Sweden is building nearly 200 new spaces for female prisoners at Ystad facility. The expansion will make this women's prison the largest in the Nordic region.
Prison service director Martin Holmgren said the system has struggled with growing numbers of female inmates. The number of women starting prison sentences has nearly doubled in ten years. There were 556 women entering prison in 2015. Last year saw 1,079 women begin sentences.
Holmgren noted a shift in the prison population. We now see more younger women connected to gang environments and organized crime. They commit more serious offenses than previous generations of female inmates.
Historically, women's prisons housed older women with addiction problems. Many began criminal activity as adults after living in violent relationships with criminal men. The new wave of female offenders presents different challenges for prison authorities.
Why are more Swedish women turning to serious crime? The connection to gang activity suggests deeper societal problems. Sweden faces growing organized crime that now recruits more women than ever before.