Swedish Occupation: Sexmän

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In older times the sexmän were a type of police authority for the discipline and order within a parish. The sexmän fined people for being disruptive during church services, sleeping during church services, drunkenness at banquets, or even sexual offenses. They expressed their charges at the parish council in turn, or according to turn based on the commons of each rote. The number of sexmän varied according to the size of the parish. The purpose of sexmän in a parish was deminished after the municipal reforms of 1862. After 1862 the sexmän were occasionally used to support municipal or church councils by delivering notifications or summons to appear before the respective councils (mostly from church councils.) By the early 1900’s the function of the sexmän was given to the fjärdingsman or village patrolmen.