In April, a 17-year-old convicted of murder was freed by masked people in connection with a dentist visit in Södertälje. And on Monday, two 14-year-old boys, both suspected of involvement in shootings in Stockholm, escaped from the Sis home Nereby outside Gothenburg.
The following day, the Parliamentary Ombudsman (JO), who made an unannounced inspection of the home in February, directed scathing criticism at the facility. The premises are described, among other things, as directly unsuitable for children and young people.
The escapes have led to a discussion about the safety of both the criminal transport and the special youth homes. However, SIS's security director, Christer Johansson, believes that the business works.
– I would say that we have a high level of security today, he said in SVT's Morgonstudion.
Gets pushback
Minister of Justice Gunnar Strömmer (M) does not agree with that assessment.
"Of course, you can't agree that the safety or security procedures or the planning around security have been good enough. I think that's obvious to most people," he told SVT News.
However, he admits that SIS has made progress in recent years.
"But you start in a situation where security has been far too low and it is obvious that you are not yet at the finish line with that work.
More actions
Both SIS and the Swedish Prison and Probation Service, which is responsible for transport, have been tasked with "quickly coming up with an action plan to prevent it from happening again".
At the same time, Strömmer believes that the right to mobile phones and tablets must be limited and that the most serious criminals should be in special youth prisons rather than in Sis homes.
He hopes that a mobile ban will be in place in the near future.
"There is no doubt that we will have new rules as soon as possible that mean that you cannot use mobile phones and tablets in an unlimited way," he says.