As a result of the new government’s tougher stance on crime, Sweden might need to construct up to 16 new prisons, the country’s prison service has said in a new analysis.
At the end of 2022, the Swedish government tasked the Swedish Prison and Probation Service (Kriminalvården) with reviewing the impact of the reform on the prison system of the proposals in the Tidö Agreement between the three governing parties and the far-right Sweden Democrats.
In the report, the prison service estimates that planned measures such as mandatory detention in more cases, stricter punishments for gang-related crime, and double punishment for gang criminals, would require the establishment of between 11 and 16 large prison institutions, a cost running to 7-10 billion kronor (€600m-€900m) per year.
The Tidö Agreement was the political accord between four parliamentary parties which led to Ulf Kristersson, leader of the Moderate Party, being appointed Prime Minister of Sweden.
Billions of kronor in new costs
In the report, the agency has reviewed the 13 proposals in the Tidö Agreement that it judges will have a major impact on the prison system, including mandatory detention in more cases, stricter punishments for gang-related crime, and double punishment for gang criminals.
However, the prison service acknowledged that there was significant uncertainty surrounding capacity needs, costs, and the expertise required to adapt to the proposed reforms.
“The Prison and Correctional Service is already hard-pressed today by the lack of both (prison) places and staff. This report clarifies the challenges in coping with a greatly increased influx, in addition to what we are already planning for,” Kriminalvården’s Director General Martin Holmgren said after the report was released.
Source : TheLocal
