More than half of Sweden's 290 municipalities do not request an extract from the police's criminal records when hiring staff within home care, a survey by P4 shows. This despite several serious violent crimes and thefts having been committed against the elderly within home care in recent years.
One reason is that many municipalities are unsure whether there is legal support for requesting a criminal records extract. In the spring, the government appointed an inquiry that can provide answers on what applies. It is to be presented in October.
Tomas Björck, labour law chief at the Swedish Association of Local Authorities and Regions (SKR), hopes that the inquiry will bring clarity to the issue.
Since there is uncertainty about this issue, about what is allowed and what is not, we have a recommendation to be a bit restrictive with this, he says to the radio.
