In 2020, only one person had their unpaid fines or penalties converted to prison sentences. So far this year, it's about 64 people with a total of 686 unpaid fines who have received prison sentences.
According to the Enforcement Authority, the increase is partly due to a legislative change in 2021 that has enabled them to work in a new way.
According to the authority, the measure targets those who repeatedly fail to pay their fines or have a system of accumulating new fines that they know in advance they cannot pay.
"It's not about those who cannot pay a single fine due to their poor economy," says Helén Norberg, enforcement officer, in a press release.
