ABSTRACT
This chapter examines current changes in Swedish prison policy and organization. It is based on some recent interviews and a re-reading of data from several prison research projects. From the mid-nineteenth century, the Swedish prison system was dominated by Philadelphia model cell prisons, yet complemented by a few penal labour prisons and small local jails. An National Reception Units (NRU) for all male prisoners sentenced to four years or more was established in Kumla Prison in the mid-1990s. A similar unit for women sentenced to more than two years was opened in a women's prison. An important aspect of prison officers' professional skills is to be able to strike a balance between security and rehabilitation in relation to individual prisoners in the context of unique circumstances. Rehabilitation work is now first and foremost based on psychiatric assessment and treatment that has at its core standardized, manual-based programmes and/or psychopharmacologic drugs.
