- According to the Swedish Prison and Probation Service, no inmates in Swedish prisons or prisons have died of covid-19 during the pandemic.
- European countries have released tens of thousands of people from prisons and institutions during the pandemic to reduce congestion and prevent the spread of infection, but Sweden, which instead had an opposite trend with an increase in inmates, has not had a greater spread of infection, according to a study by the Council of Europe.
- “We have overcrowded institutions and prisons that are also part of this description when we compare ourselves with other countries,” says Christina Källgren Pettersson, who is unit manager at the Swedish Prison and Probation Service.
– We have not had any clients who have died with us. During this period, from last spring until now, we have had 305 confirmed infections, says Christina Källgren Pettersson, unit manager at the Swedish Prison and Probation Service to Ekot.
The infection has increased during the autumn, but the vast majority have recovered and no one has died. About 40 inmates are now in covid-19, according to the Swedish Prison and Probation Service.
Christina Källgren Pettersson, head of unit at the Swedish Prison and Probation Service, emphasizes that as many as 25,000 inmates pass through the system in one year.
– It is a challenge for us, but we do our best every day, says the unit manager at the Swedish Prison and Probation Service.
She thinks that early preventive measures at prisons and institutions have yielded results.
– Training, updating on basic hygiene routines, we made sure we had the necessary protective equipment on site. And we took a temporary stop for visits and leave during the spring, says Christina Källgren Pettersson.
A number of countries in Europe, including Spain, Norway, France and Turkey, released prisoners at the beginning of the pandemic to stop the infection, according to the Council of Europe. One solution was instead a foot shackle.
Norway wanted to avoid several people in the same cells and released a few hundred people prematurely at the end of their sentences. Sweden and Greece alone had an increase in inmates between January and June, according to the Council of Europe’s study of some 40 prison systems in Europe.
In Sweden, the judiciary continued to work with police and courts and it was not relevant to release prisoners. Other countries closed more of their communities. Traditional crime decreased as fewer people moved out on the streets in many countries, which in turn led to fewer inmates, according to the Council of Europe.
– We should know that during this period, as we had to deal with this pandemic, we also had a large overcrowding in the prison service. We have overcrowded institutions and prisons that are also part of this description when we compare ourselves with other countries, says Christina Källgren Pettersson at the Swedish Prison and Probation Service to Ekot.
Source: ICELAND NEWS