theme for 2015: female deprivation of liberty 46 Female deprivation of liberty Prison security classification At the present time, the Prison and Probation Service’s institutions are divided into three security levels (1–3), with 1 being the highest and 3 the lowest security level. The division into security levels is based on an overall assessment of the conditions an institution has for supervision and controls. Factors that affect the assessment include shell and perimeter protection, the scope of camera surveillance, entry controls and staff density. It is also possible for the Prison and Probation Service to make a special decision to place an inmate in a section with a particularly high level of supervision and control (security section). Such a placement may be relevant if there is a permanent risk of the inmate escaping or being freed and it could be assumed that he or she is particularly inclined to criminal activity. Women form only a small percentage of those deprived of their liberty within the prison service. In 2015, women made up around 6 percent of the total prison population. Given that the majority of inmates are men, the prison service is, as a general rule, built on the basis of their needs. In this context, female inmates could therefore be said to be a relatively invisible group. At the same time, women form a group of inmates who, to some extent, have different needs. In this context, it is worth mentioning, that it is not uncommon for female inmates to spend time in establishments together with their children. It is also not unusual for female inmates to have more complex problems than male inmates. The treatment of female inmates places certain demands on the Prison and Probation Service. In the context, female inmates risk not having their rights accommodated. For this reason, the OPCAT unit chose women deprived of their liberty as a special theme in 2015. Inspections carried out Female inmates are placed at one of the prisons Hinseberg, Ystad, Ljustadalen, Sagsjön, Färingsö or Ringsjön. At Hinseberg, which holds security level 2, inmates sentenced to a minimum of two years in prison are initially placed. The equivalence is the National Assessment Centre for men in Kumla, where inmates who have been sentenced to a minimum of four years in prison are placed. A special investigation is carried out at the National Assessment Centres that forms the basis for placements in institutions. Female inmates sentenced to prison sentences of less than two years are placed directly in one of the six institutions. The prions Färingsö, Sagsjön and Ystad also hold security level 2. There are also security level 3 institutions in Färingsö and Sagsjön. The Ljustadalen and Ringsjön prisons are security level 3. There is no security level 1 prison for female inmates. Nor are there any placements for female inmates that allow so-called safety placements, i.e. places where inmates deemed to be at special risk of being inclined to escape or commit crimes. In 2015, the OPCAT unit inspected all prisons that accept female inmates. The remand prisons in Helsingborg and Sollentuna, which were the two remand prisons at that time that had special sections for female inmates, were also inspected. The inspections led to the Parliamentary Ombudsmen opening six enquiries.