The Swedish police dont even know the law anymore


The police spread misinformation on social media
Published August 21, 2022 at 12:29 p.m
DOMESTIC. A popular Instagram account run by the police agency claimed that whoever films police interventions is mostly guilty of the crime of indecent photography. However, it is an outright lie and now the post is receiving harsh criticism from several lawyers.


It was during Saturday that the account "Ingripandepoliserna Umeå", which belongs to the police authority and has 17,900 followers, spread the incorrect information on Instagram.

"We have noticed an increase in people standing and filming interventions we make. Those we intervene against are in a vulnerable situation for various reasons and in most cases this can mean that you are guilty of the crime of offensive photography," wrote the police account.

The post was liked by another of the police authority's accounts, "Polisen Södermalm", which has 38,700 followers.

However, the claim of the Instagramming policemen is an outright lie. The Criminal Code states that the only thing that is punishable as offensive photography is to secretly film someone who is "indoors in a residence or in a toilet, in a changing room or another similar space".

In other words, filming police interventions that take place outdoors in a public place is perfectly legal.

That police officers spread misinformation to tens of thousands of followers via one of the police authority's official accounts on social media soon gave rise to sharp criticism. Law professor Mårten Schultz clarified on Twitter that it is "basically never" a crime to film police interventions, and an account run by a prosecutor wrote that it is "generally" okay to film interventions as long as the work of the police is not disturbed.

Even on Instagram, many pointed out that the police were wrong. The post was eventually deleted citing that there had been a "bad mood in the comments section".

The incorrect information has not yet been corrected by the police authority.