The Swedish National Audit Office audited seven government agencies regarding their work to counteract ethnic discrimination. The agencies audited are the Swedish Public Employment Service, the Swedish Social Insurance Agency, the Swedish Prison and Probation Service, the Swedish Enforcement Authority, the Swedish Police Authority, the Swedish Tax Agency, and Swedish Customs. The National Audit Office concludes that the agencies are deficient in their work and need to improve at preventing ethnic discrimination.
Examples of ethnic discrimination that can occur include police checks based on skin color, rejections of benefit applications, or other scrutiny due to a foreign-sounding surname, according to officials. Minority groups are more likely to be denied applications for support and compensation compared to the majority population, according to major media reports. The agencies' work to counteract discrimination is often driven by individual incidents, and a single person's experience of an agency decision is not sufficient guidance, officials said. It can be difficult for an individual to detect and report discrimination because they rarely have the insight into how decisions are made in comparable cases, officials added.
The agencies are good at acting on reports, but they fall short in detecting risks and preventing ethnic discrimination, according to major media reports. The audit shows that the Equality Ombudsman does not push to counteract ethnic discrimination in decisions and does not have the mandate to investigate many of the incoming reports under current legislation, major media reports indicate.
The National Audit Office recommends that the audited agencies regularly investigate and manage risks of ethnic discrimination, according to major media reports. The National Audit Office wants the government to ensure that the agencies better follow up on measures, officials said. The government should follow up on how agencies handle risks of ethnic discrimination and assign a suitable agency the task of raising state competence on discrimination issues, major media reports indicate.