Prison watchdog challenges 30-minute weekly phone limit on security wings
Sweden’s parliamentary ombudsman has criticised a decision to halve prisoners’ phone time on the security wings at Saltvik, Hall and Kumla, where inmates also spend 14 hours locked up overnight.
The decision, dated 9 November, examines a limit introduced in January: three ten-minute calls a week, down from an hour in total. Prisoners with children may replace one call with a 15-minute video call.
The Prison and Probation Service says staff must monitor these calls live to prevent crime and escape planning. It argues that the monitoring requires experienced staff and that limiting call time was necessary for security.
Ombudsman Katarina Påhlsson says family contact could help offset the effects of long confinement. Instead, prisoners faced both restrictions together, making it difficult to see how the service was meeting its duty to administer sentences humanely.
She also criticises the three prisons for taking a joint decision without separately assessing necessity and proportionality at each establishment. Staffing shortages at one cannot justify the same restriction at another.
The prisons must continuously review both restrictions against their own circumstances and look for ways to offset their effects. The decision concerns the designated security wings, not every prisoner in Sweden.
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