The Swedish National Police Board ( Swedish : Rikspolisstyrelsen , RPS) was the central administrative authority for the police in Sweden from 1 January 1965 to 1 January 2015, when the Swedish Police Authority was established. The Swedish police used to consist of the National Police Board and 21 local police authorities , with their geographical areas of responsibility divided along county lines. The board was led by the National Police Commissioner and its main responsibilities were administration, coordination and supervision of the Swedish police. It also acted as the superordinate authority for the National Laboratory of Forensic Science . The Swedish National Criminal Police — sometimes also referred to as the Swedish National Bureau of Investigation — used to be a constituent part of the National Police Board, together with the Swedish Security Service . The Swedish Security Service formed its own agency post-reorganization, and most of the tasks handled by the National Criminal Police have been taken over by the National Operations Department .
14-496: The Swedish National Police Board was established on 1 January 1965, together with 119 local police authorities, each led by a District Police Commissioner, answering to a Chief Commissioner at the County Administrative Board . This was soon reduced to 118 local police authorities, and in 1998 the number of districts were even further reduced to just 21— one in each county . Prior to the nationalization in 1965,
28-543: A Police Board ( polisstyrelse ). The Commissioner and members of the board were appointed by the Government . Board members had to be local residents and preferably experienced in matters relating to municipal services. Following the reorganization in 2015, the Swedish police divided into seven police regions . County administrative boards of Sweden A county administrative board ( Swedish : länsstyrelse )
42-410: Is a Swedish Government Agency in each of the counties of Sweden , led by a vice-regal governor ( Swedish : landshövding ) appointed by the government for a term of six years. The lists of gubernatorial officeholders, in most cases, stretches back to 1634 when the counties were created by Chancellor Axel Oxenstierna . The main responsibilities of the county administrative board is to coordinate
56-447: Is a self-governing local authority of Sweden. There are 21 regions (one of which is a municipality having the same responsibilities as a region), each corresponding roughly to a county . Regions are governed by a regional assembly ( regionfullmäktige ) that is elected every four years in conjunction with the general elections . The most important responsibilities of regions are the public health care system and public transportation. It
70-495: Is an exception, due to its geographical boundaries, and also has the responsibilities of a region. Historically, Stockholm was separate from counties and was not under the jurisdiction of the Stockholm County Council until 1967, and some other large cities were in counties but outside regions. The cities handled the responsibilities. The two last such cities were Malmö and Göteborg until 1998. In January 2020,
84-408: Is consistent with Sweden's status as a unitary state . Within the geographic boundaries of the county there are also several smaller municipalities and administrations that exercise local self-government independent of the regions. These can also be referred to as "primary municipalities" or primärkommuner , while the regions are sekundärkommuner , "secondary municipalities". Gotland Municipality
98-538: Is one of the principal administrative subdivisions of Sweden . Within the same geographical borders as the regions, there are county administrative boards , an administrative entity appointed by the government . As of 2010, the different regional assemblies had a combined total of 1,696 seats. Constitutionally, the regions exercise a degree of municipal self-government provided by the Basic Laws of Sweden . This does not constitute any degree of federalism, which
112-783: The National Criminal Police have been transferred to the National Operations Department . In 1965, as the National Police Board was established, a special police operations section "for the prevention and detection of crimes against national security" was created along with it. In 1989, this section became more independent, with its own Director-General, and changed its name to the Swedish Security Service ( Säkerhetspolisen ). It remained formally organized under
126-652: The Swedish police used to consist of a State Police ( statspolisen ) and 554 municipal police authorities; less than 30 per cent of these districts had more than 10 police officers. This arrangement was considered inefficient by members of the Riksdag, and is what prompted the original reform. The following is a brief summary of how each authority or department under the National Police Board was organized, their responsibilities, what preceded them, and what followed in 2015: The National Swedish Laboratory of Forensic Science ( Statens kriminaltekniska laboratorium , abbreviated SKL)
140-461: The board until 1 January 2015, when it formed its own agency. When the National Police Board was established in 1965, the number of police districts in Sweden were reduced from 554 to 119 (then to 118). In 1998, the number of districts were further reduced to 21, dividing the Swedish police along its county lines. Each police authority was headed by a County Police Commissioner ( länspolismästare ) and
154-402: The development of the county in line with goals set in national politics. In each county there is also a County Council which is a policy-making assembly elected by the residents of the county. The capital of a county is in Swedish called residensstad ("residence city") because it is the seat of residence of the governor. County councils of Sweden A region ( Swedish : region )
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#1732783681903168-674: The forensics tasks where handled by the National Swedish Criminal Police Registry and Forensic Laboratories ( Statens kriminaltekniska anstalt , SKA), which was formed on 1 October 1939. The National Criminal Police ( Rikskriminalpolisen , abbreviated RKP) was part of the National Police Board. It was led by the Commissioner of the National Criminal Police, who reported directly to the National Police Commissioner. Its role
182-477: Was formed with the establishment of the National Police Board and provided forensic analysis — primarily for the police, but also offered assistance to other government agencies and organizations. Its mission has remained the same, but the arrangement with the National Police Board was terminated in 2015, and instead transferred to the Swedish Police Authority , under a new name . Prior to 1965,
196-411: Was to provide guidance, expertise and assistance to the local police authorities, and primarily to fight organised crime on the national and international level. It was also responsible for the coordination of police efforts in times of a crisis. The National Criminal Police was organized into five departments and several units: Following the reorganization in 2015, most of the tasks previously handled by
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