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Upplands-Bro Municipality Director Proposed Limiting Environmental Inspectors' Crime Reporting Authority

EnvironmentEnvironment
Key Points
  • Upplands-Bro municipality director Ida Texell proposed changing rules to restrict environmental inspectors' ability to independently report suspected environmental crimes to police.
  • Environmental inspectors warned the changes would constitute service misconduct and hinder enforcement against environmental violations.
  • The controversy follows previous revelations about a polluted noise barrier in Upplands-Bro where a municipal politician held multiple roles during construction.

According to internal emails obtained by SVT Stockholm, Upplands-Bro municipality director Ida Texell sought to change rules governing who can report suspected environmental crimes to police. The proposed changes, revealed in 2025 emails, would have restricted environmental inspectors' ability to independently file police reports for environmental violations they discover during inspections.

Environmental inspectors in the municipality have raised alarms about the potential rule changes. One inspector identified only as "Hedda" warned that if inspectors cannot report suspected environmental crimes themselves, they would be committing service misconduct. "If we don't do it, we commit service misconduct," the inspector stated.

If we don't do it, we commit misconduct

Hedda, environmental inspector

The controversy comes amid previous revelations about a controversial noise barrier built in Upplands-Bro that contained pollutants. SVT had previously reported on how a high-ranking municipal politician held multiple roles when the barrier was constructed.

The internal emails show Texell wanted to review the delegation order regarding who is authorized to file police reports for environmental crimes. Environmental inspectors argue that limiting their reporting authority would hinder enforcement against environmental violations in the municipality.

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