The Swedish Confederation of Transport Enterprises (Seko), which organizes around 5,000 employees within the Swedish Prison and Probation Service, has also previously been skeptical of the idea of renting prison places abroad. The governing parties have let an investigator review the proposal, as Swedish prisons are overcrowded, and the investigator sees no legal obstacles for Sweden to rent institutional places abroad.
I think it's a bad proposal, says Gabriella Lavecchia.
Several problems
For the inmates, she sees challenges in ensuring that their rights are upheld, and that documentation is carried out according to all the rules of the art.
The very thought of placing Swedish jurisdiction in other countries is problematic. And I think the investigator also points that out, she says.
In other countries that have tried to rent prison places, the inmates have testified about problems with getting lawyers to travel there, that rehabilitation becomes different, and that it is harder to maintain contact with relatives.
First privatization step
Lavecchia also sees problems with Swedish prison officers being placed abroad. She notes that it is already difficult today to get people to work within the Swedish Prison and Probation Service – and that it will become even harder to find people who want to work abroad.
There are masses of questions that arise around upholding Swedish legislation in another country.
She also sees it as a first step towards privatizing the Swedish Prison and Probation Service.
We in Seko organize members within rail, road, energy, telecom, and post. If there's one thing we've seen, it's that outsourcing, deregulation, and marketization of state infrastructure haven't been good. It hasn't been good for the country, but it hasn't been good for our members either.
