.
Everything is confidential, says Anders Sjöberg.
Difficult to get through the tests
To be accepted, you need to pass a series of psychological and physical tests.
The tests are performed in a certain order, and if you do not perform well enough, the test is canceled and the applicant is not allowed to take more tests.
When the last test is completed, between 90 and 95 percent of those who want to become police officers have been sorted out, according to statistics in recent years.
Anders Sjöberg thinks that more people should be allowed to do all the tests, without the risk of being knocked out immediately.
Who is allowed to start the training must be decided by a weighted assessment of the results from all tests.
Is there not a risk that there will be more inappropriate police then?
- I and my employees in this project do not believe it.
We have a good police training, so let them start police training, says Anders Sjöberg.
Opens for change in admission
Max Lutteman is responsible for the assignment Attract to the Police, which has allowed the researchers to investigate the admission process.
He does not want to comment on the criticism that information should have been classified.
- I do not know what he has taken part in and not, so I can not answer that question, says Max Lutteman.
He does not agree that it is impossible to achieve the goal of 10,000 more police employees with the current selection model, but still opens up that there may soon be a change in admission.
Among other things, there is a proposal to change the so-called requirements profile, which governs who enters the education.
- We have submitted a proposal that will be decided on shortly, sometime in September, we think, he says.