Sweden's prisons are overcrowded. This makes it difficult for the Prison and Probation Service to reduce reoffending through treatment programs.
One is deprived of the opportunity to make a change, says Germay Woldu from Criminals' Revenge in Society (Kris).
The Prison and Probation Service's mission includes reducing reoffending through treatment programs, education, and work. However, only a quarter of clients in institutions who needed treatment the most, and 13 percent in probation, completed a treatment program last year, according to an audit by the National Audit Office.
Contributing factors are overcrowded prisons and an underdimensioned operation, where facilities and trained staff are insufficient. According to the National Audit Office, clients risk not receiving the help they need, which increases the risk of reoffending.
If you are to conduct criminal care – being cared for when you are in custody with the Prison and Probation Service – the treatment programs must work, says Germay Woldu, chairman of Kris.
Reduce the risk of reoffending
What are the consequences if the Prison and Probation Service cannot meet the needs with treatment programs?
The problem for clients is that they are deprived of the opportunity to make a change.
It is not certain that treatment programs lead to abandoning a criminal lifestyle – but there is still a chance, emphasizes Woldu.
If they are offered and participate in treatment programs, the chance is greater that they will not reoffend and engage in criminality.
The situation is "incredibly tough", notes Emma Ekstrand, head of operational content at the Prison and Probation Service.
We are fighting very hard to fulfill our mission: both building out and receiving all arrested and convicted, but also maintaining the reoffending prevention work and the qualitative content of our operations.
Generally speaking – on a national, overarching level – we think we still maintain this, she says.
"Then we have not succeeded"
Do you see any risk in what the National Audit Office points out, that clients do not receive the help they need and that it can increase the risk of reoffending?
Yes, absolutely. It is our mission to ensure that the person when they leave us has better prerequisites for not falling back into criminality and abuse. If we do not provide clients with interventions, then we have not succeeded with that part of our mission, says Ekstrand.
The Prison and Probation Service is now working both on expanding its facilities and finding new working methods.
We are working hard to develop our interventions, work smarter, and use digitalization.
The Prison and Probation Service conducts treatment programs aimed at reducing the risk of reoffending and abuse. International research supports that CBT-based treatment programs have positive effects and reduce the risk of reoffending.
Clients with a high risk of reoffending are prioritized. There are twelve different treatment programs. The focus varies and can be organized crime, relationship violence, or abuse.
Source: The Prison and Probation Service
