Our assessment is that today's quantity discount will be abolished no later than January 1, 2029, says Moderate Party leader Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson at a press conference together with Minister of Justice Gunnar Strömmer (M) and Minister of Finance Elisabeth Svantesson (M).
It's possible, it's entirely possible, Kristersson says.
We will prioritise this, Svantesson says.
Previously, the Moderates have promised that today's so-called quantity discount will be abolished in 2029 or 2030 if they are allowed to remain in government. The bill that the Riksdag decided on just two weeks ago did not include any date for it to come into force.
The assessment is now that the Swedish Prison and Probation Service's need for new places by 2035 can be more than halved. This will make it possible, according to the Moderates, to abolish the quantity discount as early as January 1, 2029, reduce grounds for sentencing, and get the courts to more often impose higher penalties when handing down sentences.
In addition, the party believes that reduced crime will reduce the need for prison places.
The Social Democrats believe that the Moderates' election promise to abolish the quantity discount by the end of the next term is pure fantasy. The Social Democrats warn that the Swedish Prison and Probation Service will not have time to expand its prison places that quickly.
The Social Democrats want to limit the abolition of the quantity discount to sexual crimes during the next term and believe that this is more realistic.
Today's quantity discount will be abolished when the government assesses that the Swedish Prison and Probation Service is able to take on more convicts, with longer prison sentences.
Instead of the current volume discount, the courts will use the total penalty value for the three most serious crimes as a starting point when determining a sentence.
The government estimates that the change in the law will in the vast majority of cases result in the sentence being between 50 and 75 percent longer than it is today in the case of multiple crimes.
