According to Martin Holmgren, Director-General of the Swedish Prison and Probation Service, there is a possibility that Sweden will have the highest number of prisoners per capita in the EU in ten years’ time. He revealed this during an interview with Ekot on Saturday.
If the Tidö parties proposed tightening of penalties becomes a reality, the number of prisoners could increase to as many as 35,000 people in a decade, compared to today’s approximately 6,000 prisoners. Martin Holmgren comments on this as one of the most revolutionary changes in modern times for the Prison and Probation Service and emphasises that the authority now faces a significant challenge given the increasing occupancy rate and the need for more prison places.
– We are in the middle of perhaps the biggest change in modern times for the Prison and Probation Service. We have been in a situation now for several years where the entire Prison and Probation Service is very strained due to the occupancy situation, the number of remanded and sentenced and at the same time we are now preparing for an even greater expansion, says Holmgren to Ekot.
