Swedish Security Service

The Swedish Security Service (Swedish: Säkerhetspolisen [ˈsɛ̂ːkɛrheːtspʊˌliːsɛn], SÄPO [ˈsɛ̌ːpʊ] ^ⓘ, lit. 'The security-police', formerly Rikspolisstyrelsens säkerhetsavdelning, RPS/Säk, lit. 'Security Department of the Realm Police Board' until 1989) is a Swedish government agency organized under the Ministry of Justice. It operates as a security agency responsible for counter-espionage, counter-terrorism, as well as the protection of dignitaries and the constitution. The Swedish Security Service is also tasked with investigating crimes against national security and terrorist crimes. Its main mission, however, is to prevent crimes, not to investigate them. Crime prevention is to a large extent based on information acquired via contacts with the regular police force, other authorities and organisations, foreign intelligence and security services, and with the use of various intelligence gathering activities, including interrogations, telephone tapping, covert listening devices, and hidden surveillance cameras.

The Service was, in its present form, founded in 1989, as part of the National Police Board and became an autonomous police agency on 1 January 2015. National headquarters are located at Bolstomtavägen in south-east Solna since 2014, drawing together personnel from five different locations into a single 30,000 m² (320,000 sq ft) HQ facility.