Rikspolischef Petra Lundh Calls for 10,000 More Police Officers to Meet EU Standards
Sweden’s national police chief seeks 10,000 additional police officers to meet EU average police density, emphasizing recruitment of active officers over civilian staff.
- • Sweden currently has nearly 25,000 police officers, below the EU average density of 300 per 100,000 population.
- • A previous target to add 10,000 officers by 2024 was not fulfilled, with more civilian employees hired instead.
- • The police plan to focus on recruiting 1,000 new active duty officers annually, with about 1,700 officers trained each year.
- • No new official police target or funding has yet been set by the government to meet the increased recruitment goal.
Key details
Rikspolischef Petra Lundh has highlighted the urgent need for Sweden to increase its police force by 10,000 officers to reach the EU average police density. Currently, Sweden has nearly 25,000 police officers, with a police density of 237 officers per 100,000 inhabitants, which falls short of the EU average of 300. Lundh pointed out that the previous goal of adding 10,000 police officers by 2024 was not met as planned; instead, hiring shifted toward civilian staff, resulting in approximately 4,000 new officers and 7,500 civilian employees between 2016 and 2024.
To correct this imbalance, the police aim to recruit primarily police officers rather than civilian personnel, targeting an increase of 1,000 officers annually, with about 1,700 new officers being trained per year. However, a concrete new government target or funding for this increase has yet to be established, leaving the timeline for achieving the EU average unclear. Calls for expanding the active police personnel are seen as essential for aligning Sweden’s law enforcement resources with European standards.
The Rikspolischef also noted debates about the EU's methodology in comparing police personnel across countries but emphasized no objections to the government’s use of those figures. The focus remains on boosting active police numbers to improve public safety amid growing demands.