Almost a third of all indictments faced by officers between 1998 and 2008 related to the alleged assault of wives, ex-girlfriends or former partners, according to a review carried out by newspaper Dagens Nyheter.

In all, 48 cases dealt with either assault or the related crime of gross violation of a woman’s integrity (grov kvinnofridskränkning). The majority of cases in recent years have led to convictions.

“We are the first to admit that this is a difficult situation. We must not hide the issue,” said Liljemor Melin-Sving, deputy chairperson of the Swedish Police Union, to the newspaper.

In the ten year period covered by the review, 30 police officers have been charged with common assault – the second most common indictment for off duty police officers – followed by drunk driving in third place, shoplifting or theft in fourth and child pornography in fifth place.

Among the population at large, traffic offences accounted for the largest number of indictments from 1998 to 2008. This was followed by shoplifting or theft, and possession of narcotics for personal use. Assault cases in which men were the victims came in ninth on the list, while assault cases in which women were the victims constituted the 13th most common crime.