In the middle of December 2013, Norwegian Minister of Justice Anders Anundsen sent a request to Sweden asking to rent some of their jail cells to prevent queues in Norwegian prisons. 1200 people were in jail queue at the end of last year in Norway.
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According to press secretary in the Swedish Justice Department, Per Claréus, the Swedish government have not concluded with whether or not they have any cells to offer.
Claréus comments that they are going to send a formal answer to the Norwegian Minister of Justice very soon.
– There are several principal problems with letting Norwegian convicts zone in Sweden, says Claréus.
He also comments that there can occur doubt about whose responsibility the convicts are.
The Swedish Minister of Justice Beatrice Ask says to the “Svenska Dagbladet” Wednesday that the Norwegian request will lead to change of law. Nevertheless she stresses that she does not reject the request.
Several Swedish prisons have been laid down because they are not in use and because the prisons do not live up to today´s standard.
Press secretary Torkell Omnell from the Prison and Probation Service´s head quarter says that they have capacity to take convicts from Norway, but that they don´t want to take too many.
– We need to be prepared for a change of crime rate. We therefore need to be flexible when it comes to capacity.
Omnell cannot give an answer when it comes to how many cells they might be able to offer.
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