- There are differences in the country about the proportion of investigations into serious violations of women’s rights that lead to a person being brought to justice.
- In northern Sweden, every third investigation led to prosecution last year – in Region Stockholm and Region Mitt approximately every seventh.
- Michael Johansson, at the Stockholm police region, wants to use secret coercive measures to obtain evidence that can lead to prosecution.
Ekot has examined the proportion of all cases of serious violations of women’s rights that lead to a person being prosecuted, ie brought to justice. This measure, which is called the personal clearance rate, is usually used as a measure of how successful criminal investigations the police conduct.
In the Northern Police Region – Sweden’s four northernmost counties – 85 cases of serious violations of women’s rights were investigated last year, and 29 charges were brought. This gives a personal clearance rate of 34 percent, an unusually high figure.
In Region Stockholm and Region In the middle, the personal clearance rate is significantly worse than in the north. There, 14 and 15 percent of the investigated cases of gross violation of women’s rights led to prosecution last year. In terms of the whole country, the figure is 18 percent, according to statistics from BRร .
– I really have no specific explanation. One idea I had from the beginning was that it would be some kind of metropolitan area effect. But if I look at Region West and Region South, they are higher, says Michael Johansson, head of the Investigation Section Crime in Close Relationship, in Region Stockholm.
The crime is a serious violation of women’s rights was introduced in 1998 with the ambition of imposing a more severe punishment on people who systematically abuse, threaten and offend a woman with whom they have a relationship.
The government recently announced that it wants to increase the minimum sentence from nine months in prison to one year. Police Michael Johansson wants the minimum sentence to be even longer – two years in prison.
– Then we could make a difference in these cases, then our toolbox will be opened to be able to use various secret coercive measures to obtain evidence that can lead to prosecution, he says.
Source: ICELAND NEWS