Police lies jail innocent people - justice chief
Sweden's Chancellor of Justice has claimed that innocent people are in prison because the police lie and the courts are in too much of a hurry.
The stinging criticism of the country's justice system was delivered by Göran Lambertz on the Saturday interview programme on Swedish Radio.
"The courts don't always place such demands on evidence as they are supposed to," said Lambertz.
According to the Chancellor of Justice, police investigations are often one-way - in other words, based on the assumption that the suspect is guilty.
The courts are too rushed and it is therefore hard for them to discover when a plaintiff or witness is lying. But what is worse, said Lambertz, is that the police also lie.
In certain police circles there is a culture which means that you sometimes lie to protect someone or to nail a person you believe to be guilty. That is incredibly serious," he said.
The Chancellor of Justice has launched an inquiry to put right what he called systematic failures throughout the criminal justice process, from the police investigation via the prosecutor's role to the court proceedings. Lambertz said he believes that there are problems in every link in the chain.
The courts' role in the process could be improved with more time and resources, he argued.
But despite the criticism, Lambertz would not say that the Swedish justice system is in crisis.
"We have no corruption. Everyone is decent and wants to do his or her best. That is important," he said.
TT/The Local
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The stinging criticism of the country's justice system was delivered by Göran Lambertz on the Saturday interview programme on Swedish Radio.
"The courts don't always place such demands on evidence as they are supposed to," said Lambertz.
According to the Chancellor of Justice, police investigations are often one-way - in other words, based on the assumption that the suspect is guilty.
The courts are too rushed and it is therefore hard for them to discover when a plaintiff or witness is lying. But what is worse, said Lambertz, is that the police also lie.
In certain police circles there is a culture which means that you sometimes lie to protect someone or to nail a person you believe to be guilty. That is incredibly serious," he said.
The Chancellor of Justice has launched an inquiry to put right what he called systematic failures throughout the criminal justice process, from the police investigation via the prosecutor's role to the court proceedings. Lambertz said he believes that there are problems in every link in the chain.
The courts' role in the process could be improved with more time and resources, he argued.
But despite the criticism, Lambertz would not say that the Swedish justice system is in crisis.
"We have no corruption. Everyone is decent and wants to do his or her best. That is important," he said.
TT/The Local
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