Due to a lack of space, an increasing number of inmates sentenced to long prison terms for serious crimes are being placed in facilities with the lowest security classification, according to an internal report from the Prison and Probation Service, reports P4 Väst.
This is one of the reasons behind a riot at the open prison Östragård in Vänersborg in August, according to the report.
They were simply not ready to handle the freedom on level three, says prison manager Henrik Vang about the inmates involved in the incident during the autumn, to P4.
The riot was described by the Prison and Probation Service as a "planned mass action", where a man broke in, furniture was thrown, and a police officer was splashed with hot water.
In addition to working with emergency places and double occupancy, "downgrading" inmates is a measure the Prison and Probation Service takes to find space within the severely overcrowded authority.
In this case, despite working systematically and constantly with correct placements for the right clients, it was obviously the case that six inmates did not handle the freedom and the conditions that exist in open prisons, says Vang.
