2 REMAND mand prison can be limited in four situations, namely: 1. via prosecutor’s restrictions (chap. 6 § 2, 1 and 2 HäL), 2. an inmate is placed in a different custodial facility than a remand prison and the physical design of the facility does not allow for association between inmates (chap. 2 § 5, 1 HäL), 3. for security reasons it is necessary to keep an inmate segregated from other inmates (chap. 2 § 5, 2 HäL), or 4. it is necessary to carry out a body search (chap. 2 § 5, 3 HäL). 2.4 The right of association with other inmates can be limited by restrictions imposed by a prosecutor In connection with a decision to hold a person on remand at the request of a prosecutor, a court must additionally consider whether an inmate’s contacts with the outside world are to be restricted (referred to as restrictions). Restrictions may only be issued if there is a risk that a suspect will tamper or destroy evidence or otherwise complicate or adversely affect the investigation of a case (chap. 24, § 5 a, first paragraph RB). A decision to impose restrictions may restrict an inmate’s right to (chap. 6, § 2 HäL): 1. be placed with other inmates, 2. associate with other inmates, 3. follow what is happening in the outside world, 4. be in the possession of magazines and newspapers, 5. receive visits, 6. be in contact with others through means of electronic communication, or 7. send and receive mail. The above restrictions can only be imposed on an inmate if he or she is subject to restrictions in accordance with chap. 24, § 5 a RB (chap. 6, § 1, second paragraph HäL). In each individual case, a prosecutor must make a careful assessment of whether there is a risk that an inmate without restrictions could damage an investigation (risk of collusion). When deciding upon restrictions, a prosecutor must take a position regarding the need for each individual restriction and make a separate proportionality assessment. This means for each and every case, a prosecutor must weigh the risk of collusion and the seriousness of the crime against the degree of intrusion that the restrictions impoA prosecutor needs a se upon a suspect. In cases where a prosecutor has de- court’s permission to impose restrictions cided to use restrictions, there must be a continuous upon an inmate reassessment of the reasons for the various restrictions in place. Depending on how the case develops, the need for restrictions may change and there may be reasons to both remove and impose such restrictions.6 Statistics from the Prison and Probation Service show that, of the more than 9,700 inmates who left a remand prison in 2018, almost two thirds had some form of restriction imposed upon admission to the remand prison. The proportion was only slightly lower among those inmates who were still held on remand after a month. After six months, the share had more than halved to 27 per cent. However, the number of inmates was significantly lower after six months (634 inmates) compared with after the first month (5,306 inmates).7 6 See the Prosecutor General’s guidelines (RåR 2015:1) regarding restrictions and long remand prison times. 7 See Prison and Probation Service and Statistics (KOS) pp. 24 and 25. – 20 –