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Demokratiskolan
The Emergency services card from MethodKit for Society and Politics
Card 11 of 128 · MethodKit for Society & Politics
  • AreaSafety & defense
  • Centre of gravityCentral government
  • Points of influence3 on the journey
  • Decisive electionThe general election
Safety & defense

Emergency services

Police, firefighters & ambulances

Police, fire service and ambulance look like a single system when you dial 112, but behind the alarm three different responsible authorities answer: the central government, the municipality and the region. Few calls show more clearly how the levels share the responsibility for your safety.

Where does the power lie?1

  • Municipality · fire service & rescue services · approx 30 %
  • Region · ambulance & emergency care · approx 25 %
  • State · police, laws & 112 · approx 45 %

The Police (Polismyndigheten) is national, but the rescue services are steered in the municipal election and the ambulance in the regional election. All three elections count here.

How it works: the breakdown

The municipalityThe fire service
The regionThe ambulance
Central governmentThe police & the system · centre of gravity
Who decides?
The municipal council (kommunfullmäktige) and the rescue services committee, often in a joint authority (kommunalförbund) with neighbouring municipalities.
The regional council (regionfullmäktige) and the health and medical care committee, the responsible authority for ambulance care.
The Riksdag, the Government, the Police (Polismyndigheten) and SOS Alarm, owned by the central government and SKR together.
What do they decide?
The rescue services: fires, traffic accidents, drowning. Also preventive inspection and chimney sweeping.
Ambulances, emergency departments and patient transport: where they are and how quickly they reach you.
The Police's entire operation, the emergency number 112 and the laws that govern all emergency services.
Where are decisions made?
In the action program for rescue services, decided by the council.
In the region's budget and care agreements, sometimes with procured ambulance companies.
In the Riksdag's budget and in the Police's appropriation directions.
Who pays?
Municipal tax. The rescue services are one of the municipality's core tasks.
Regional tax funds ambulance care.
The central government budget pays for the police and the 112 service.
Fastest way in?
The municipal election Read and comment on the action program, ask about response times where you live.
The regional election The regional election decides the ambulance's resources. Views via 1177 and the patient committee.
The general election The general election steers the police's resources. The local police's citizen dialogues are open.
EUThe emergency number 112 is shared across the whole EU, one of the union's most concrete everyday rules. Otherwise the EU steers little here.

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 You dial 112: three responsible authorities on the same alarm
  1. State

    SOS Alarm answers

    The operator interviews you, locates the call and alerts the right resources, sometimes all three at once. The company behind 112 is owned by the central government and SKR together.

  2. State

    The police respond

    The Police is national, a single unified agency since 2015. The regional command center prioritizes between ongoing alarms, and the resources are ultimately steered by the Riksdag's budget.

    Point of influence

    The general election steers the police's budget and number of officers. The local police's citizen dialogues are open to everyone.

  3. Municipality

    The rescue services set out from your station

    The fire service is municipal. How quickly it reaches you depends on the action program the council has decided, and in the countryside often on part-time firefighters with ordinary jobs.

    Point of influence

    The action program can be read and commented on. The rescue services constantly recruit part-time firefighters.

  4. Region

    The ambulance is prioritized by situation

    The region is the responsible authority for ambulance care. The dispatcher sets the priority, and where ambulances and emergency departments are placed is a regional political decision.

    Point of influence

    The regional election decides where ambulances and emergency hospitals are placed. The patient committee receives views.

  5. Your everyday life

    The help has arrived

    Afterwards the rescue services write an operation report, healthcare follows up on deviations and the police open a possible preliminary investigation. Three organizations, three elections, one alarm.

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. How far from an ambulance or fire station is it reasonable to live?

  2. Fire service, ambulance and police have three different responsible authorities. How does that affect what you look at in each election?

  3. What should get more when not everything fits: more police, more ambulances or more firefighters?

  4. Part-time firefighters carry much of the countryside's preparedness. What would make more people step up?

  5. Which of the three elections did you think least about last time, and what did it decide for the emergency services where you live?

Glossary

Huvudman
The body with ultimate responsibility for an activity, for example the municipality for the rescue services.
SOS Alarm
The company that answers 112, owned by the central government and SKR together.
Handlingsprogram
The municipality's plan for the rescue services: risks, capacity and response times.
Insatstid
The time from alarm to the help being in place.
Kommunalförbund
Several municipalities running an activity together, common for rescue services.
Patientnämnd
The region's independent body you turn to with views on healthcare.

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.