By providing training and skills development in flexible ways, the Swedish National Police Academy wants to help members of the police force to develop their abilities to do their jobs efficiently.
Efforts at the Swedish National Police Academy are based on the decisions and objectives of the Government authorities. The Police Academy is now focusing more on the academic side of things. The basic training forms the foundation for what the Swedish National Police Academy does, but broad and varied further training are also on offer. Many international courses within the scope of the European Police College (CEPOL) and the Association of European Police Colleges (AEPC) are open to Swedish police officers. The Swedish National Police Academy manages participation in these.
Basic training
Police training currently takes place at three locations in Sweden: at the Swedish National Police Academy in Sörentorp, just north of Stockholm, and as vocational training at the universities of Umeå and Växjö. Police training has also been available as a long-distance course since the spring of 2002.
20 000 police officers
The objective of the Government is to have 20 000 police officers in Sweden by 2010. This increase in volume means that the Swedish National Police Academy will be accepting a record number of students in 2008. At most there will be 1700 students at the Swedish National Police Academy, for the 2008 autumn term.
The Swedish National Police Academy has been preparing the organisation throughout 2007 and undertaken the measures required to ensure that conditions are as excellent as they can be for when the number of students grows. This work will be continuing in 2008.
The aim is for the Swedish National Police Academy to be able to offer training that meets stringent demands and expectations even with high student volumes.
In parallel with the volume increase in basic training, further training at the Swedish National Police Academy will be continuing to offer training for the police force.
Further training
Some of the areas in focus for further training in 2008 include investigation and cross-examination methods for investigators working with children and courses focusing on crimes against women and close relatives. Continuations of courses for “dialogue officers” and training on special police tactics (the working method applied by the police during demonstrations, for example) will be provided over the year. These further training courses are important for Sweden’s presidency of the EU in 2009.
Overall aims of the Swedish National Police Academy
- The Swedish National Police Academy shall be a leading national resource for training and knowledge development for Swedish police officers.
- The training environment at the Swedish National Police Academy shall be creative, conducive to learning and stimulate critical thinking. This shall prepare students and give course participants a sense of security in their professional roles, and in the long run it shall lead to development of police operations.
Police training in future
The police training committee was presented in April 2008 – an important event which the Swedish National Police Academy will be handling on the basis of the decisions made. The report will be up for review in the spring/summer of 2008.
Facts
The Swedish National Police Academy in Solna employs some 270 staff, and the police courses at Umeå and Växjö employ a total of around 80 people (April 2008).
The Swedish National Police Academy has been established in the Sörentorp district in Solna since 1970. This district consists of some 85 hectares of land and 60 or so buildings; lecture halls, conference rooms, a library, restaurant, technology house, exercise areas, sports and training premises, hotels and so forth.
Welcome to the Swedish National Police Academy!
