Criticism of the Swedish Police Authority because a police report on a complaint of domestic violence was not filed sufficiently promptly

Summary of the decision: Someone close to a woman referred to as NN in the Parliamentary Ombudsman’s report contacted the police to express concern that NN was being subjected to violence by her boyfriend. NN had suffered a black eye and said that, among other things, her boyfriend had kicked her and pulled her hair, since when it had not been possible to reach her.

A police operator passed on the information to a police patrol, which was dispatched to NN’s home. On arrival at NN’s home, NN told the patrol that she was fine and that the injury to her face had been inflicted by her child. A police report was not filed until the following morning, when a duty investigating officer reviewed the incident report from the previous evening.

Assault is an offence that falls under public prosecution. If a police officer becomes aware of such an offence, she or he has a duty to report the matter, which is usually done by filing a police report. In the opinion of the Parliamentary Ombudsman, the information passed on to the patrol by the operator was in itself grounds to file a police report.

Meanwhile, the patrol was dispatched to NN’s home to check on her wellbeing and whether she required assistance. Given the situation, it is acceptable that this was prioritised over filing a police report. However, according to the Parliamentary Ombudsman, a report should have been filed immediately after the officers visited NN. The fact that NN herself did not wish to report the matter to the police – something that is not uncommon when an offence is committed in a close relationship – is irrelevant in this context.

The Parliamentary Ombudsman emphasises the importance of filing a police report without undue delay. According to the Parliamentary Ombudsman, the delay in this case could have made a decision on whether to initiate a preliminary investigation more difficult and delayed appropriate investigative measures. The Parliamentary Ombudsman takes a grave view of this and criticises the Swedish Police Authority for the delay in filing a police report.