Swedish police to enroll foreign candidates through social media

The Swedish police have reached out to non-Swedish speakers through online platforms in a bid to diversify its workforce, local media reported on Friday.

Facebook ads tailored for users who speak a non-Nordic language are part of the effort to raise admissions of foreign-background candidates to the police academy, which dropped to 5 percent in the last two rounds of intake, public broadcaster Swedish Radio reported.

"It's very important that the police force reflects the society we live in so that officers develop good relations with the public," police spokesperson Fredrik Wallen told the daily newspaper Dagens Nyheter.

Recruitment films have also been shown on websites with foreign readerships and police have started to spread information about their line of work at community meetings.

Union representatives said the recruitment of foreign candidates had dropped because high-school grades matter more than the interview process.

"Our instruments are a little blunt to find those who might do excellent work as police officers," said union chairman Christer Palmkvist. Endit