National police chief Anders Thornberg has been criticized for his handling of the spat between some of the country’s top police chiefs, Mats Löfving and Linda Staaf. The investigation and the press conferences that followed have also been questioned.
The national police chief himself has been tight-lipped since Mats Löfving was found dead in his home, but yesterday commented he events in Ekot’s Saturday interview:
– There is an ongoing work environment investigation within the police authority which deals with how we handled it, and how it was handled afterwards. We did what we felt was right at the time.
Anxiety about public speaking
Despite the criticism, the Police Association chose to express its support for the national police chief. Something that aroused surprise and anger among elected union representatives and other police officers around the country, whom Agenda has spoken to. According to them, the events pointed to a larger problem within the agency, where friendships play a role when filling managerial positions.
But there is a concern that speaking publicly, that openly criticizing the police could affect one’s career.
– This was a textbook example of friendship corruption and Thornberg did not act. There will never be a change further down if it doesn’t start from the top, says a union elected police officer.
Taken without anchoring
Another says that the decision to express support for the national police chief was made without anchoring in the regions.
– My personal thought was that we go out and say something, we can’t stand behind this anymore. Our members are not behind this, they are wondering what the hell is going on.
The president of the police union, Katarina Von Sydow, has declined an interview. But the union writes in an email that the police management has started a change process “not least with the destructive culture of silence and also creating increased transparency when recruiting managers”.
National Police Chief Anders Thornberg refused to participate i SVT:s Agendawhich aired on Sunday.
