8 THE PARLIAMENTARY OMBUDSMEN’S INSPEC TIONS OF REMAND PRISONS 2015–2019 described as complex, and the Prison and Probation Service could therefore not provide any information at that time as to when the support system would be in operation. Based on the details which emerged in the Prison and Probation SerIn the Parliamentary vice’s reporting Ombudsmen’s opinion, it back, on 27 Decemmust be possible to follow ber 2018, the Chief the use of isolation-breaking Parliamentary Ombudsman decided measures over time to continue investigating the issue in the form of an own-initiative inquiry (see section 9). It has also emerged during the Parliamentary Ombudsman’s inspections that remand prisons have difficulty in achieving the Prison and Probation Service’s own objective for isolation-breaking measures. An inspection of Jönköping Remand Prison in March 2018 revealed that the remand prison had made surveys of the use of isolation-breaking measures over a period of eight months. The survey showed that “not all inmates with restrictions” had two hours of activities outside their cells.8 During an inspection of Sweden’s largest remand prison in Gothenburg (Göteborg) in February 2019, staff at its juvenile and women’s department stated that they did not have the sufficient resources to carry out their work. In the opinion of the staff, the department needed three more full-time positions. The lack of resources made the staff feel an ethical stress as the inmates were isolated and the objective with isolation-breaking measures was not fulfilled. In the opinion of members of staff, it would be desirable to have a higher level of staffing on the weekends, but instead it is lower than on weekdays. 8 See the Parliamentary Ombudsmen’s report dnr 1364-2018 p. 4. As a result, the conditions for being able to offer isolation-breaking measures are even worse on weekends.9 During the same inspection of Göteborg Remand Prison, it was also revealed that the restriction department did not have the sufficient level of staffing to be able to achieve the objective of at least two hours of isolation-breaking measures every day. In October 2018, a staff position was removed on the weekends so that the department would have an extra resource for isolation-breaking measures on weekdays. However, this resource is used by other departments when they lack staff. For this reason, the staff in the restriction department only have time for nothing more than holding intake interviews with new inmates and drawing up plans for the inmates for their time held on remand. It was further stated that “an external visit requires the supervision of two remand prison guards. This means that approximately four inmates can receive a visit on any weekday, that is just under seven per cent. The large scale of the operation at the remand prison has negative effects and the remand prison guards have difficulty ‘serving’ the inmates.”10 An inspection of Växjö Remand Prison in March 2019 revealed that the remand prison did not have sufficient resources in terms of staffing and space to be able to arrange isolation-breaking measures for its inmates on a daily basis. All inmates with restrictions were offered isolation-breaking measures, but in order for this to function, it was, according to representatives of the remand prison, necessary that a number of inmates refused the offer.11 Kalmar Remand Prison was inspected in April 2019, whereby it emerged that the remand prison had initia9 See the Parliamentary Ombudsmen’s report dnr O 7-2019 p. 5. 10 See the Parliamentary Ombudsmen’s report dnr O 7-2019 p. 6. 11 See the Parliamentary Ombudsmen’s report dnr O 22-2019 p. 5. – 44 –