Serving time outside institutional confinement through intensive supervision with electronic monitoring

The plan states that penalties should be designed to actually lead to lower crime and not make problems worse, and that society should build contexts that break destructive life paths. Expanded intensive supervision with electronic monitoring for less serious crime responds to that, because it provides better conditions for recidivism prevention work than institutional stay. The plan does not see a harder hand as the main way to lower crime.

• sanctions that reduce reoffendingdecisive»Straff och andra påföljder för brott behöver vara noggrant« (party programme ↗)“Punishments and other sanctions for crime need to be carefully”
• sanctions must not worsen problems»utformade för att faktiskt leda till lägre brottslighet och inte förvärra« (party programme ↗)“designed to actually lead to lower crime and not worsen”
• break destructive life paths»förmår bryta destruktiva levnadsbanor.« (party programme ↗)“manage to break destructive life paths.”
• smarter than a harder hand»För att få ner brottsligheten går det inte bara att vara hård mot de kriminella, det gäller att vara smartare än de kriminella.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“To reduce crime it is not enough to be hard on criminals, you have to be smarter than the criminals.”

The election manifesto's guiding commitment in the field is toughened sentences to keep criminals off the streets and an uncompromising fight against crime, and the party programme requires that society reacts clearly to crime. Expanding instead enforcement with ankle monitoring as an alternative to prison pulls in the opposite direction. The plan says nothing about prison overcrowding or enforcement forms, so the basis is weak.

• toughened sentencesdecisive»Skärpa straffen för att hålla de kriminella borta från gatorna.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“We want to toughen sentences to keep criminals off the streets.”
• uncompromising approach»Kampen mot kriminaliteten ska vara kompromisslös.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“The fight against crime shall be uncompromising.”
• clear reaction to crime»Samhället måste reagera tydligt mot brott och regelöverträdelser.« (party programme ↗)“Society must react clearly to crime and violations of rules.”
• crime prevention work»Bekämpa både brotten och brottens orsaker.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Combat both crime and crime's causes.”

The plan states that criminal justice shall be humane and aim for the convicted to not reoffend, and that penalties have both a crime-preventive and a rehabilitative purpose with a shift from punishment to care. Extended intensive supervision with electronic monitoring for less serious crime is in line with that direction and strengthens reoffence prevention work. The plan therefore supports the demand.

• humane criminal justice against reoffendingdecisive»human och ha som mål att den som dömts inte ska« (party programme ↗)“humane and aim for the convicted not to”
• rehabilitative penalties»Brottspåföljder har både ett brottsförebyggande« (party programme ↗)“Criminal penalties have both a crime-preventive”
• care before punishment»ett ändrat fokus från straff till vård.« (party programme ↗)“a changed focus from punishment to care.”
• electronic monitoring as enforcement form»att våldsutsatta kvinnor som tvingas gömma sig ska få starkare skydd och att fler som utövar våld ska få fotboja.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“that violence-affected women forced to hide shall receive stronger protection and that more who perpetrate violence shall be subject to electronic monitoring.”

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 party programme says that criminal policy shall stimulate those who have committed a crime to a new life situation without criminality, which speaks for extended intensive supervision instead of prison for less serious crime. The manifesto also wants electronic tagging to be used in more cases, which shows the party sees the tool as useful. The requirement for stricter penalties applies to serious crime and does not prevent alternative enforcement in minor cases.

• recidivist prevention criminal policydecisive»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 crime, support crime victims and stimulate those who have committed illegal acts to a new life situation without criminality.”
• expanded electronic monitoring»Vi vill att elektronisk fotboja används i fler fall vid kontaktförbud« (2022 manifesto ↗)“We want electronic tagging to be used in more cases with contact bans”
• stricter penalties for serious crime»mer resurser till polis, åklagare, domstolar och kriminalvården och strängare straff« (2022 manifesto ↗)“more resources to police, prosecutors, courts and criminal services and stricter penalties”

The plan requires criminal punishment that gives individuals the opportunity to break with a criminal lifestyle and explicitly accepts comprehensive restrictions on geographical freedom of movement as measures against offenders. This supports the counter-proposal's demand for expanded intensive supervision with electronic monitoring for less serious crime. The plan's tough line applies to lifestyle criminals, which is not the group the counter-proposal refers to.

• rehabilitative criminal punishmentdecisive»En socialliberal rättspolitik förenar brottsbekämpning med ett brett förebyggande arbete samt med en kriminalvård som ger individen förutsättningar att bryta med en kriminell livsstil.« (party programme ↗)“A social-liberal criminal justice policy combines crime prevention with broad preventive work and with criminal punishment that gives individuals the opportunity to break with a criminal lifestyle.”
• restricted freedom of movement as measure»Förövarna ska genomgå behandling samt kunna åläggas omfattande begränsningar i den geografiska rörelsefriheten.« (party programme ↗)“Offenders shall undergo treatment and can be imposed comprehensive restrictions on geographical freedom of movement.”
• resocialization as goal»Målet med tiden i fängelse är att den intagne efter avtjänat straff ska ha bättre förutsättningar att klara ett liv i frihet.« (party programme ↗)“The goal of time in prison is that the prisoner after serving their sentence shall have better opportunities to manage a life in freedom.”
• lifestyle criminals locked up»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 election manifesto's line is a greatly expanded criminal care system and stricter sentences, not for more convicted persons to serve sentences outside institutions. The plan emphasises that the sentence shall give the criminal insight into the damage they have caused and explicitly reserves alternatives such as community service primarily for young people. That generally expanding intensive supervision as a replacement for institutional confinement thus goes against the plan's line, even though individual prevention speaks for a variety of measures.

• expanded criminal caredecisive»Hela rättsväsendet behöver byggas ut. Fler poliser kräver fler åklagare, domstolar på fler platser i landet och en kraftigt utbyggd kriminalvård.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“The entire legal system needs to be expanded. More police require more prosecutors, courts in more places in the country and a greatly expanded criminal care system.”
• the sentence shall provide insight»Straffet ska vara så utformat att det ger brottslingen« (party programme ↗)“The sentence shall be designed so that it gives the criminal”
• alternative sanctions primarily for the young»Samhällstjänst ska alltid övervägas i första hand« (party programme ↗)“Community service shall always be considered in the first place”
• individual prevention»avhålla från nya brott, ska innefatta en mångfald av insatser från samhällets sida.« (party programme ↗)“deter from new crimes, shall include a variety of measures from society's side.”

The plan's basic line is that criminals shall be in prison and that the number of prison places shall increase, not that more shall serve their sentence outside prison. It also wants to remove sentence discounts and limit conditional release. Electronic monitoring exists in the plan, but as a new long-term monitoring in addition to the sentence - not as a replacement for incarceration for less serious crime.

• criminals shall be in prisondecisive»Där du kan vara trygg när du är ute, för att brottslingarna sitter inne.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Where you can feel safe when you are out, because criminals are in prison.”
• more prison places»Öka antalet fängelseplatser och se över möjligheten att hyra fängelseplatser utomlands« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Increase the number of prison places and consider the possibility of renting prison places abroad”
• no sentence discounts»Ta bort alla straffrabatter för den som fyllt 18 år och slopa dagens mängdrabatter« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Remove all sentence discounts for those over 18 and abolish today's multiple offender discounts”
• electronic monitoring as addition»Införa en helt ny möjlighet till långtidsövervakning med fotboja« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Introduce a completely new possibility for long-term monitoring with electronic monitoring”

The plan requires that criminal policy be completely reorganised to be based on zero tolerance and incapacitation and that more criminals be locked up. To instead let more serve their sentences outside prison with electronic ankle bracelets goes in the opposite direction. The plan moreover addresses the shortage of prison places by expanding the number of prison places in and outside Sweden, not by reducing incarceration.

• zero tolerance and incapacitationdecisive»Sveriges kriminalpolitik behöver helt läggas om för att bygga på nolltolerans och inkapacitering.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Sweden's criminal policy needs to be completely reorganised to be based on zero tolerance and incapacitation.”
• more shall be locked up»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 want to reorganise criminal policy to incarcerate and expel to a higher degree the criminals who create insecurity and commit crimes.”
• more prison places»Utöka tillgången på anstaltsplatser i och utanför Sverige« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Expand the availability of prison places in and outside Sweden.”
• full sentence served»hela strafftiden ska tjänas av innan villkor kan ställas för frigivning för den som döms till fängelse« (2022 manifesto ↗)“the full sentence shall be served before conditions can be set for release for those sentenced to prison.”