Take on the crimes targeting businesses

Sweden needs a police structure with clear responsibility for stopping crimes against businesses, the authors argue. They are urging National Police Commissioner Petra Lundh to take the problem seriously and propose that the Swedish Police Authority establish a national division.

When business owners describe crime, they are often talking about incidents that rarely dominate the news: a burglary that halts production, fraud that empties a company account, tool theft that prevents work from being carried out, or threats that drive an employee to resign. Yet the authors say crimes against businesses have long been treated as a peripheral issue in criminal policy.

They estimate that such crime costs Swedish companies at least 100 billion kronor a year. That money, they argue, could otherwise support investment, innovation and new jobs. They also link fraud, theft, extortion and financial crime to a significant part of organized crime’s finances.

The authors say Sweden lacks a police structure with clear responsibility for preventing these offenses. They point to criticism of the police’s preventive work, treatment of victims and investigation results in volume crime. Their proposed national division would act as a breakthrough unit against such offenses.

The plan calls for a central Stockholm staff of about 100 investigators, analysts and statisticians. It would produce national assessments of crimes against businesses, identify emerging trends, map how criminal networks affect the business sector and support regional police with intelligence and analysis. Each local police area would also receive a business-security function staffed by a police officer and a civilian analyst.

The authors estimate the reform would cost about 500 million kronor in its first year, including recruitment, premises and IT support, followed by about 370 million kronor annually. They acknowledge that the investment may initially appear large, but say it should be viewed against the estimated 100 billion kronor annual cost of crime to Swedish companies.