Internal Security in Sweden

The structure of this chapter is as follows. We will first give some relevant background information on Sweden, and then deal with the organisation of the Security Police, Säkerhetspolisen, commonly known as Säpo. We will then examine the statutory functions of the Security Police, its powers and working methods. Thereafter, we will analyse in detail its most important tool, the intelligence files. We will begin by looking at the open and secret government instructions that governed filing of security intelligence from 1969 until the end of 1998. An official investigation in 1998 revealed a great deal of information on filing practices during this period. We will proceed to look at the changes that have been made in the statutory framework for police databanks and the new, post-Cold War targets of the Security Police. Thereafter we examine the past and present system of security vetting and the operation of the recently established oversight body, the Register Board (Registemämnden). Finally, we make some concluding comments on the system of control and oversight of the Security Police.