Inre utlänningskontroll i polisarbete mellan rättsstatsideal och effektivitet i Schengens Sverige

Sammanfattning: This thesis analyses police officers' work with internal control of foreigners through a discussion of, among other things, the nation-state, rule of law ideals as well as the police profession and the conditions surrounding that profession. Internal control of foreigners, practised by police officers has two main aims: to control migration and to fight crime amongst people unauthorised to reside in the country. There has been a demand for increased efficiency in the internal control of foreigners, since Sweden joined the Schengen agreement. Police officers are now expected to be observant in all their work carried out, of the possibility that people they encounter are in the country without permission.The authors have accompanied police officers in Malmö and Stockholm in their work. They have also studied cases in the legal system and of the special board that handles cases of offences made by police officers. The authors discuss the importance of different factors to the police work on internal control of foreigners. Certain factors are more important than others and there is an interplay and reinforcement of some of these: the political and historical context, the discretion of the police, grey areas in the rules, the work tools of the police as well as inspection possibilities.A state of tension can be identified between the ideals of the nation-state and rule of law ideals. Several factors interplay to create a potential for and an apparent risk of ethnic discrimination in the police work on the internal control of foreigners. This study shows that the prerequisites necessary to perform the control efficiently, unerringly and with proper discretion are lacking. Police officers are put to the almost impossible task of determining who is in the country without permission.