C APPENDIX Dnr O 7-2018 Page 17 (21) representatives of the Prison and Probation Service stated that they, unfortunately, believe that the amount of time that inmates receive isolationbreaking measures will not increase more than marginally, despite the fact that Sweden has relatively high staffing levels when compared internationally.38 The CPT and the Remand Prison and Restrictions Government Inquiry have assessed that there needs to be a radical change in the remand prison system. What has emerged from my review strongly suggests that the government now needs to take a comprehensive approach to these issues. The ability to follow the work on the use of isolation-breaking measures The Opcat inspections of a number of the Prison and Probation Service's remand prisons in 2017 revealed that the remand prisons did not define, measure and follow up on the use of isolation-breaking measures in a standardised manner.39 I found it remarkable that there was a lack of central control from the Prison and Probation Service on this important issue. For this reason, I urged the Prison and Probation Service to consider amending its regulations concerning what can be considered to constitute isolation-breaking measures. I further stated that it is of interest to both the Parliamentary Ombudsmen and international investigative bodies (for example, the CPT) to be able to follow this issue. I therefore considered that the Prison and Probation Service should ensure that the use of isolation-breaking measures are reported and documented. The agency was asked to report back on its work with this issue to the Parliamentary Ombudsmen in 2018. In reporting back, the Prison and Probation Service made the assessment that the data provided by the current surveys (seven measurement occasions per year) is sufficient in providing an approximate picture of the extent of the use of isolation-breaking measures at a national level.40 However, they are not designed to support follow-up work at the local level and are insufficient as tools in the day-to-day work. The remand prisons instead apply various manual systems for the daily planning and follow-up on the use of isolation-breaking measures. The agency emphasised that there is a need to develop a standardised and appropriate planning and follow-up tool that clearly supports the implementation of isolation-breaking work at the local level, whilst at the national level provides correct information on an overall basis. A prestudy had been carried out, but since the project is complex, the Prison and Probation Service could not state at the 2018 reporting back if and when any future system could be in operation nor how it could be designed. See the Parliamentary Ombudsmen’s report dnr O 7-2018 p. 8. See the Parliamentary Ombudsmen’s report pp. 13, dnr 416-2017. See the Prison and Probation Service's reporting back on 14 June 2018 p. 4, the Parliamentary Ombudsmen’s dnr 416-2017. 38 39 40 – 98 –