Due to a critical staff shortage witnessed in recent years, police are no longer investigating cases that are not considered a priority, according to many law enforcement officers.

Many officers in western Sweden have consistently claimed that as police are struggling with an immense caseload and chronic staff shortages, officers have begun prioritising certain types of cases over other crimes, where they simply tend to produce some excuse, just to be able to close them as soon as possible.

Last Remaining Police Station in Migrant-Dominated Swedish Suburbs Forced to Close https://t.co/cuOgtUEWJ7

— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) June 20, 2017

According to Gothenburg-based police officer Peppe Larsson, „the problem starts with those who undertake a case and then immediately start thinking about how to drop it with a good excuse instead of trying to solve it. „The serious changes in mentality are directly linked to the fact that we are too few.”

There have been consistent reports about staff shortages and a lack of resources from many Swedish regions for years now. Since 2017, authorities in the Southern Lapland region only have one single police car to patrol an area the size of Denmark. Local police have even turned to the courts, but they were unable to effect any change.

Cash-Strapped Swedish Police Limited to a Single Patrol Car For 16,000 Square Mile Area https://t.co/gcpmSBway1

— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) September 26, 2017

In 2016, after the climax of the European migrant crisis, a report suggested that as many as 80 per cent of police in Sweden were considering changing careers because of the constantly deteriorating public security, a surge in violent crimes and gang wars. The report also hows that, on avegare, as many as three officers tend to hand in their resignations each day, to leave law enforcement behind.

In a bid to combat staff shortages, one Swedish police union suggested in 2019 that Sweden’s Police Authority should seriously consider hiring officers who have been trained abroad in countries like neighbouring Norway. While police welcomed new union’s ideas, it also pointed out that candidates who wish to become Swedish police officers must be citizens of the country.