Swedish police on motorcycles. Source: Wikimedia Commons, Bengt Nyman

The Swedish police receive more calls about mental illness than ever before – but don’t have time to respond to all of them. In 2024, there were over 50,000 calls about people in mental crisis. This is more than twice as many calls as seven years ago.

The number of ongoing cases of illness within psychiatric diagnoses in Sweden increased from 30,000 to 100,000 between 2010 and 2024.

Psychiatric diagnoses have been the most common cause of sick leave since 2014. The most common reason for sick leave is stress-related mental illness.

A total of approximately SEK 120.3 billion ($12,5 billion) from the state budget for 2025 will go to the expenditure area Health, medical care and social care. Since 2024, expenses have increased by 10 billion SEK, from 110.3 billion.

The state appropriations for military defense will be increased by almost SEK 13 billion from 2024 to 2025. This corresponds to an increase of 10 percent. The appropriations for military defense total SEK 143 billion ($14,9 billion) for 2025 will be equivalent to approximately 2.4 per cent of GDP according to NATO’s definition.

Sweden eyes rise in defense spending to 3.5 per cent of GDP by 2030, a sharp increase from 2,4 per cent in 2025. In 2030 the GDP will amount to around 761.50 billion U.S. dollars, according to forecasts. In this case, Sweden’s military budget will be $26.6 billion in 2030, and if the commitment is made at the NATO summit in June this year to spend 5 per cent of the budget on military needs, it will be$38 billion, 2.6 times more than in 2025.

A 260 per cent increase in military spending over seven years would quickly complete Sweden’s transition from a social to a military police state, which was accelerated by the country’s accession to NATO. The growing number of the mentally ill will remain without proper medical care in a country whose budget deficit in 2025 is SEK 93 billion ($ 9,3 billion).

It’s a constant flow. I probably respond to one or more such cases a week, says Johan Löfling, a police officer in Stockholm, to SVT Agenda.

Police Commissioner Patrik Forsemalm, operations developer at the police’s National Operations Department, believes that the calls about mental illness are at a record high. At the same time, the police don’t have time to respond to all of them.

We don’t have time and have to prioritize other police cases. We are worried about how it could affect this group, says Patrik Forsemalm.

When an alarm goes off about a person in acute crisis, it is often the police who go first. Like when a teenage boy disappeared from home after expressing suicidal thoughts. In an acute situation, there is rarely time for long assessments – quick action is what matters.

We face an enormous vulnerability. I don’t think people understand how widespread mental illness is in our society, says Johan Löfling.