Why is Sweden closing its prisons?

Level 1 Elementary
1 Warmer
The title of the article is Why is Sweden closing its prisons? What do you think is the answer to this
question? Write your suggestion on a piece of paper and then discuss all your answers in class.

2 Key words
a. Match the key words to the definitions.
b. Mark the stress pattern on each word or phrase, e.g. criminals.
c. Then, find them in the article to read them in context. The paragraph numbers will help you.

criminals escape probation rehabilitation reoffending soft

1. not strict enough ___________________ (para 1)

2. the time after a prisoner leaves prison when he has to agree not to commit another crime
___________________ (para 2)
3. the act of helping someone who has been in prison to return to a normal life (para 3)
4. people who commit a crime ___________________ (para 3)
5. committing another crime ___________________ (para 3)
6. the act of running away from prison ___________________ (para 4)

electronic tagging offenders sentence responsible support volunteer

7. a period of time that a person must spend in prison ___________________ (para 5)

8. when you attach a small piece of equipment to a person so that you always know where they are
___________________ (para 5)
9. able to be blamed for something that has happened ___________________ (para 6)
10. to help someone and be kind to them when they are having a difficult time ___________________ (para 8)
11. another word for criminals ___________________ (para 8)
12. to offer to do something for no payment ___________________ (para 8)
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NEWS LESSONS / Why is Sweden closing its prisons? / Elementary

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Why is Sweden closing its prisons?
Level 1 Elementary
Why is Sweden closing its prisons? available in Sweden. A government-run
probation service gives treatment programmes
Erwin James
to offenders with drug, alcohol or violence
1 December, 2013
problems. Around 4,500 Swedes help the
1 Swedish prisons have a reputation around the service – they volunteer to make friends with
world for being liberal and modern. But are the and support offenders.
country’s prisons too soft? 9 “In Sweden, we believe very much in the idea
2 The head of Sweden’s prison and probation of rehabilitation,” says Gustafsson. “Of course,
service, Nils Oberg, said in November 2013 there are some people who will not or cannot
that four Swedish prisons will close because of change. But, in my experience, most prisoners
an “out of the ordinary” drop in the number want to change and we must do what we can
of prisoner. to help them.”
3 There has been no fall in crime rates, but, © Guardian News and Media 2013
between 2011 and 2012, there was a 6% First published in The Guardian, 01/12/13
drop in the number of people in Sweden’s
prisons, now a little over 4,500. Oberg said
he was confused by the drop in numbers, but
hoped that the reason was to do with how his
prisons are managed. “We certainly hope that
the efforts we put into rehabilitation and into
stopping criminals from reoffending has made
a difference,” he said.
4 “The modern prison service in Sweden is very
different from when I joined as a young prison
officer in 1978,” says Kenneth Gustafsson,
governor of Kumla Prison, Sweden’s most
secure jail. “When I joined, prisoners were
treated well – maybe too well. But, after high-
profile escapes in 2004, we had to make the
prisons more secure.”
5 In Sweden, prison sentences are not usually
for more than ten years. Sweden was the first
country in Europe to introduce the electronic
tagging of criminals and it continues to keep
prison sentences short when possible by using
community-based punishments. These have
stopped many criminals from reoffending.
6 The reoffending rate in Sweden is between
30 and 40% – to compare that with another
European country, the number is around
half that of the UK. One thing that has kept
reoffending down and the number of prisoners
in Sweden below 70 per 100,000 people is
that anyone under 15 cannot be responsible
for their crime.
7 Also, in Sweden, no young person under the
age of 21 can be sentenced to life – this is not
the same in many other countries – and they
try to keep young offenders out of prison.
8 One reason for the drop in prison numbers
might be the amount of post-prison support
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NEWS LESSONS / Why is Sweden closing its prisons? / Elementary

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 Why is Sweden closing its prisons?
Level 1 Elementary
3 Summarizing the article
Join the sentence halves to summarize the main points of the story.

1. Sweden is closing … a. … rehabilitation and helping criminals.

2. There aren’t enough … b. … has dropped.
3. The crime rate in Sweden … c. … under the age of 15 to prison.
4. The number of prisoners … d. … as short as possible.
5. Sweden does not send people … e. … four prisons.
6. The time criminals stay in prison in Sweden is f. … to live a normal life again.
kept …
7. The reoffending rate in Sweden is much lower … g. … support after they leave prison.
8. Sweden believes in … h. … prisoners to keep the prisons open.
9. Ex-criminals get a lot of … i. … has not dropped.
10. Volunteers help ex-criminals ... j. … than in other countries.

4 Words to describe people

a. Rearrange the letters to make the words used to describe the people below.

1. Someone from Sweden is called a _________________. (EDESW)

2. Someone who is in prison is called a _________________. (RIPRSOEN)
3. A person who commits a crime is called a _________________. (MICILNRA)
4. Someone who has done something wrong that is a crime can also be called an _________________.
(EROFNDFE)
5. Someone who does work for no money is a _________________. (ELVOUERNT)
6. A person in charge of a prison is called a _________________. (ORVNOEGR)

b. Make sentences of your own that contain the words.

5 Discussion
• Do you think Sweden is too soft on its criminals?
• Is rehabilitation better than prison?
• Would you volunteer to help an ex-criminal?

• What do you know about the prison system in your country? How is it similar to or different from the
prison system in Sweden?
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© Macmillan Publishers Ltd 2014

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NEWS LESSONS / Why is Sweden closing its prisons? / Elementary

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Why is Sweden closing its prisons?
Level 1 Elementary

KEY

1 Warmer 4 Words to describe people

Teacher’s note: Write this question on the board before 1. Swede

handing out the worksheets. Get the students to write 2. prisoner
their answer on a piece of paper. Collect the answers 3. criminal
and redistribute them amongst the students. Students 4. offender
read out the answer they’ve been given and you all 5. volunteer
discuss the answers as a class. 6. governor

2 Key words

1. soft
2. probation
3. rehabilitation
4. criminals
5. reoffending
6. escape
7. sentence
8. electronic tagging
9. responsible
10. support
11. offenders
12. volunteer

3 Summarizing the article

1. e
2. h
3. i
4. b
5. c
6. d
7. j
8. a
9. g
10. f
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NEWS LESSONS / Why is Sweden closing its prisons? / Elementary

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