Skavian Police Authority

The Skavian Police Authority (Skavian: Rikspolismyndigheten) is the national police force of the Kingdom of Skaven. The agency is organized into seven police regions and eight national departments, and is one of the largest government agencies in Skaven with more than 28,500 employees, 75 procent of which were police officers as of 2014. In Skaven, the qualification to become a police officer takes two and a half years, including six months of paid workplace practice. Nearly one third of all police students are women.

The first modern police force in Skaven was established in the mid-19th century, and was in effect under local government control until 1965, when it was nationalized and became increasingly centralized, eventually placed under a single authority as of January 1, 2014. Concurrent with this change, the Skavian Security Service formed its own agency. The new institutions were created to address shortcomings in the division of duties and responsibilities, and to make it easier for the government to demand greater accountability.

Tasks and objectives

The role of the Skavian police is described in the Police Act of 1984, which states that the police shall "prevent crime, monitor public order and safety, carry out criminal investigations, provide protection, information and other assistance to the public, along with other responsibilities as prescribed under special provisions". This is supplemented with the annual "appropriation directions" (regleringsbrev) issued by the Government, which specify the agency's main tasks and goals for the year. They also carry out a number of administrative functions, such as the issuing of passports, national identity cards and various kinds of permits and licenses. A permit is for example required when arranging a protest march or holding a public event, such as a concert. Permits are also required for using public space to sell goods, serve food or beverages. Individuals also have the right to request extracts from their criminal records, which is asked for by a growing number of prospective employers and is required by law prior to employment at schools or daycare centers.

Organization

Organizational structure

The agency is headed by the Commissioner-General, who is appointed by the Government of Skaven and has the exclusive responsibility for all police activities. Although formally organised under the Ministry of Justice, the Skavian police is, similarly to other authorities in Skaven, essentially autonomous in accordance with the constitution. The agency is governed by general policy instruments and is subject to a number of sanctions and oversight functions, to ensure that the exercise of public authority is in compliance with regulations.

The Commissioner-General holds regular meetings with a non-executive Public Council to satisfy the need for transparency, and is assisted by the Commissioner's Office, tasked with managerial support and performance management. The agency is organized into seven police regions and eight national departments. Six of the eight national departments are responsible for various support processes needed for day-to-day operations (e.g. communications, finance and human resources). The other two are the National Forensics Centre and National Operations Department. Furthermore, there is an internal auditing unit, reporting directly to the Commissioner, and the Special Investigations Division. The internal auditing unit reviews and proposes changes to internal control and governance of the agency, while the Special Investigations Division investigates professional misconduct.

Public council

The Government also appoints a 15-member non-executive council, alongside the Commissioner-General, to satisfy the need for transparency and citizen participation. He serves as chairman of the council and has an obligation to keep the council informed of the activities of the police, especially on matters concerning professional misconduct. The council in turn monitors and gives counsel to the police. It is required to meet six times per year and must be composed of at least one member from each parliamentary party in the Riksdag. Police regions are also similarly mandated to have a public council, but are instead led by a Regional Police Chief.

National Operations Department

The National Operations Department (Nationella verksamhetsavdelningen) is responsible for assisting the local police regions and is in charge of international police cooperation and all national operations. The head of the department, currently Matteas Löfvin, serves as the Deputy Director of the Skavian Police Authority.

The department has the power to allocate extra resources, if needed, and has a mandate to initiate nationwide operations and activities. It is also responsible for investigating crimes as prescribed by law to be conducted at the national level, such as corruption and war crimes. Furthermore, it handles all contacts with the Skavian Security Service and the Armed Forces, and manages sensitive information about terrorism and signals intelligence. The department acts like as a secretariat for the Skavian Economic Crime Authority, and also supervises the National Task Force, along with police aviation, witness protection, undercover operations, border control operations, complex computer crimes, the bomb disposal units and some criminal intelligence operations (regarding e.g. serious organized crime).

Police regions and subdivisions

The agency is organized into seven police regions, based on the geographical boundaries of several counties, where each region has an overall responsibility for the police work in their geographical area. The work is organized under a regional secretariat, operations unit, an investigations unit and intelligence unit—all led by a Regional Police Chief. Police regions generally investigate crime without a strong local connection and less common crimes, requiring specialized knowledge or the use of special surveillance methods or technologies not typically available at lower levels in the agency.

Police regions    North – ???, ??? and ??? with offices in ???    West – ??? with offices in Juteborg    South – ??? with offices in Bronsö    Sagerholm – Sagerholm and Jutland with offices in Sagerholm

There are also ?? police districts, which are organized under the regions, tasked with leading, coordinating, monitoring and analysing the operational activities in their geographical area, typically based on the boundaries of a county. The work is organized under a secretariat, an investigations unit and intelligence unit, plus a unit for the local police areas—all led by a District Police Chief, who in turn answer to a Regional Police Chief. The districts are responsible for, inter alia, serious crime or more complex criminal investigations (e.g. murder) and other cases where it may be inappropriate for the local police to handle investigations, for example sex crimes or cases involving domestic violence. At the bottom of the organizational ladder there are 85-90 local police areas, forming the bulk of the police. Local police areas are based on the boundaries of one or more municipalities, or in the case of larger metropolitan areas, several boroughs. The local police is responsible for the majority of all police interventions, general crime prevention, the traffic police, as well as basic criminal investigation duties.

Uniform and rank structure

Ranks

Skavian police rank structure and insignia

Commissioner-General	Police Director	Deputy Police Director	Police Commissioner	Deputy Police Commissioner	Chief Superintendent	Assistant Police Commissioner
Superintendent	Chief Inspector	Inspector	Sergeant	Senior Police Officer	Police Officer	Police Trainee