Why Sweden Is Sending Its Inmates To Prisons Abroad

The Swedish government said Wednesday that it was examining the possibility of sending some inmates to serve their sentences in prisons abroad, anticipating heavy pressure on its own prisons in the coming years.

Sweden has struggled in recent years to rein in shootings and bombings linked to score-settling between rival criminal gangs.

Perpetrators are often young teens who are hired as contract killers because they are under 15, the age of criminal responsibility in Sweden.

Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson's centre-right minority government, which is backed in parliament by the anti-immigration Sweden Democrats, came to power in 2022 with a vow to get tough on crime.

"One concrete consequence of this change is that more people will be incarcerated and for longer periods, which will lead to increased pressure on the Swedish prison system," Justice Minister Gunnar Strommer told a press conference Tuesday.

Strommer spoke as he received a government on the feasibility of prisoners serving time abroad.

"Our recommendation is that this should be done within the EU or within the Schengen area," said Mattias Wahlstedt, who headed the probe, without giving any specific examples.

This practice has already been adopted by some countries including Norway, Belgium and Denmark.

Wahlstedt added that agreements negotiated between Sweden and the countries concerned would have to be approved by parliament.

The Seko trade union, which among others represents prison employees, said Tuesday that it opposed the government's plan.

"Public services should not be outsourced to other countries. This is a matter of legal requirements, but it is also about preventing state activities from being sold off and run under private management," Christer Hallkvist, responsible for labour negotiations for prison staff at Seko, said in a statement.

"Better conditions for staff and more prison places in Sweden are what will solve the problems in the Swedish Prison and Probation Service," he added.

In recent weeks, Sweden has seen a surge in violence, with more than 30 bombings since the start of the year.

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