What happens if I report to the police?

Pamphlet with the text "Dina rättigheter"

If you’re the victim of a crime, you always have the right and opportunity to file a police report. Reporting can feel difficult and like a very big deal when you don’t know what will happen thereafter or what it will lead to. On this page, Anna, who works as a police officer, writes about what happens from the moment you file a police report.

Should I report?

If you’re the victim of a crime, reporting it can feel difficult. It’s common especially if you’ve been sexually abused or if the person who has abused you is someone in your family. Police reports can’t be “taken back” in Sweden - when it’s recorded by the police, it will remain in the system. It’s the police or a prosecutor who decides whether the crime will be investigated. If you report something but are too anxious to go through with police questioning, nobody will force you to. The police can never force you to talk. The sooner you report after the crime has been committed, the better chance is that the crime can be investigated and reach a verdict. If you’re hesitant - report!

 

How do I report?

If the crime was committed just a moment ago, call 112. Depending on what’s happened and the situation, the person answering will either send a police car directly to you, or ask you to report it directly to a police station by phone.

If it’s been a while since the crime, you can report either by calling 114 14 or physically at a police station. You’ll get the same help regardless of which way you choose. The first conversation with the police is called anmälningsupptagning, which is a brief conversation where you give an overview of what’s happened to you.

Counsel for an injured party

The police will ask if you want a legal counsel. A counsel for an injured party is a lawyer who will help you through the legal procedures, and you can ask them questions. The government pays for the counsel. Not everyone gets a counsel, but most who need one get one. You can bet on getting a counsel if

  • You’re under 18 years of age

  • You’ve been abused by someone in your family

  • You’ve been abused by your partner or ex-partner, if you live with them or have lived with them

  • You’ve been subjected to a serious crime

  • You’re the victim of a sex crime which is more serious than sexual harrassment

  • You’re neurodivergent in ways that hinder you from managing your legal rights by yourself

Remember that the counsel for an injured party isn’t the same thing as a caregiver. Sometimes you might just need someone who listens without judging, and who is always on your side. In that case, contact a support group or someone else that you trust! The counsel’s job is to help you with legal proceedings.

What happens during an interrogation?

The first thing that happens after you’ve filed a police report is commonly that an interrogating officer calls you to book an interrogation/interview. Sometimes, the interrogation can be done over phone, but if it concerns a more serious crime, the interrogating officer will likely want you to come down to the police station. It’s important that you show up - even if it’s not at a convenient time. You might have to take a few hours off of school or your job. Interrogating officers usually only work office hours.

Many find it a bit scary to go through with an interrogation - most people have only seen interrogations on TV. In reality, interrogations are never as dramatic on TV. You and the person interrogating you will sit on opposite sides by a table, sometimes with a plexiglass screen between you, and just talk normally about what has happened. The interrogator is probably going to take notes about what you say in a notebook or on a computer, or record the interrogation on their phone. In certain cases, the interrogator might put up a camera to film the interrogation. Interrogations can feel awkward and dry, but there is nothing to be afraid of.

The interrogator is going to ask you to tell them about what has happened in your own words, from start to finish. Be thorough, you’re not in a rush! Sometimes, you might have to talk about things that are embarrassing or weird. Don’t worry - the interrogator has heard it all before.

After that, the interrogator is going to ask questions. Sometimes the questions can sound strange and you might wonder why they would matter. Answer as truthfully as you can anyway. If you’re uncertain about something or if you can’t remember, just let the interrogator know, don’t guess.

You can use any words you want in an interrogation. Vagina or cunt, fuck or make love, cock or penis, it makes no difference, The interrogator might ask you to explain words that feel completely normal to you. They might ask “what does ‘have sex’ mean?”. It could feel like they’re playing dumb - they most likely know exactly what you mean, but it’s important that it’s noted in the interrogation, that way it can’t be misinterpreted later.

 

Can I bring someone to the interrogation?

Lots of victims of crimes want to bring a friend or family member as support during the interrogation. You’re always welcome to bring someone who stays outside the interrogation room, but the interrogator will most likely not want friends or family listening in on the interrogation. There are many reasons for that. The interrogator might want to interrogate them later, or maybe they think the person might influence what you say. The interrogator might also want to tell you things that are classified as secrets. If you bring a person from a support group, there is a greater chance that they are allowed in.

Your counsel is always allowed to come with you to interrogations. The counsel is also allowed to ask you questions during the interrogation. If you want to ask or say something to your counsel that you want to keep from the interrogator, let them know, the interrogator will leave the room for a while. That’s completely normal, and the interrogator won’t get mad about it.

Help! The police don’t believe me!

When you tell a support group about a crime, their purpose is to listen, back you up, support you, help you. They’re on your side.


When you tell the police the same thing, their purpose for listening is different - finding out the truth and uncovering evidence. The police are not allowed to take sides, they are bound by law to be unbiased. Being questioned can feel very difficult, but remember that it’s the purpose of the interrogator to make you feel bad, it’s always to look for evidence and get a better overview of what has happened. Be prepared for tough questions, that’ll make them feel less difficult.

Will they find out that I reported them?

When it’s time to interrogate the person who is suspected of committing a crime, they have the right to find out exactly what they are being accused of. This means that the police have to let them know who you, the victim, are.

 

What is my parents going to find out about?

If you’re of the age of majority (18 in Sweden), it’s completely up to you whether you say anything to your family - the police are not going to tell them anything, not even if your parents call with questions. That’s true even if you still live with them and are provided for by them.

If you’re under 18, the police are required to tell your parents (or guardians) that you’ve been subjected to a crime. The police are not allowed to interrogate children under the age of 18 without the consent of their parents. The parents often want to be present in the interrogation room when children are interrogated. That’s fine sometimes, but most commonly, the interrogator wants them to wait outside. The interrogator knows that it can be hard to talk about difficult things in front of one’s parents.

If your parent or guardian is the person who has committed the crime against you, you can get a special representative who will act as a guardian for you, so your parent can’t stop you from taking part in the investigation. In those cases, you can make sure that your parent isn’t made aware that you’ve reported them until it’s time for them to get interrogated. Reporting your parents is challenging, but there is plenty of support that the police can help you with.

 

Why doesn’t anything happen?

Criminal investigations take time. An insane amount of time, sometimes. In criminal investigations on TV, there’s always a group of detectives working all day (sometimes around the clock) with one single case until it’s been solved, which usually takes a week or so. In reality, one single investigator usually has ten or more cases that they’re working on at the same time. In some cases, it can take months after your report has been filed for an investigator to even call and book a time for an interrogation. This is never because the police are uninterested or find your report unimportant, it’s just because of a lack of resources.

 

Calumny

If you report somebody to the police for something they haven’t done, you are committing the crime of calumny (falsk tillvitelse in Swedish). If you report someone for rape, it’s quite common for that person to accuse you of calumny, even if they actually have raped you. Take it easy - it’s extremely rare that anyone is convicted for calumny, and if you’ve been truthful, you’ve got absolutely nothing to worry about.

Prosecute or withdraw the charge

When the police have investigated everything there is to investigate, a prosecutor will have a look at what the police have concluded. The prosecutor then decides if they want to withdraw the charge or prosecute

If the prosecutor doesn’t think that there is good enough evidence to convict the person in a court of law, they have to withdraw the charge. Withdrawing a charge doesn’t necessarily mean that the prosecutor thinks that the suspect is innocent, just that they don’t think they can be convicted.

Trial

If the prosecutor chooses to prosecute, there will be negotiations in the court. The suspect will be there with their public defender, and you will be there with your counsel. You will be sitting in the same room together with the court, which is made up of four judges. The prosecutor and public defender will take turns asking questions to you, the suspect, and witnesses (if there are any). If you are a child or if you have been subjected to a violation or indignant crime, the judges can sometimes allow for you to sit in another room, so you don’t have to sit together with the suspect. Most often, though, the judges want everyone to be present in the room. The judges also decide if people are allowed as an audience. If the trial concerns a sex crime or a crime committed against a child, they almost always decide that there won’t be an audience.

Trials can last one hour or many days. It completely depends on how complicated the investigation is. Sometimes the judges decide the same day, but sometimes it can take weeks before they arrive at what ruling they should make. The more serious the crime, the longer it takes.

 

Why should I report if the charges are withdrawn?

When it comes to sex crimes (and some other crimes too), it’s sadly pretty common for the charge to be withdrawn. This is because such crimes happen where there are no witnesses, and they often leave no trace. They are hard to investigate. This might make it feel like it’s worthless to report it - what good would it do? But sometimes a report is very valuable, even if it does not lead to a conviction. The report is saved by the police, and can be used as intelligence. Many who have been crime victims say that it feels good afterwards that they tried. Not reporting is the only way to make sure that the abuser remains free from consequences.

This text was written in Swedish by Anna. Anna is not affiliated with any support groups. Rather, Anna works as a police officer and has worked with sex crimes and domestic violence. Anna has written this text for ungasjourer.se as a private individual, the text has not been reviewed by the Swedish Police Authority.

Translated by Dannie Milve, Förenade tjej-, trans- och ungdomsjourer