“Prison? Yes, thank you, but not here”
“A map that placed a large prison in Svedala, sweden received opinion to wake up. Now the local residents to the polling station in a referendum, as demanded by the thousands.”
“I think it scares people that there could be the second largest prison in Sweden,” says Olle Kronqvist as förtidsröstat.”
“When the map with possible locations for the prison was published, was born the association Fängelsefritt Svedala. 2 300 signatures were collected to push forward with a referendum. The question involves both yes and no-man.”
“Linda Allansson Wester (M) is the president and belongs to the yes-side:”
” We are not a prison, we are to work with the issue. But it needed institutions in Sweden. When you see the need and are that the criminals are of their time, I think it is important to have a discussion to see if we are a solution. At the same time, it would generate jobs, ” she says.”
“Per Björkgren is the regional director at the Correctional institution South region:”
“We have asked the question if there are municipalities that are interested and Svedala is one of those who hold up their hand,” he says.”
“From the association Fängelsefritt Svedala arose the party Love Svedala. In the local election, they received 4.9 percent of the votes, which gave them two seats. Outside the Ica in Only, the municipality’s second largest city, is the leader Mats Bentmar and is campaigning for the referendum.”
” We are not at all opposed to prisons. We are opposed to the establishment in Sweden, ” he says.”
” the Prison would end up on the farmland or in the countryside. And it is something we must safeguard. At the same time, I do not believe that all the prisoners leave the municipality when they served their sentences and I think that many families are moving to the municipality where the inmates live their last days in prison.”
“Per Björkgren from the prison and Probation service think that many reactions are emotional, rather than factual:”
“– We have no experience from the rest of the country that we would make trouble for our neighbours. On the contrary, it is so, that which we are established that we should be left behind.”
“Linda Allansson Wester says that the municipality has been open on the issue right from the beginning, but that there was no major discussion during the first two years.”
“– It was only when they started to look at where it would end up as people reacted. I think that the resistance is a combination of the to understand where change can occur and that the crime raises emotions. But you should bear in mind here is that the crime is locked up inside the prison.”
“Mats Bentmar mean that most of them were out on the plans first when you saw the picture in the newspaper of where the prison could end up.”
“– Transparency has been low and it has been run over, ” he says.”
“In a polling station in central Sweden, Olle Kronqvist just voted:”
” I like that you get to decide. This question has aroused a lot of emotion in the municipality. I think it scares people that there could be the second largest prison in Sweden, ” he says.”
“the three hours since the polls opened for the day 96 people voted.”
“I think the referendum makes it more people who vote in the EU elections,” says Anton Almer, röstmottagare.”
“On the square in the Only Dennis Sandstrom. He intends to vote no.”
” We are a small municipality and we shall not have any prison, you get to have fun with someone else.”
“Whether there will be any jail after the vote is unclear. Some politicians have called it a ickefråga.”
” We have not had any dialogue with the prison service since August. So at this stage we have really nothing to consider. The day of the contact, if they do, we have the result from the referendum to listen to, ” says Linda Allansson Wester.”
“In march 2016, invited the prison service in Malmö in Svedala municipality in order to discuss the question of a future possible establishment of a kriminalvårdsanläggning.”
“In February, 2017 signed the Probation and Svedala municipality, a letter of intent, following a decision taken in the executive board in december 2016. The building shall have a place for the 150-300 prisoners and be clear in five to ten years.”
“At the beginning of 2018 was a lokaliseringsstudie forward, and nine different places in the municipality was presented as an alternative.”
“the Opponents to the prison in Svedala, sweden started a petition for a referendum, and collected approximately 2,300 signatures. Approximately 1 600 names, equivalent to ten per cent of the voters, had been required to issue would be brought in the city council.”
“In Mörbylånga and Borgholm even held a referendum on a possible kommunsammanslagning.”
