The acute lack of space in the Swedish prisons may affect the terrorist threat in the long term, according to the National Center for Terror Threat Assessment.
There is a risk that gang criminals will become radicalized if they are placed with violent extremists.
– This means an opportunity for extremists to gain increased access to weapons and explosives, says Ahn-Za Hagström, head of NCT.
On Tuesday, the news came that the Correctional Service is going into staff mode to deal with the pressured situation.
At the same time, the National Center for Terror Threat Assessment (NCT) warns of increased radicalization in prisons, and one reason that is pointed out is precisely the lack of space.
– Sweden has not had such big problems with regard to correctional services in the past. Among other things because they have had room to separate different types of actors, says Ahn-Za Hagström in Nyhetsmorgon.
Can affect the terrorist threat
NCT points out that gang criminals can, for example, sit with people who have been convicted of blue light sabotage and who, according to NCT, may have radical ideas.
– It is above all about that contact surfaces can be created and that relationships and contacts can be permanent even after release. This can affect both violent extremists but also organized crime in an interaction, says Hagström in Nyhetsmorgon.
Prisoners who have an intention to radicalize others are not necessarily more numerous, but more prominent, according to the NCT. The center notes that it is likely that there will be recruitment attempts within the prison environment in 2024.
Sis home is pointed out
The Sis homes are also singled out as a place for radicalization and recruitment to violent extremism. Above all, it is right-wing extremist ideas that have spread there, according to NCT.
The center states that the Sis homes have had to receive increasingly younger and more serious criminals.
Minors appear to a large extent in the information we have regarding planning attacks or serious violent crimes such as school attacks. So it is clear that it is a circumstance that is worrying, says Ahn-Za Hagström.