Severe criticism of the Swedish Prison and Probation Service for shortcomings in the planning and implementation of the transportation of a 14-year-old child in care

Summary of the decision: A social welfare committee requested the assistance of the Swedish Police Authority with the transportation of a 14-year-old child in care at a home for care or residence pursuant to the Care of Young Persons (Special Provisions) Act (SFS 1990:52). The Swedish Police Authority subsequently passed the assignment onto the Swedish Prison and Probation Service, which transported the child without any representative of the committee in the vehicle and without the committee being aware that the youth did not have access to their telephone. During the journey, the vehicle stopped at a prison.

In his decision, the Parliamentary Ombudsman notes that the Swedish Prison and Probation Service’s responsibility for planning and implementing the transportation of children in compulsory institutional care – which must be done with due consideration for, among other things, the best interests of the child – almost always includes consultation with the authority responsible for their care. If necessary, a representative of the authority should also be allowed to travel with the child. In any case, to make a stop at a location that would typically be considered unsuitable for children at least requires that alternative rest stops have been considered and that, if no such location is available, the Swedish Prison and Probation Service has determined that making a stop there is consistent with the child’s best interests. The Parliamentary Ombudsman is severely critical of the Swedish Prison and Probation Service and notes that transportation was not planned and implemented in accordance with the principle of the child’s best interests, which should be the decisive factor in all decisions pursuant to the Care of Young Persons (Special Provisions) Act.

The Parliamentary Ombudsman also takes a dim view of the lack of documentation in several regards, including the matter of the transport planner’s deliberation over what would be in the child’s best interests.