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Sweden sees fall in public urination fines

At least 1,500 people have been fined for urinating in public in Sweden so far this year, showing a decrease in the offence compared with the same period last year.

Published: 27 July 2015 16:34 CEST
Sweden sees fall in public urination fines
Public urinators in the western county of Västra Götaland were found to be the worst offenders. File photo: TT

According to figures from the Swedish police and compiled by the investigative news agency Nyhetsbyrån Siren, 1,500 people were fined for public urination in Sweden between January and June this year.

The number shows a decrease compared with the same period last year when 1,684 were fined.

Urinating in public is a criminal offence in Sweden and anyone caught doing it could face a fine for disorderly conduct.

Public urinators in the western county of Västra Götaland were found to be the worst offenders, with 253 fines handed out.

This was followed by Jönköping County with 157. A total of 191 were fined in Stockholm County.

Fredrik Wallen, a spokesperson for East Region Police said it was not known why more people were fined in some areas compared with others.

“But generally speaking, we can see peaks of this when we are out and patrolling at large events and gatherings. It is of course natural that we have to catch these people in the act,” Wallen told Nyhetsbyrån Siren. 

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CRIME

Stockholm court fines Greta Thunberg over parliament climate protest

Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg was handed a fine for disobeying police orders after blocking access to Sweden's parliament during a protest.

Published: 8 May 2024 17:00 CEST
Stockholm court fines Greta Thunberg over parliament climate protest

Police removed Thunberg on March 12th and 14th after she refused to leave the main entrance, where she was protesting with a small group of activists for several days. MPs could still access the building via secondary entrances.

The court said it fined the activist 6,000 Swedish kronor ($551) and ordered her to pay 1,000 kronor in damages and interest.

Thunberg denied the charges of two counts of civil disobedience, according to an AFP journalist at the hearing.

Asked by the judge why she had not obeyed police orders, she replied: “Because there was a (climate) emergency and there still is. And in an emergency, we all have a duty to act.”

“The current laws protect the extractive industries instead of protecting people and the planet, which is what I believe should be the case,” she said as she left the courtroom.

Thunberg has been fined twice before in Sweden, in July and October 2023, for civil disobedience during similar protests.

In February, a London judge dropped charges against her for disturbing the peace during a demonstration against the oil industry in October in the British capital.

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