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Demokratiskolan
The Crime card from MethodKit for Society and Politics
Card 13 of 128 · MethodKit for Society & Politics
  • AreaSafety & defense
  • Centre of gravityCentral government
  • Points of influence3 on the journey
  • Decisive electionThe general election
Safety & defense

Crime

Causes, Crimes, Penalties & punishments

Crime is not just about police and punishment but about the whole chain: why crimes are committed, how they are investigated, what the penalty is and who prevents the next crime. The central government owns the sentences, but since 2023 every municipality has a statutory responsibility for crime prevention work.

Where does the power lie?1

  • Municipality · prevention & situation picture · approx 25 %
  • Region · addiction care & psychiatry · approx 5 %
  • State · laws, police & sentences · approx 65 %
  • EU · police cooperation · approx 5 %

The justice chain is national, but the preventive work is largely municipal. The general election steers the sentences, the municipal election the prevention.

How it works: the breakdown

The municipalityThe prevention
The regionHealthcare's part
Central governmentThe justice chain · centre of gravity
Who decides?
The municipal executive board (kommunstyrelsen), the social welfare committee and the school, often with a crime prevention coordinator.
The region's psychiatry and addiction care.
The Riksdag, the Police, the Swedish Prosecution Authority, the courts, the Prison and Probation Service and Brå.
What do they decide?
Since 2023 every municipality must produce a situation picture of crime and decide on measures: social services, school, leisure, the urban environment.
Addiction care and psychiatry, factors that affect both crime and reoffending.
What counts as a crime, how it is investigated and judged, what the penalties are. Brå tracks the statistics and supports crime prevention work.
Where are decisions made?
In the municipality's situation picture and action plan, and in cooperation agreements with the police.
In the regional council's budget and healthcare's priorities.
In the Criminal Code, the Riksdag's decisions and the agencies' work.
Who pays?
Municipal tax: social services, school and safety measures.
Regional tax.
The central government budget: the entire justice system.
Fastest way in?
The municipal election Read the municipality's situation picture, get involved in night patrols, neighbourhood watch or community associations.
The regional election The regional election steers the resources for addiction care and psychiatry.
The general election The general election steers the laws and the justice system's resources. Referrals on criminal laws are open.
EUThe EU coordinates police and prosecution cooperation against cross-border crime, through Europol among others. Shaped in the European Parliament election.

Read the table by column to understand one level, or by row to compare the levels. The green level is the area's centre of gravity.

How it works: follow the decision

The case A crime, from report to prevented repetition
  1. State

    The Riksdag decides what counts as a crime

    The Criminal Code and the special criminal laws define the crimes and the sentencing ranges. Every tightening or change is investigated, sent for referral and voted through in the Riksdag.

    Point of influence

    The general election steers criminal law. Legislative proposals go out on open referral before a decision.

  2. State

    Report, investigation, prosecution

    The crime is reported to the police, a preliminary investigation is opened and a prosecutor decides on prosecution. Far from all reports lead all the way, the priorities are steered by resources and rules.

  3. State

    The court passes sentence

    The district court (tingsrätt) tries guilt and decides the penalty within the limits of the law. Lay judges, appointed by the parties in the municipal and regional councils, judge together with the legally trained judge.

  4. State

    Brå counts and analyzes

    The Swedish National Council for Crime Prevention keeps the statistics on reported crimes, clearance and reoffending. The figures become the basis for both the Riksdag's legislation and the municipalities' situation pictures.

  5. Municipality

    The municipality must prevent the next crime

    The law from 2023 requires the municipality to map its crime, decide on measures and coordinate the work: school, social services, youth centers, urban planning and cooperation with the police.

    Point of influence

    The situation picture and the action plan are public. Ask for them, and raise them with your local politicians.

  6. Municipality

    Civil society carries a part

    Night patrols, neighbourhood watch, sports clubs and faith communities account for much of the everyday prevention, often with municipal support.

    Point of influence

    This is the simplest way in: an evening as a night patroller or a coaching role in a club is crime prevention work.

  7. Your everyday life

    Safer blocks, a longer chain

    If the crime is prevented it never shows up in the statistics. Behind a calm Friday evening lie decisions in the Riksdag, the municipal offices and association premises, made in three different elections.

The journey looks the same in reverse: what has been built came the same way, through the same decisions. Whoever knows where the decisions are made also knows where they can be changed.

Questions to discuss

  1. What do you think makes the most difference against crime where you live: more police, better schools or stronger community associations?

  2. How should society weigh punishment against prevention when the money is not enough for both fully?

  3. Which crimes are talked about the most, and does that match which crimes actually affect the most people?

  4. What do you know about your municipality's situation picture of crime, and what should be in it?

  5. Who do you listen to on matters of crime: the statistics, the media or your own experience?

Glossary

Brottsbalken
The central law that defines most crimes and their sentencing ranges.
Förundersökning
The police's and prosecutor's investigation of a suspected crime, before the decision on prosecution.
Lägesbild
The municipality's mapping of local crime, a legal requirement since 2023.
Nämndeman
A politically appointed lay judge who judges together with a legally trained judge in district court and court of appeal.
Grannsamverkan
Organized cooperation between neighbours and police to prevent crime in the residential area.
Återfall
When a previously convicted person commits new crimes, one of the most important measures of what works.

Go further

Footnotes

1) This is an estimate of how decision-making power over the issue is split between the municipality, the region, central government and the EU, based on how responsibility is divided in legislation. A teaching guide, not an exact measurement.