Polisens rättsliga befogenheter vid spaning

Sammanfattning: This thesis investigates the legal authority to use power available to police in pursuing secret surveillance to detect and take legal measures against crimes. It analysis the regulations governing different methods of surveillance, and how they balance public and private interests in legislation as well as in its application.The systematization of the methods of secret surveillance shows a well-reasoned, comprehensive picture needed for the development of a better legislation regarding the security of private life. This is equally pertinent to the interests of the individual police officer. The incorporation of the European Convention on Human Rights into the Swedish legal system in 1955 entailed changes with regard to rights to privacy. In most cases the Convention provides a stronger protection for the right to respect for privacy than does the Swedish Constitution. No methodological investigation was made of the effect of the incorporation of the convention into Swedish legislation which, as a consequence, lacks legal ground for some surveillance methods. Moreover, the protection of privacy provided by the Constitution has not been fully and sufficiently recognised.The legal principles for administrative agencies are more or less expressely observed in legislation. In the application of the law the principles seem to bee adhered to in equal measure when they are explicit in the legislation and when they are not. The study shows however, that the basic principle of legality is not taken into sufficient consideration. Without credibility there is a risk that effective crimefighting is undermined by suspicions of police misuse of powers.