Government legislative proposals

The plan requires that penalties and measures are carefully designed so that they actually lead to lower crime and do not worsen problems, and that legal certainty is maintained. It is simultaneously open to certain penalties needing to be tougher, but wants the emphasis to be on treatment and preventive measures. A blanket requirement for risk assessment and a compulsory care form as a long-term solution thus aligns with the plan.

• carefully designed measuresdecisive»Straff och andra påföljder för brott behöver vara noggrant« (party programme ↗)“Penalties and other measures for crime need to be carefully”
• legal certainty»Utvecklingen av ett rättsväsende byggt på rättssäkerhet är viktig« (party programme ↗)“Development of a justice system built on legal certainty is important”
• prevention before repression»Vissa straff kan behöva höjas men mycket mer fokus måste riktas mot att förhindra rekryteringen av nya barn till gängkriminalitet.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Some penalties may need to be increased but much more focus must be directed at preventing the recruitment of new children into gang crime.”
• legal certainty and transparency»Rättssäkerheten behöver upprätthållas genom rättshjälp, medborgerlig« (party programme ↗)“Legal certainty needs to be maintained through legal aid, citizen”

The plan takes no explicit position on what the committee actually decided — often because the committee's reason was procedural. The stance is derived and fully cited, but it does not show the party broke a commitment.

The plan requires that criminal policy is built on evidence, efficiency and legal certainty, which carries the counter-proposal's requirement that a special risk assessment always be conducted before an indeterminate sentence is imposed. The plan simultaneously stands behind punishment commensurate with the seriousness of crimes, which explains that the legislation is accepted at present. The commitment to rehabilitation and return to society also supports the idea of a special care form as a long-term solution.

• evidence and legal certaintydecisive»Kriminalpolitik byggd på evidens, effektivitet och rättssäkerhet.« (party programme ↗)“Criminal policy built on evidence, efficiency and legal certainty.”
• rehabilitation as goal»Fokus på rehabilitering och återgång i samhället.« (party programme ↗)“Focus on rehabilitation and return to society.”
• proportionate punishment»Straff i paritet med brottens allvar.« (party programme ↗)“Punishment commensurate with the seriousness of crimes.”
• criminal justice in public management»Rustad kriminalvård i offentlig regi.« (party programme ↗)“Equipped criminal justice in public management.”

The plan takes no explicit position on what the committee actually decided — often because the committee's reason was procedural. The stance is derived and fully cited, but it does not show the party broke a commitment.

The plan's decisive commitment is that all new legislation shall be carefully reviewed in terms of legal security and fundamental freedoms and rights and that crime-fighting shall not take place at the expense of the rule of law. An unconditional requirement for special risk assessment, and a form of care instead of indefinite detention, are precisely such legal security requirements. The plan also emphasizes rehabilitation and that deprivation of liberty should lead back to society.

• legal security review of lawsdecisive»prövas noggrant utifrån rättssäkerhet och grundläggande fri- och rättigheter.« (party programme ↗)“be carefully reviewed in terms of legal security and fundamental freedoms and rights.”
• rule of law principles weigh»Brottsbekämpning ska inte ske på bekostnad av« (party programme ↗)“Crime-fighting shall not take place at the expense of”
• equality before the law»Alla ska vara lika inför lagen och rättssäkerheten måste garanteras i« (party programme ↗)“Everyone should be equal before the law and legal security must be guaranteed in”
• proportional penalties»Frivårdspåföljder ska användas som förstahandsval vid lindrigare brott.« (party programme ↗)“Community service sentences should be used as the first choice for minor offences.”

The plan takes no explicit position on what the committee actually decided — often because the committee's reason was procedural. The stance is derived and fully cited, but it does not show the party broke a commitment.

The plan defends the rule of law and the individual's rights against the state and requires proportionality between legislation's intrusion and its purpose. Always requiring a special risk assessment before an indeterminate sentence is handed down is exactly such a legal security guarantee. The plan's criminal policy shall moreover stimulate the sentenced person towards a new life situation without crime, which argues for a care-oriented long-term solution.

• the rule of law's protection of the individualdecisive»Rättsstaten och individens rättigheter gentemot staten måste försvaras.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“The rule of law and the individual's rights against the state must be defended.”
• proportionality in legislation»Det måste finnas en proportionalitet mellan lagstiftningens inskränkning av medborgarnas integritet och lagarnas syfte.« (party programme ↗)“There must be proportionality between legislation's restriction of citizens' integrity and the laws' purpose.”
• care and reintegration»Kriminalpolitiken ska därför både förebygga och avskräcka från brott, stödja brottsdrabbade och stimulera dem som har begått olagliga handlingar till en ny livssituation utan brottslighet.« (party programme ↗)“Criminal policy shall therefore both prevent and deter from crime, support victims of crime and stimulate those who have committed unlawful actions towards a new life situation without crime.”
• societal protection against serious crime»Samhället ska inte vika sig för gängen. För att besegra dem krävs bättre insatser som förebygger nyrekrytering, mer resurser till polis, åklagare, domstolar och kriminalvården och strängare straff.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Society shall not yield to gangs. To defeat them requires better measures that prevent recruitment, more resources for police, prosecutors, courts and the prison service and stricter penalties.”

The plan requires that legal certainty and protection for civil liberties and rights be strengthened, and that care and treatment be provided on a scientific basis even for inmates. An unconditional requirement for special risk assessment before an indefinite sentence is imposed is exactly such a legal certainty guarantee. The plan at the same time shares the law's purpose of protecting society from lifestyle criminals.

• strengthened legal certaintydecisive»Rättssäkerheten och skyddet för de medborgerliga fri- och rättigheterna behöver förstärkas.« (party programme ↗)“Legal certainty and protection for civil liberties and rights need to be strengthened.”
• scientifically-based care»Vård, behandling och rehabilitering av fysiska och psykiska sjukdomar ska ges på« (party programme ↗)“Care, treatment and rehabilitation of physical and mental illnesses shall be provided on”
• treatment during sentence»Intagna på fängelser ska erbjudas arbete, behandling och utbildning under strafftiden.« (party programme ↗)“Inmates in prisons shall be offered work, treatment and education during their sentence.”
• society protection against reoffending»Livsstilskriminella ska hållas inlåsta i stället för att släppas ut på våra gator.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Lifestyle criminals shall be kept locked up instead of being released onto our streets.”

The plan takes no explicit position on what the committee actually decided — often because the committee's reason was procedural. The stance is derived and fully cited, but it does not show the party broke a commitment.

The plan lays down that the imposed sanction must normally be time-limited, which justifies that an indeterminate sanction is surrounded by strong legal safeguards and that the exception from special risk assessment is removed. At the same time, the plan's requirement that society be protected against abuse carries the basic legislation that the counter-proposal accepts. The requirement for a compulsory care form as a long-term solution is in line with criminal and probation services being given sufficient resources for necessary care.

• time-limited sanctionsdecisive»Den utdömda påföljden ska normalt vara tidsbestämd.« (party programme ↗)“The imposed sanction must normally be time-limited.”
• predictable and humane legislation»innefatta snabba och förutsägbara reaktioner som är förankrade i en human och tydlig« (party programme ↗)“include swift and predictable responses that are anchored in a humane and clear”
• societal protection»avskräcka andra från liknande handlingar samt skydda samhället mot övergrepp och andra« (party programme ↗)“deter others from similar actions and protect society against abuse and other”
• care within criminal justice services»Kriminal- och frivården ska ges tillräckliga resurser för att kunna ge erforderlig vård och i« (party programme ↗)“Criminal and probation services must be given sufficient resources to provide necessary care and”

The plan takes no explicit position on what the committee actually decided — often because the committee's reason was procedural. The stance is derived and fully cited, but it does not show the party broke a commitment.

The plan commits to a detention sentence where socially dangerous criminals are kept locked up as long as they are dangerous, with public safety as the starting point. The counter-proposal's demand that a special compulsory care form shall replace the solution in the long run shifts focus from punishment to care, which the plan does not support. The plan's line is that criminals should be locked up and that focus should shift to the crime victim.

• detention sentence for dangerous criminalsdecisive»Införa en ny typ av förvaringsstraff så att serievåldtäktsmän och andra samhällsfarliga brottslingar kan sitta frihetsberövade så länge de är farliga för allmänheten« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Introduce a new type of detention sentence so that serial rapists and other socially dangerous criminals can be imprisoned as long as they are dangerous to the public”
• public safety through detention»Där du kan vara trygg när du är ute, för att brottslingarna sitter inne.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Where you can be safe when you are out, because the criminals are locked up.”
• focus on crime victim»Införa en ny brottsbalk för att skifta fokus från gärningsmannen till brottsoffer« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Introduce a new criminal code to shift focus from the perpetrator to crime victim”
• legal certainty in the justice system»Sverige ska ha ett rättsväsende präglat av rättssäkerhet« (party programme ↗)“Sweden shall have a justice system marked by legal certainty”

The counter-proposal wishes to require special risk assessment in all cases and eventually replace the sanction with a coercive care form after serving the sentence. The plan is based on incapacitation: dangerous criminals shall be prevented from committing new crimes, and those who commit serious crimes may be sentenced to indefinite detention. Moving the focus toward care and adding procedural obstacles contradicts that commitment.

• incapacitation over caredecisive»Straff ska inte bara ses som en rehabiliterande åtgärd, utan genom att stå i proportion till gärningen ge upprättelse åt brottsoffer och genom inkapacitering hindra att farliga kriminella kan begå nya brott.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Punishment should not only be seen as a rehabilitative measure, but by being proportionate to the deed provide redress to crime victims and through incapacitation prevent dangerous criminals from committing new crimes.”
• indefinite detention»Den som finns i gängmiljö och begår brott ska kunna dömas till särskilt långa fängelsestraff eller förvaring på obestämd tid.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Those found in gang environments and committing crimes may be sentenced to particularly long prison sentences or indefinite detention.”
• shifted criminal policy»Sverigedemokraterna vill lägga om kriminalpolitiken till att i högre grad låsa in och utvisa de kriminella som skapar otrygghet och begår brott.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Sweden Democrats wish to shift criminal policy to a greater degree toward locking up and deporting the criminals who create insecurity and commit crimes.”
• victims before perpetrators»Brottsoffers och potentiella brottsoffers intressen måste i alla lägen sättas framför« (party programme ↗)“Crime victims' and potential crime victims' interests must in all cases be put before”