Sweden
Criminal investigations in Sweden
Prosecutor-led preliminary investigation in serious cases: the prosecutor decides which inquiries the police make, and the police carry them out.
Facts on this page were checked against their sources on .
Criminal investigation in Sweden runs through a "preliminary investigation" (förundersökning). In more serious matters the prosecutor leads it: the prosecutor decides which inquiries the police should make, and the police carry out the investigative measures. The prosecutor's duty of objectivity applies throughout — evidence must be gathered and weighed both for and against the suspect.
The same idea, explained generally
- What is a criminal investigation?
A criminal investigation is a legally authorised process for establishing whether an offence occurred and gathering evidence that can be tested in court. This guide explains its structure, safeguards, and known failure modes.
- What is due process?
Due process is the requirement that the state follow fair, established procedures before it takes action against a person. This guide explains what it typically includes and how it differs between systems.
Sources
Sources
Åklagarmyndigheten (Swedish Prosecution Authority) · Government publication · link verified 2026-07-26
The Prosecution Authority's own English page, read directly and re-confirmed. Supports: that "Sweden's prosecutors are independent when they make decisions such as whether to file a prosecution or place someone under arrest"; that "the Swedish Government has no powers to intervene in a public authority's decisions in specific matters relating to the application of the law", which it attributes to the Instrument of Government; the prosecutor's three tasks ("to lead investigations, to bring prosecutions, and to appear in court"); the duty of objectivity; and the direction of the police ("a prosecutor leads investigations and decides which inquiries the police should make"). Establishes the case-insulated independence of the prosecution and prosecutor-led investigation.
Polismyndigheten (Swedish Police Authority) · Government publication · link verified 2026-07-26
The Swedish Police Authority's own English page, read directly and re-confirmed. Supports that the police are a single national authority comprising "7 Police Regions", "25 Police Districts" and "95 Local Police Districts", the Office of the National Police Commissioner, and a Department of Special Investigations; that it is "led by National Police Commissioner Petra Lundh"; and that the Department of Special Investigations investigates, on the direction of the Special Prosecution Office, complaints against police officials, prosecutors, judges and members of Parliament. The single-national-authority merger (from 21 regional authorities, 2015) is well attested but only secondary-sourced, so the date is not asserted as primary-verified.