The areas of the criminal justice system examined are philosophy, administration, operations, sentencing, sanctions, and trends. The areas of Sweden's correctional system discussed are philosophy, policy, administration, conditions, operations, evaluation research, and trends. Overall, political, cultural, socioeconomic, and historical factors contribute to what many cite as a more humane, lenient, and tolerant system than exists in many Western nations; it is considered by many as a world model for correctional innovation and reform. The focus of those who applaud the Swedish system is the open prison; little attention has been paid to the closed lock-up facilities. Although questions regarding the treatment of 'dangerous' offenders arise, answers are rarely found in the literature. The use of indefinite sentences and psychiatric facilities suggest that problem inmates are handled in ways similar to those of Western nations. However, the percentage of violent offenders is less in Sweden. The Swedes have found that regardless of the goals and structure of the penal system, the negative influences of prisons outweigh the positive gains of programs and humane prison treatment. Also, while the Swedes have a humane and lenient system in comparison to most Western countries, their crime rate remains unaffected and recidivism is high. This raises the issue of whether prisons per se are detrimental to rehabilitation goals. Appended are statistics, a list of external factors affecting the criminal justice system, organizational charts, reform proposals, an update, and 21 references. An identical report in French is included.