More flexible remand and prison enforcement

More flexible remand and prison enforcement

Mer flexibla regler om verkställighet av häktning och fängelsestraff, SOU 2026:30, is a May 2026 government inquiry focused on capacity and flexible placement during the prison-service expansion. The local PDF preserves the 225-page report.

The inquiry proposes abolishing the statutory starting right to a single room in remand prison. It would leave occupancy numbers to the executing authority’s suitability assessment and require only that a shared room be adapted for that purpose. The report considered but rejected a statutory minimum floor area.

It also proposes legalizing temporary placement of remand detainees in police arrest when transport conditions or remand-prison capacity provide special reasons. For adults serving prison sentences in remand prisons, it proposes removing explicit time limits while retaining a principle that the stay be no longer than necessary.

These are proposals scheduled for a possible July 2027 commencement, not current law. They nevertheless demonstrate a policy turn from reducing detention and isolation toward normalizing capacity workarounds. The proposal must be reviewed after the legislative process advances.

It is compared with Färre i häkte och minskad isolering inside Swedish remand detention and restrictions.

Sources

  1. 2026-sou-flexible-remand-prison-enforcement.pdf
  2. regeringen.se