Starting next year, children convicted of serious crimes in Sweden could be placed in prison, according to the Liberals. The party argues it offers better educational opportunities than regular school. The changes are criticized for being rushed through too quickly.
Liberal Party leader Simona Mohamsson and criminal policy spokesperson Martin Melin visited Högsboanstalten prison in southern Gothenburg and were interviewed by Dagens Nyheter. They argue that minors aged 15–17 convicted of serious crimes should be placed in prisons starting July next year. According to Melin, education will occur in small groups of four or five students, with qualified teachers and counselors.
– Till skillnad mot en vanlig klass med 30 elever kommer de här att sitta i grupper om fyra, fem stycken. Kriminalvården har behöriga lärare och det kommer att finnas kuratorer. Så ja, jag tror att de har en bättre chans att klara sin utbildning här inne på en anstalt än i skolan utanför, says Melin to DN.
Mohamsson emphasizes that the convicted youth often do not attend regular school. Currently, such minors are placed in Statens institutionsstyrelsens (SiS) youth homes, which do not function as they should, according to her.
– We are in an extreme situation in Sweden, where 13-, 14-, 15-year-olds are shooting on our streets. Then it's too late to apply a band-aid; they must sit here and have a functioning education, says Mohamsson.
In spring, the government initiated an investigation into schooling in prisons, to be reported on December 15. The government also proposes lowering the age of criminal responsibility to 13 over a five-year period, and Kriminalvården is preparing places for 13- and 14-year-olds convicted of particularly serious crimes.
Criticism comes from the union. Fredrik Hjulström, social policy chief at Akademikerförbundet SSR, warns that the process is too rushed.
– Everyone, including Kriminalvården itself, says it's going too fast and that the time aspect is critical, he tells TT.
He fears distance learning in the investigation and compares it to previous shortcomings in SiS homes, which took years to address. Kriminalvården is now preparing with new departments and teacher-led education for minors.