Creating Trust : A Study of the Swedish Police Methods inFostering Public Trust and Democratic Stability

Abstract: The Swedish police task is to ensure the legal certainty and security of the individual whilesimultaneously upholding democratic principles and ensuring all citisens’ rights and liberties.During the 2000s, in Gothenburg and Easter 2022, riots occurred when the public tried toexpress opinions but ended with violent outcomes. Even though events of this magnitudeoccurred 20 years apart, police methods became part of the public debate and investigation.Two theories emphasise trust towards the police as crucial for the police to fulfil their role inprotecting democratic values. In this paper, we address the police methods when approachingcrowds through semi-structured interviews with Swedish police officers. The findings showthat the methods can be understood through the theoretical framework where the Swedish policecreate trust through clear communication and establishing relationships with groups andindividuals. These methods can reduce and minimise conflicts between police and the public,which also benefits a democratic society.