You can blow the whistle on serious, work-related anomalies at the Psychological Defence Agency. Serious anomalies can concern matters that are illegal, unethical or inappropriate. That is, various types of negligence or irregularities such as corruption, bribery and conflicts of interest.

The anomaly does not have to be recent, nor does it have to have actually occurred if it is highly likely that it will occur. There should also be public interest in the anomaly coming to light, meaning that anomalies should be widespread and systematic.

You cannot blow the whistle/report on information classified under protective security. Information classified under protective security means information concerning security-sensitive operations and which is therefore subject to secrecy under the Public Access to Information and Secrecy Act (2009:400). Neither do the rules on whistleblowing apply in the case of qualified professional secrecy; that is, when confidentiality is so strong that even freedom of communication is limited.

To be protected under the Whistleblowing Act, there must be a public interest in the reported incident. The whistleblower must also have had reasonable grounds to assume that the information about the anomalies was true in order to be protected under the Act.

The whistleblower may not, under the Whistleblowing Act, be held liable for breach of professional secrecy if the person had reasonable grounds to assume that such whistleblowing was necessary to reveal the anomaly.

You can always choose to blow the whistle/report anonymously.

Different options

If you want to blow the whistle on a serious anomaly at the Psychological Defence Agency, the following options are available:

• Regular post (letter)
• Phone
• In-person meeting

You can choose to blow the whistle/report anonymously. Please note that what you report anonymously may be more difficult to investigate and that you cannot be anonymous if you wish to report through an in-person meeting.

By regular post

Send your report by regular post to the agency and use double envelopes. Put your report in an envelope, seal it and label it “Whistleblowing function”. Place that letter in another envelope, and on the outer envelope write the following address:

Psychological Defence Agency
Våxnäsgatan 10
653 40 Karlstad

By phone

Call the agency’s switchboard on 010-183 70 00 and ask to speak to the whistleblowing function.

Remember to use a phone number that cannot be linked to you if you wish to be anonymous. In that case, do not disclose your name either during the phone call.

In-person meeting

You can request an in-person meeting with the whistleblowing function at the agency’s office in Karlstad. Call the agency’s switchboard at 010-183 70 00 and ask to speak to the whistleblowing function to book an appointment.

Since the agency’s premises are considered a protected object, you cannot be anonymous at an in-person meeting. All visitors must register in the agency’s visitor log and identify themselves.

Alerts by whistleblowers shall be handled by specially appointed individuals or units that shall be autonomous and independent.

Your report/whistleblowing should be as detailed as possible. For example, it may contain information that answers the following questions.

• What is your relationship with the Psychological Defence Agency (e.g. employee, trainee, consultant)?
• What is the anomaly that you have noted?
• Which part(s) of the agency is/are involved?
• Who might be involved?
• During which period did this occur? Is it a case of multiple incidents?
• Are there other people who are aware of the anomalies?
• Have you taken other measures, for example, informed someone at the agency?
• Do you have access to documents or equivalent in support of your report, or information on where such supporting documentation can be found?

If you are reporting an anomaly, you will receive an acknowledgement of receipt of the report within seven days. This applies provided that you have not declined such confirmation, or that the Psychological Defence Agency has reason to assume that such confirmation would reveal your identity.

Feedback on actions taken by the agency regarding your report shall be given within three months. If you have chosen to be anonymous, you will not be able to receive any feedback.

If your reporting is beyond the scope of the Whistleblowing Act, you will, if possible, receive feedback to this effect with information on where you can turn to instead.

Besides the protection afforded under the Whistleblowing Act, there are other rights and protections that apply entirely independently of the Whistleblowing Act.

Freedom of communication

Freedom of communication means that all employees of public-sector bodies may, without the risk of penalties, hand over information to the mass media for publication. This also applies to classified information to some extent. Exceptions to freedom of communication apply to certain serious crimes against, for example, Sweden’s security. Furthermore, freedom of communication means that it is forbidden to trace sources; that is, agencies or other public bodies may not investigate who has submitted a communication pursuant to freedom of communication (prohibition against inquiries).

Freedom of information procurement

Freedom of information procurement pursuant to the Freedom of the Press Act and the Fundamental Law on Freedom of Expression means that everyone has the right to procure information for the purpose of making or having it published. Freedom of information procurement can be seen as an extension of freedom of communication.

Prohibition on reprisals

A prohibition on reprisals means banning the employer from punishing a person who exercised their freedom of communication.

The information submitted to the Psychological Defence Agency, as well as the information otherwise needed to process whistleblowing, will be saved at the agency. If you have chosen to report verbally, the agency’s notes will be saved. The Whistleblowing Act stipulates that personal data in a follow-up case may not be processed any later than two years after the case was closed.

Documents containing information from a submitted report – written or verbal – usually constitute public documents. Public documents may be requested in accordance with the principle of public access to official documents. In such a request, the Psychological Defence Agency always performs a secrecy check to determine which information should be classified. There are special rules governing secrecy in terms of whistleblowing in the Public Access to Information and Secrecy Act.

When you report an anomaly, the Psychological Defence Agency needs to process the personal data that your report contains. Personal data is needed to provide confirmation and to enable providing feedback to you on any measures. The legal basis for the processing of personal data occurring in connection with whistleblowing is to perform a task of public interest.

Some agencies have been appointed by the Government to accept, follow up and provide feedback on whistleblowing/reports of anomalies within a designated area of activity or sector. Anomalies in the event of such “external” whistleblowing can thus involve any public- or private-sector operator within the area concerned.

List of all agencies and their responsibility in the event of whistleblowing on the website of the Swedish Work Environment Authority. Link to another website, opens in a new window. External link.

Whistleblowing concerning work-related anomalies that are in breach of certain directly applicable EU laws, etc. can also be filed with the EU institutions, bodies or agencies that have established specific channels for such reporting.