Our assessment is that today's quantity discount will be abolished no later than January 1, 2029, says the 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.
Decision without date
Previously, the Moderates have promised that today's so-called quantity discount will be abolished in 2029 or 2030 if they are allowed to retain government power. The bill that the Riksdag decided on just two weeks ago did not include any date for its entry 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, M claims, 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 sentencing.
In addition, the party believes that reduced crime will reduce the need for prison places.
Free fantasies
The Social Democrats believe that the Moderates' election promise to abolish the quantity discount at the end of the next term is pure fantasy. S warns that the Swedish Prison and Probation Service will not have time to expand its prison places that quickly.
However, the Moderates claim that this is a sham argument and that S does not actually want to abolish the quantity discount. The red-greens voted no, with the main justification being that no date was included in the bill for when it would be introduced.
"The Moderates are holding their fifth press conference about the quantity discount: the election promise they made two weeks ago did not even hold until election day. It is farcical crisis management. The fact is that the Swedish Prison and Probation Service can take over Tidö's new penalty system at the earliest in 2040. S is going to the election on abolishing today's quantity discount and starting with sexual crimes immediately," says the Social Democrats' legal policy spokesperson Teresa Carvalho in a written comment.
Today's quantity discount will be abolished when the government assesses that the Swedish Prison and Probation Service is able to accept more convicts, with increased sentence periods.
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.
