The police's work with special events is criticized in a new report from the National Audit Office. They believe that the police's preventive work suffers. Deputy police area manager in Malmö, Erik Jansåker, is of a different opinion - and says that police officers are generally positive about commands elsewhere.
"A lot of people go on a voluntary basis. It makes it easier when there is interest from our employees," he says.
More harm than good
On Tuesday, the NAO released its new report. According to the NAO, long-term special events risk doing more harm than good. The results suggest that the resource shifts that need to be made, from the various local police areas to Stockholm, have a negative impact.
The review shows that special events prove most effective in the first few hours or even days of a larger effort. But the longer it goes on, they risk being countereffective.
"The police need to use their resources more efficiently. Special events that last for a long time can eventually lead to parallel management systems and inefficient use of resources, says Auditor General Helena Lindberg, on the Swedish National Audit Office's website.
Situation in Skåne
Erik Jansåker does not want to specify how many police officers have been commanded or have voluntarily signed up to go up to Stockholm. But he points out that there are no major deprioritizations from the work of the police at home.
"It's strained, but basically we haven't had to prioritise anything. The little resource we have sent up has not affected our business," he said.