Families May Live With Prisoners

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31151, 30 August 1966, Page 17

Families May Live With Prisoners

(N.Z. Press Association—Copyright)

STOCKHOLM, August 29.

The families and fiances of long-term prisoners may be allowed to live in prison with them, the Director-General of the Swedish Prison Board, Mr Torsten Eriksson, announced today.

Mr Eriksson said experiments will be carried out in two smaller prisons. At one prison, he said in a nationwide broadcast, wives and fiances will be allowed “to live secluded with the prisoner for a couple of days.” At the other “both wife and children shall, be permitted to stay with the prisoner during the whole term of his sentence.”

Relatives who stay only a few days in prison will pay their own bills, he said. Other arrangements will be made for those who stay longer. He said families will be

provided with their own apartments in the prison, while other facilities will be provided for wives and fiances who live in for only a few days. He said security will be maintained, “and applications from prisoners for having their families with them in prison will be thoroughly checked.”

Asked what he thought about letting children grow up amid prison surroundings, Mr Eriksson replied: “My own children have been brought up in this milieu. I don’t think they will notice any difference.”