The Swedish Police Authority reportedly achieved its government-mandated goal of expanding by 10,000 employees between 2016 and 2024, according to sources published on March 25, 2026. However, despite this significant staffing increase, crime clearance rates for common offenses have declined during the same period.
Sources indicate that approximately 90 percent of the newly hired personnel are civilian staff, with most assigned to investigative work. The expansion was intended to strengthen police resources, but data reportedly shows the overall proportion of solved crimes has decreased from 13 percent to 11 percent.
According to the reports, this decline in clearance rates for everyday crimes may be attributed to investigative resources being heavily allocated to more serious gang-related offenses. While clearance rates for common crimes dropped, the same sources note that solved attempted murder cases nearly doubled during the period, increasing from 245 to 463 cases.
The reports suggest that the Swedish police have faced challenges in balancing resource allocation between combating organized gang crime and investigating more routine criminal matters, despite substantial staffing increases over the eight-year period.