"It's not something I want, but it's something we've been forced to do," says Peter Kjellin, head of Hällbyanstalten.
Although the Swedish Prison and Probation Service is growing and expanding more places, it is not happening at the same rate as the number of people sentenced to prison. At the end of March, Hällbyanstalten received a modular building that provided 64 new beds in addition to the 120 existing ones – all of which are already filled. And now visiting rooms for relatives have been converted into cells for inmates.
"I can't promise anything right now, that's unfortunately the case," says Peter Kjellin.
Occupancy of over 100 percent
Last year, the occupancy rate was 113 percent in all prisons in the country. At Hällbyanstalten it was as much as 119 percent. Occupancy has been over 100 percent every year since 2020.
"Gone are the days when occupancy rates were 80–90 percent," says Kjellin.
The occupancy rate has been over 100 percent since 2020 at Hällbyanstalten and in the country. Photo: SVT Design
"The situation is serious"
The Prison and Probation Service's assessment is that the need for places will amount to approximately 2032,7 places by 800, compared with today's more than 4,300 permanent places in 46 institutions.
"The situation is serious. It's like when you came here today, there is not a single seat available and we have occupied visiting rooms. This is not unique to Hällby, but it is a very difficult situation for the entire Prison and Probation Service.
How are relatives affected by visiting rooms being converted into cells? Follow along to a visiting room in the clip above and hear the head of the institution talk about what they are doing to improve the situation.