Published: Less than 40 min ago
The maximum limit for how long children can be detained has not had the desired effect.
During the first twelve months of the new law, more criminal suspects under the age of 18 were detained for longer than three months compared to before.
– It is worrying, says the Bar Association’s secretary general Mia Edwall Insulander.
For several years, Sweden has received repeated criticism from, among others, the UN and the Council of Europe regarding excessively long detention periods for criminal suspects. Last spring, the Riksdag decided that adults should be detained for a maximum of nine months and for children under 18 the time limit is three months.
The change in the law came into force on 1 July last year, but according to statistics that the Prison and Probation Service has produced for TT, there were more children detained for longer than three months in the period July 2021–June 2022 compared to previous periods.
“Is serious”
– It is serious if the law is not followed. Then the principals concerned must find out why the detention times are too long and then put in place the measures needed to comply with the law, says children’s ombudsman Elisabeth Dahlin.
During the first twelve months with the new maximum limit, 29 young people aged 15–17 were detained for longer than three months – to be compared with 24 during July 2020–June 2021 and 28 in the period July 2019–June 2020. With such low numbers in the statistics, there is a risk that individual factors may affect the figures. For example, there may be more young people aged 15–17 who are suspected of serious crimes in the most recent period, but the Crime Prevention Council states that there are still no statistics for serious youth crime in the first half of 2022.
– I find it worrying. It has been talked about for a very long time that Swedish detention times are too long, even in comparison with an international perspective. And that applies in general, not just to children under 18, says Mia Edwall Insulander, secretary general of the Bar Association.
Special reasons are required for the detention period to be exceeded – for example, that it is a crime with a high penalty value or that the crime is difficult to investigate. In its consultation response to the bill, the Bar Association criticized the “valve” for particular reasons.
Want to see review
– We pointed out that there is a risk that it will be applied too broadly and too widely, and perhaps a little too casually. I think the government should initiate a review of the practical application of this valve. Is it used excessively and how is the valve used? says Mia Edwall Islander.
The authority Children’s Ombudsman (BO) wanted in its referral response to see 30 days as the maximum limit for the detention of children.
– It has been proven that it is harmful for children to be exposed to the criminal justice system and that this limits their opportunities to grow up to be responsible adults, says Elisabeth Dahlin.
Even at the first arrest, special reasons must be present. For example, for a 15-year-old suspected of crime, it may be required that it is rape or other more serious crimes, emphasizes Chamber prosecutor Tobias Kudrén, who is responsible for youth issues at the Public Prosecutor’s Office’s development centre.
– Even before the change in the law, there was a very high threshold for arresting young people, says Tobias Kudrén.
Want to see alternatives to detention
Prosecutors must investigate whether there are alternatives to detention, for example locked nursing homes. But when it comes to gang-related crimes, such placements are often not possible.
– We know that very many of the children who are detained have suffered from mental illness even before they are detained and that it can worsen during detention. There, we have told the principals that they must find alternatives, there can be other forms of places where children can be during the detention period and during the investigation, which are safe and good for children, says children’s ombudsman Elisabeth Dahlin.
During the period June 2021–July 2022, a total of 161 people under the age of 18 were detained – in all cases, except for four, it was with some form of restriction on the first day of detention.
– Of course, it is important with safety and the risk that one should not influence the investigation, but there are absolutely alternatives that should be investigated in any case. Especially children who become isolated are particularly vulnerable, says Mia Edwall Insulander.
“Is unacceptable”
If a child is suspected of a crime, the preliminary investigation must take place quickly, but the investigation period can be prolonged when it comes to complicated and difficult to investigate crimes. Over the years, long processing times at the National Forensic Center (NFC) have also been pointed out as a recurring brake block.
– This is a discussion, debate and knowledge that has existed for so many years, but still there is no change. At the expense of children’s psychological well-being. It is unacceptable, says Mia Edwall Insulander.
Facts
The change in law
In the spring of 2021, the Riksdag voted through an amendment to the law regarding, among other things, time limits for detentions. The new rules entered into force on 1 July 2021.
A criminal suspect over the age of 18 may normally be detained for a maximum of nine months pending prosecution. A suspect under the age of 18 may be detained for three months.
If there are special reasons, the detentions can be extended. The prosecutor must then provide a timetable for his preliminary investigation.
Rules were also introduced that a detained person under the age of 18 has the right to four hours of daily interpersonal contact.
The background to the change in the law was the government’s bill “More efficient handling of detentions and reduced isolation”. The main aim is to meet the criticism that Sweden has received for decades, not least internationally, for long periods of detention.
Read moreFacts
Detained children in Sweden
The number of completed detentions of persons under 18 years of age:
July 2019–June 2020:
Less than 1 month: 89.
1-2 months: 30.
2–3 months: 16.
3–4 months: 9.
4 months or more: 19.
3 months or more in total: 28.
Total: 163.
.
July 2020–June 2021
Less than 1 month: 85.
1–2 months: 27.
2–3 months: 16.
3–4 months: 9.
4 months or more: 15.
3 months or more in total: 24.
Total: 152.
.
July 2021–June 2022
Less than 1 month: 80.
1–2 months: 32.
2-3 months: 20.
3–4 months: 7.
4 months or more: 22.
3 months or more in total: 29.
Total: 161.
About the statistics: The statistics are based on arrests that have been completed during the period. A person may have completed several detentions during a period. A person is counted once for each completed detention. The statistics for the period in which completed detentions for January–June 2022 are included are preliminary.
Source: Correctional Service
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Detention times
During the period July 2021–June 2022, 29 detentions where criminal suspects aged 15–17 had been detained for longer than three months were ended. For the periods July 2020–June 2021 and July 2019–June 2020, the number was 24 and 29 young people, respectively. The total number of completed youth detentions during these periods was 161, 152 and 163 respectively.
With such low numbers in the statistics, there is a risk that factors can influence the statistics. For example, there may be more young people aged 15-17 who are suspected of serious crimes during this period, but the Crime Prevention Council states that there are no statistics yet for serious youth crime for 2022.
A total of 9,686 arrests of criminal suspects were completed between July 2021 and June 2022. For the two previous periods, the figure was 10,234 and 10,303, respectively.
Generally speaking – regardless of age – the number of completed detentions with a detention period longer than three months increased during the whole year 2021 compared to 2020 and 2019. The biggest increase is among those who were detained longer than four months.
Almost 60 percent of the completed detentions were two months or less – just under a quarter of the detentions were four months or longer. In 2021, the average detention time was 78 days – the corresponding time for 2019 and 2020 was 66 and 69 days, respectively.
Source: Correctional Service
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