STOCKHOLM The Swedish Hall prison is intended for 200 prisoners, but there are 300 prisoners. More and more cells intended for one person have bunk beds, and some of the common areas have been converted into cells.
Surveillance camera videos obtained by the Swedish public broadcasting company SVT from another prison, Tidaholm, show that the overcrowding puts a strain on the prisoners’ nerves.
This is confirmed by the manager of Halli prison Johan Molinder. He has worked in prison care for more than 20 years.
Located in Södertälje, southwest of Stockholm, Halli prison is one of Sweden’s most dangerous prisons.
– Disorders have clearly increased. As said, we are in a new situation, and we are adjusting to it. We have a lot of challenges, says Molinder.
– Lots of escalated situations, more arguments. We have to miss each other more often.
The number of prisoners has increased and gang crime is visible
The lack of space in prisons and remand prisons has become so acute that the Kriminalvårdstyrelsen, or the authority responsible for the Finnish Criminal Sanctions Agency, has moved to a kind of to standby mode, where free places are applied centrally from prisons all over the country. The exception arrangement is valid until the end of May.
There are many reasons behind the crowding, says the CEO Martin Holmgren.
One of them is the rapid increase in the prison population.
Two or three years ago, the police succeeded in breaking the dark web used by criminals, through which the criminals ran the international drug trade, with international cooperation. According to Holmgren, as a result, 300 prisoners with long sentences were marched to Swedish prisons.
Sweden’s gang war of recent years can also be seen and felt in prisons. Holmgren estimates that out of all 6,000 prisoners, about a thousand now have a connection to gang crime.
According to Holmgren, today the police manage to solve more gang crimes than ever before. It means more prisoners sentenced to long prison terms. Additional work is also caused by the fact that prisoners belonging to warring gangs have to be kept apart.
The government wants tougher punishments
Restoring order and tougher punishments are key by Ulf Kristersson led by the right-wing government and its support party, the Sweden Democrats.
The government and the Sweden Democrats present In the Tidö contract dozens of changes and tightening of criminal laws. According to the proposals, for example, being connected to gangs would double the punishment in the future.
The institution headed by Holmgren estimates that some of the proposals would significantly affect its operations, but it is still impossible to assess all the consequences of the new guidelines.
According to Holmgren, in the current plans of the Swedish Criminal Sanctions Institute, the goal is to triple the number of prison places by 2033. We already know that next year and 2026 new projects are behind schedule.
Prison care received an additional allocation of 120 million euros in the government’s additional budget this spring. It was less than the institution led by Holmgren had hoped for. However, only social care and health care received more additional money.
According to Holmgren, bunk beds and double cells will be the new normal, at least for the next few years. He says that the experiences gained from double cells are not only negative.
– Some prisoners appreciate having company. That you don’t have to be alone.
Prison guards are threatened
Chairman of the Legal Committee of the Swedish Parliament, the Swedish Democrats Richard Jomshof has presented that the prisons would have better-level sections for Swedish prisoners and lower-level sections for others.
This is not part of the current plans of the current Swedish government.
In 2022, 71 percent of the prisoners were Swedish citizens, he says BRÅ, the Swedish crime prevention authority statement. In the years 2013–22, the share of foreign prisoners was in a slight decline.
Director General Holmgren admits that overcrowded prisons are difficult and unsafe for the staff as well. There are more prison guards and other staff than before, but even so, violence against staff has increased.
Swedish radio according to, for example, in Western Sweden, staff were afraid to report threats or pressure attempts to the police. The reason for this was that with the criminal report, the threater could find out, for example, the employee’s home address or close relatives. In order to protect employees, the criminal report is now filed by the employer.
Imprisonments of less than a year as leg brace punishments?
As one solution to the lack of space, Holmgren suggests converting even more short prison sentences into ankle cuffs. Now the follow-up sentence can be used in Finland and Sweden if the sentence is less than six months in prison. According to Holmgren, the time limit could be increased to less than a year’s imprisonment.
An anklet is an electronic tracking device that tracks the convict’s movements. In Finland, the punishment is combined with the requirement of absolute abstinence from intoxicants. Supervisors can also make home visits without prior notice.
In Holmgren’s opinion, a wider use of ankle strap punishments than the current one would be reasonable in other ways than because it would free up prison places.
First of all, prisons would thus be able to focus on the care of prisoners with long sentences, i.e. guide them to, for example, work, studies and life management.
In addition, in his opinion, punishment is also punishment outside prison.
Juvenile prisons are making a comeback
Gang violence can also be seen in Swedish remand prisons, where there are now more people under the age of 18 than ever before.
According to the report of the Swedish Criminal Sanctions Institute, in August 2023 there were 69 people under the age of 18 in pretrial detention. In 2020, there were 13 of them. Some of the young people are suspected of very serious crimes. The agency investigated the matter in a newspaper At the request of Dagens Nyheter.
As young people, they have the right to spend four hours a day in the company of others, which is not happening now. Pre-trial detention also often extends beyond the upper limit of three months.
Youth prisons were abolished in Sweden in 1979, but now it has been decided to return them in June 2026.
Responsibility for criminals aged 15–17 is thus transferred of the current special youth homes for prison care.
According to Holmgren, the preparations are in full swing. Most likely, the young people will be placed in separate sections in connection with the existing and new prisons.
Holmgren considers the decision to transfer young criminals to prison treatment a good one.
– It is clear that prison is not a good environment for young people. But on the other hand, we have experience in organizing teaching and training in remand prisons.
– Under no circumstances are minors involved or in the same departments as other prisoners, Holmgren underlines.