# Swedish - balans och statistik



## Rejzko

A prosecutor who has not investigated a murder yet is to investigate one now. His boss says: "Jag vet att det är massa folk som tvivlar att du klarar av at axla det här, men det rőr mig inte.  Jag vill ha dig _på fältet. Jamen, skit i all balans och statistik!" Does it mean that he should not do any paperwork now and concentrate on the investigation or does it mean that his bilance is not very good but his boss does not care?_


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## Ben Jamin

His boss wants him to work with the case, do the practical job, and he does not care if his subordinate does not succeed and spoils the result records.


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## Rejzko

So "balans och statistik" can be understood as "results"?


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## Ben Jamin

Rejzko said:


> So "balans och statistik" can be understood as "results"?


No. As [assessment of] *result records*.


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## Rejzko

I think the boss does care about the results, but he is implying that he does not expect his subordinate to spoil them.  Anyway, the meaning is clear now. Thanks.


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## MattiasNYC

The interpretation doesn't sound right to me. I could be wrong of course.

What's the source?


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## Rejzko

MattiasNYC said:


> The interpretation doesn't sound right to me. I could be wrong of course.
> 
> What's the source?


 It is the tv series Midnattssol. It is clear from the context that the prosecutor has not been very successful. He only dealt with  fast driving etc. And now he is to lead the preliminary investigation of murder.  I think that the boss wants to express confidence in him. What I don't know is what "balans och statistik" means exactly. Whether this is an internal evaluation of his results or success at court.


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## MattiasNYC

What episode? I can take a look at it....


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## Rejzko

Episode 2, at the beginning.


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## Rejzko

About 7th minute.


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## MattiasNYC

I listened to it. I have to admit that it doesn't make much sense to me without context. Perhaps it's a phrase used in that line of work. It also occurs once in Episode 1 which I skimmed through.

My impression after hearing it in the first episode as well is that perhaps the boss doesn't want him to worry about his other work. If I remember and heard correctly he worried in the first episode about his other work that would suffer (implied) if he took on this case as well. So, like I said, it almost seems like the boss means "Don't worry about balance and statistics of your other work, work no this case."

But I could be wrong.

Is there further context in later episodes?


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## Rejzko

Yes, I think your interpretation is correct. In the first episode he was worried about his other work. And there is no further context in the following episodes. He only investigates the murders and never talks about this issue again.  In my understanding they probably have some internal statistics concerning their work, participation at court, maybe success at court, etc. Am I right? Thank you very much.


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## MattiasNYC

That seems reasonable.


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## Den falska sköldpaddan

Rejzko said:


> [...] " [...] Jag vill ha dig _på fältet. Jamen, skit i all balans och statistik!" Does it mean that he should not do any paperwork now and concentrate on the investigation or does it mean that his bilance is not very good but his boss does not care?_


This means, idiomatically, "Don't give a damn about paperwork/bureaucracy." _Statistik_, obviously, is "statistics". _Balans_, has a widely used special meaning in bureaucratic contexts. I'll try to present it off the top of my head — I'm sure this usage can easily be verified by using Google. In connection with this usage of _balans_, _statistik_ in turn has a special meaning.

The metaphorical context is a bureaucrat in an office with two piles of documents on his desk, one for incoming paperwork and one for outgoing paperwork. The pile of incoming paperwork (often too high) is described as _balans/balansen/balanser_. A good bureaucrat is supposed to be efficient and finish off as much as possible of the the incoming pile. This will give him a good _statistik,_ but the prosecutor wants the officer in the field instead.


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