Inquiry proposes home searches to serve area-ban orders

Police could search homes to serve preventive area-ban orders under proposals announced by Sweden’s government on 7 October. Less intrusive ways of serving an order would first have to be tried or judged insufficient.

Prosecutors use these orders to bar a person from an area to prevent criminal activity. The inquiry proposes the search power to stop people avoiding an order by evading formal notification.

It also recommends wider criminal liability for making electronic monitoring more difficult. Deliberate interference would carry up to a year in prison, with fines removed from the sentencing range.

The inquiry rejects doubling the maximum initial ban from six months to a year and rejects temporary orders. It says the restrictions can seriously affect freedom of movement and do not require a criminal conviction or suspicion of a specific offence.

These are recommendations, not new police powers. The report, published in September, proposes a start date of 1 October 2027, allowing time for consultation, government preparation and parliamentary consideration.

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