National Police Chief Anders Thornberg has been criticized for his handling of the conflict of interest situation between some of the country's top police chiefs, Mats Löfving and Linda Staaf. The investigation and the press conferences that followed have also been questioned.
The national police chief himself has been few words since Mats Löfving was found dead in his home, but yesterday he commented on the events in Ekot's Saturday interview:
– There is an ongoing work environment investigation within the police authority that deals with how we handled it, and how it was handled afterwards. We did what we judged to be right at the time.
Concerns about public speaking
Despite the criticism, the Police Union chose to express its support for the national police chief. Something that has aroused surprise and anger among union representatives and other police officers around the country, with whom Agenda has spoken. According to them, the events have highlighted a larger problem that exists within the authority, where friendships play a role when managerial positions are filled.
But there is a concern about talking in public, openly criticizing the police can affect the career.
"This was a textbook example of friendship corruption and Thornberg did not act. There will never be a change further down unless it starts from the top, says a union elected police officer.
Taken without anchoring
Another says that the decision to express support for the national police chief was taken without support in the regions.
"My personal thought was that we go out and say something, we can't stand behind this anymore. Our members are not behind this, they wonder what the phase is going on.
Katarina Von Sydow, president of the Swedish Police Federation, declined an interview. But the union writes in an email that the police leadership has begun a process of change "not least with the destructive culture of silence and also create increased transparency when recruiting managers".
National Police Chief Anders Thornberg declined to participate in SVT's Agenda, which was broadcast on Sunday.