Country

Sweden

Detention issue

Cell space

FRA research findings

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Legal instruments & key provisions

Legal instrument Key provision
Prison and Probation Services, Prison and Probation Services' regulations and general advice about prisons (Kriminalvårdens föreskrifter och allmänna råd om fängelse)A room for inmates must be equipped with a chair, a table, a cupboard, a bed including pillow, and other bed equipment, a mirror, a notice board, a mug, an alarm clock, a radio, and a device that enables the person to regulate the influx of daylight e.g. a window blind. In a facility where the inmates are locked in their cells in connection with the day-to-day rest, the room must also be equipped with a TV. In other facilities, the rooms do not have to be equipped with television if they have access to one in a shared space.
Ordinance on the Design of Remand Prisons and Police Cells (Förordning om utformningen av häkten och polisarrester)A cell in a Remand Prison shall have a minimum size of 6 m2. The cubic content of the cell must be at least 15 m3 and the cell height at least 2.40 meters.

NATIONAL PREVENTIVE MECHANISM RECOMMENDATIONS

Year Recommendation Report
2018During an inspection of Saltvik remand prison, it emerged that five cells were fitted with bunk beds to enable double occupancy if necessary. Following the inspection, the Parliamentary Ombudsmen noted that the cells the remand prison uses for double occupancy were originally intended to accommodate one person, despite the cells reportedly being slightly larger than a normal cell. The use of double occupancy cells, in the Parliamentary Ombudsmen’s view, creates a particular set of risks and the Parliamentary Ombudsmen is very doubtful of such use as an adequate solution. In addition, individuals in remand prisons are usually awaiting a forthcoming trial and not as yet sentenced for any crimes, and therefore can be under great psychological pressure. Likewise, the remand prison staff may have no prior knowledge of the individuals in custody, and as such lack the sufficient knowledge required to be able to determine which detainees are able to share a cell safely. Thus, double occupancy generally means an increased risk of threats and violence between detainees. For these reasons, the Parliamentary Ombudsmen argues the Prison and Probation Service should refrain from using double occupancy cells in remand prisons. If the service still considers that there are grounds for double occupancy in remand prisons or for other special reasons, the service should handle these situations in a standardised manner with respect to the rule of law so as to protect the individual. In the opinion of the Parliamentary Ombudsmen, a minimum requirement should be that double occupancy occurs only in cells that are designed to accommodate more than one detainee. In addition, the Prison and Probation Service was recommended to develop regulations or written procedures governing this area of its operations. The service has subsequently developed such regulations. Report details
2019During the inspections, it emerged, inter alia, that due to overcrowding, the double occupancy of cells occurs and that rooms unintended for holding detainees are used for occupancy. This means that detainees are held in, inter alia, visitor rooms and rooms intended for isolation-breaking measures, and that these rooms, therefore, cannot be used for the purposes for which they are actually intended. Furthermore, it emerged that overcrowding caused difficulties for staff in satisfying detainees’ right to daily outdoor access and the need for isolation- breaking measures. Two of the inspected remand prisons had, on several occasions during the year, stopped receiving remand prisoners. One consequence of this was that individuals held on remand had remained in the Police Authority’s police custody facilities. Report details
https://www.jo.se/Global/Opcat_Report_2018_web.pdf