However, the responsibility for the convicted children will soon be taken over by an already heavily burdened prison service.
It's incredible, in two and a half years, we have almost quintupled the number of children and young people who are serving sentences under LSU, says Elisabet Åbjörnsson Hollmark, director-general of the National Board of Institutions (Sis).
On July 31 this year, 254 young people were serving sentences under the Act on Closed Youth Care (LSU). This is an increase from 149 in the same period in 2024 – and up from just 57 as recently as 2022.
When we have looked at it, over 40 percent were convicted of murder, attempted murder, manslaughter, or attempted manslaughter, says Åbjörnsson Hollmark.
Violence and threats
Despite the development of the number of convicted persons, the trends at the often-criticized authority in the public debate have pointed in the right direction. The last escape from a Sis institution was in 2022, and the number of violent and threatening incidents between children and against staff is decreasing.
Elisabet Åbjörnsson Hollmark says that comprehensive development work on safety is a major explanation, together with new legislation that means that young people can no longer freely communicate with people on the outside.
It gives them the opportunity to actually break contacts with criminals, acquaintances, or others who do not care about their care and treatment. It has been very, very good for us.
It also means that you can no longer plan escapes from the inside as before, she emphasizes.
Young offender institutions
At the same time, work is underway to completely abolish the sentence LSU, and these children will eventually disappear from Sis care. Next summer, the Prison Service's first young offender institutions will open, where they will then be placed.
I am thoroughly in agreement that, based on social development, one needed to review the LSU legislation with a maximum sentence of only four years. That being said, my opinion is that we manage this task really, really well.
The Prison Service is already heavily overburdened, as the number of inmates in prisons has almost doubled in the last ten years. Elisabet Åbjörnsson Hollmark emphasizes the importance of the authority receiving the right resources to ensure a good school education for the children.
For this group, with a high proportion of NPF diagnoses, we have seen that it is successful with small groups of children, that it is teacher-intensive, and that one is there for these children who often have great difficulty concentrating. We really hope that the parliament and government listen to this.
Marc Skogelin/TT
Facts: Fewer threats and violent incidents at Sis
TT
2020: 408 incidents between inmates, 2,507 incidents against employees
2021: 385 incidents between inmates, 2,413 incidents against employees
2022: 475 incidents between inmates, 2,821 incidents against employees
2023: 481 incidents between inmates, 2,517 incidents against employees
2024: 357 incidents between inmates, 1,968 incidents against employees
2025 (until the end of August): 216 incidents between inmates, 1,135 incidents against employees
The statistics include both persons who are placed at Sis after a conviction in a criminal case (LSU) and those who are inmates under the Act with Special Provisions on the Care of Young People (LVU).
Source: Sis
