Details
Legal instruments & key provisions
| Legal instrument | Key provision |
|---|---|
| Prison and Probation Service (Kriminalvården) | In 2023, the Government assigned SPPS to prepare for the establishment of special units for children aged 15-17. The so called “youth prisons” are to replace the special residential homes for young persons for which the National Board of Institutional Care is currently responsible. These special units shall be ready for operation by 1 July 2026. |
| Prison and Probation Services (Kriminalvården), Remand Prisons Act (Häkteslag [2010:611]) | An inmate in a detention centre or a prison, who is under the age of 18 years may not be placed together with prisoners aged 18 or over, unless this can be considered to be in his or her best interests. If a detainee is under 18 years old, the individual plan must specify the efforts that are to be made due to the special needs that a child may have with regard to e.g. contact with parents or other caregiver, education plan, leisure activities, other social contacts and other isolation-breaking measures If a detainee reaches the age of 18 during the time of being held in remand, the detainee may continue to be placed so that he or she stays with the detainees under the age 18, if it is justified with regard to his or her personal circumstances and is otherwise considered appropriate. |
| Prison and Probation Services, Prison and Probation Services' regulations and general advice about prisons (Kriminalvårdens föreskrifter och allmänna råd om fängelse) | The definition of who should be considered as a young person in the Prison and Probation Services is a person who was registered by the Prison and Probation Services before the age of 21. Such a person is considered a “young person” during the entire execution of the sentence or until the person turns 24 years old. |
NATIONAL PREVENTIVE MECHANISM RECOMMENDATIONS
| Year | Recommendation | Report |
|---|---|---|
| 2019 | During the inspection of the remand prison in Göteborg, the Parliamentary Ombudsmen’s employees talked to young persons under 18 years of age. Inter alia, they stated that they had not received information concerning how to contact the nurse and that it had taken several days before they were given the opportunity to take a shower. Recommendation: Following the inspection, the Chief Parliamentary Ombudsman emphasised the importance of all prison staff who have contact with young people held on remand having or receiving the necessary training to treat them in the best possible way. The premise must be that the treatment of individual young person is adapted to their degree of maturity. Part of the work can be to communicate pedagogically, on several occasions both in writing and orally, the rights the young person has whilst in remand prison. Staff should also make sure that the young person has understood the information to ensure that young people can understand their rights. | Report details |
| 2022 | During the inspection of the remand prison in Sollentuna, one child and 41 young adults were detained in the remand prison. […] Following the inspection, the Parliamentary Ombudsman stated that the provision in the Remand Prisons Act requiresthe Prison and Probation Service to plan and have the capacity forseveral,sometimes many, children to be held in remand at the same time. Furthermore, she pointed out that the starting point is that detained children should primarily stay with correctional officers who are used to meeting children in the stressful situation that detention entails. According to the Parliamentary Ombudsman, the capacity and organisation of the remand prison in Sollentuna are clearly too small to be able to provide isolation-breaking measures to the number of children, seven, that the Stockholm Prison and Probation Service has set up. On weekends, there are only enough resources for a small number of children. The Parliamentary Ombudsman further stated that this situation is of course completely unacceptable and that she assumes that the Swedish Prison and Probation Service takes the necessary measures to ensure that all children held in remand are ensured their legal right to stay with staff or another person for at least four hours every day. | Report details |