2 REMAND possibility of associating with other inmates for a number of hours per day in a communal space. The Prison and Probation Service has stated to the Parliamentary Ombudsmen that 42 per cent of all remand prison places consist of association places.2 At a meeting between the Parliamentary Ombudsmen and representatives of the Prison and Probation Service in March 2019, the agency stated that this figure should only be seen as a guide to how many association places should exist. The need for such places varies over time. It is, therefore, not possible to state an exact figure regarding how many association places the agency has at its disposal. A remand prison with relatively few places has flexible places, which can be adapted based on which categories of inmates the remand prison admits. The same cell can be used for placing an inmate with restrictions one day and for placing Graph 1. Number of remand prison places and average occupancy 2011–2018 The above information is from the Prison and Probation Service’s annual reports. 2 See the Prison and Probation Service’s report back p. 2, the Parliamentary Ombudsmen’s report dnr 5969-2015. an inmate allowed to associate with others the next day.3 Graph 1 shows the number of regular remand prison places in Swedish remand prisons on average for the period 2011–2018 and the average occupancy during the same period. Between 2011–2017, the number of places was relatively constant. There was an increase of 181 places from 2017 to 2018 (9 per cent). In 2019, the Prison and Probation Service added an additional 138 places (an increase of around 6 per cent). The Prison and Probation Service has submitted a number of proposals for measures to enable the agency to handle the increased flow of clients. Among the measures proposed is a continued increase in the number of places within remand prisons. If such proposals are implemented in accordance with the Prison and Probation Service’s forecast, the number of remand prison places will increase by approximately 130 by 2022. Graph 2 shows the capacity increase that will occur through time-based projects. The increase will occur via new remand prisons in Borås (capacity increase of 9 places by 2023), Kristianstad (capacity increase of 30–70 places by 2022) and Östersund (capacity increase of 5 places by 2020) and an expansion of the Salberga remand prison (capacity increase of approximately 44 places by 2022). In addition, there are plans for new remand prisons in Halmstad (capacity increase of approximately 55 places) and Västerås (capacity increase of 30–50 places) and an expansion of the remand prisons Bomhus (capacity increase of 10–15 places) and Kalmar (capacity increase of 25–35 places). These four projects are not time-based and are not recorded in Graph 2. Once the projects are completed, the Prison and Probation Service will have a maximum of 2,559 remand prison places.4 3 4 – 18 – See the Parliamentary Ombudsmen’s report p. 4, dnr O 7-2018. See the Prison and Probation Service’s report Increased client flow – The Pri-