The extent of crimes against the welfare system has increased and developed into a systematic societal problem. Although the problem extends across administrative levels, the organisation of work on welfare crime in the municipal sector has received less attention than the state and regional levels. The overall purpose of this report is to enhance understanding of welfare crime from a municipal perspective as well as to elucidate municipal efforts to organise it. The study was conducted in the spring of 2024 and is based on interviews with representatives from primarily large and medium-sized Swedish municipalities as well as several authorities that collaborate with the municipalities on this issue.

The report presents a comprehensive analysis of welfare crime. In doing so, it provides an understanding of the concepts of welfare and welfare crime and delves into the contributing factors to increased work on this issue. It also explores the organisational structures and division of responsibilities involved in addressing welfare crime, and presents the practical work being done in this area. The report, furthermore, identifies the challenges and strengths in work on welfare crime, examines the view of the municipalities’ role therein, and highlights important aspects to facilitate continued efforts to address welfare crime.

The experiences shared by the interviewed representatives of various municipalities and the cooperating authorities reveal four clear tensions in the understanding of the concept of welfare crime and the work against it. These tensions are expressed in the managing of welfare crime as a collective concept, the organisational placement of the work, the conflict of objectives between trust and control, and the maintenance of the municipal image. Overall, the report offers important insights for municipalities and cooperating authorities in the continued work against welfare crime.

The author holds a PhD in Business Administration from the Stockholm School of Economics and is currently a researcher at the Swedish Defence Research Agency (FOI).

For more information, please contact:

Cecilia Fredriksson fredriksson.cecilia@outlook.com

Kalle Kraus kalle.kraus@hhs.se