Södertälje wants to prevent criminals from working in welfare

Municipalities and regions try to keep rogue companies out of their procurements. But another threat is growing in welfare: that people with links to organized crime are employed directly in the businesses. This has made recruitment and security work an increasingly important issue for HR departments.

The threat is no longer just about incorrect timesheets or occasional thefts. In its latest situation picture, the cooperation between the authorities, the National Intelligence Center, warns that young people in LSS accommodation and HVB homes are particularly vulnerable. Employees with gang connections run the risk, according to the intelligence center, of recruiting them into crime.

Criminal actors also seek employment where they can gain access to protected personal information or facilitate crime in other ways.

The issue is high on the agenda during the organization Sweden's Municipalities and Regions welfare crime week this autumn. Södertälje municipality, which has worked on the issue for a long time, is participating to share its experiences.

- I have worked here since 2016 and my impression is that Södertälje municipality has always been alert in these matters. We were the first to carry out background checks, says Ulrika Semelius Kihlgren, HR director in the municipality.

At the same time, the work has met with legal objections.

- We were questioned by JO when we started with background checks in 2022-2023, when it was considered that it was too big a breach of privacy. But now the law has been changed and there is legal support for carrying out register checks, she says.

According to Ulrika Semelius Kihlgren, the tightened controls have not been met with resistance from job seekers.

- We have not met any resistance or questioning from those we recruit, nor from the union. Rather, they think it is good to have an employer who takes this seriously, she says.

In practice, it involves several tightenings. The municipality uses, among other things, digital reference taking to check that the reference person is who he or she claims to be. Diplomas and identification documents are also verified.

But the work is not just about new hires. It is also important to support existing personnel and to build a long-term safety culture.

- The challenge now is to maintain the work of handling unauthorized influence when people are replaced. I think it's about persistence and about creating security among the employees, says Ulrika Semelius Kihlgren.