Dangerous repeat offenders should, in particularly serious cases, be able to be locked up for an indefinite period, according to an investigative proposal.
But the investigator says no to several other points in the Tidö Agreement on tougher measures.
The investigator, Justice Councilor Stefan Reimer, proposes, among other things, a new, time-unlimited security sentence.
This means a trend break for Swedish criminal policy over the past 40 years, he says.
The purpose of the security sentence is to protect society from dangerous repeat offenders when life imprisonment cannot be considered.
The sentence will be directed at individuals who have committed serious violent or assaultive crimes and who have a "significant" risk of reoffending in similar serious crimes. This could, for example, involve serial rapists, serious cases of domestic violence, or serious arsonists.
45 per year
Reimer acknowledges that it is always difficult to assess the risk of reoffending.
But it's about such a small group that you can live with a slightly greater uncertainty in risk assessment, he says.
The investigation estimates that around 45 people per year will be sentenced to security sentences.
Reimer notes that many countries have similar non-time-limited sentences, but that the proposed Swedish model has a more fixed structure. A maximum time for the security sentence will be set, and before it is reached, the convicted person can begin to be released back into society.
But Reimer points out that society will still be able to have control over a person sentenced to a security sentence for a long time.
Thumbs down
Security sentences are one point in the government's Tidö Agreement with the Sweden Democrats.
However, the investigation gives the thumbs down to several other points in the agreement. For example, criminalizing escape, introducing residence bans as punishment, and abolishing conditional release after two-thirds of the sentence has been served.
The investigation concludes that abolishing conditional release would only provide temporary increased public safety during the imprisonment period. Conditional release is needed, according to Reimer, to readapt a convicted person to society.
Abolishing the current model would also be expensive for the correctional system, around seven billion kronor.
Justice Minister Gunnar Strömmer (M) does not see it as a setback that the investigation rejects several of the Tidö Party's proposals for tougher measures.
Strömmer points out that the investigation, although it rejects several Tidö reforms, has still presented proposals on how they could be implemented in law.
It's up to politics to evaluate this and take a stance on the way forward, says the Justice Minister.
Security sentences will be imposed on those who:
have previously been sentenced to prison for at least four years for crimes against life, health, freedom, or peace and have subsequently reoffended in similar serious crimes
or who are simultaneously convicted of repeated crimes against life, health, freedom, or peace that are particularly serious
and who have a significant risk of reoffending
When security sentences are imposed:
a maximum time will be set to at least 10 years and at most 18 years
or at most 24 years if life imprisonment is possible for the crime
the minimum time corresponds to the length of the sentence that would have been imposed if the punishment had been ordinary imprisonment
The prosecutor can request an extension of the maximum time by up to three years at a time.
Security sentences cannot be imposed on those under 18 years old.
Source: SOU 2024:48
The probation period for conditional release is extended from at least one to at least two years.
No new conditional release for remaining sentences if reoffending occurs during conditional release.
Conditional release will, as a rule, be supervised.
Opportunity to serve prison sentences with electronic monitoring in controlled housing for up to one and a half years.
Opportunity to serve prison sentences with electronic ankle tags for up to nine months.
Participation in recidivism prevention measures will be taken into account when considering prison leave.
The use of protective supervision in combination with imprisonment will be expanded.
The possibility of stricter sentences due to reoffending will apply to more cases than today, and the sentence increase can be higher.
Source: SOU 2024:48
