Inmate Exclusion for Lack of Space: Civil Ombudsman Deems Ringerike Prison’s Practice Illegal and Burdensome

An inmate in Ringerike prison was excluded from community with other inmates for 16 days on an illegal basis, the Civil Ombudsman believes.

The reason was an allegation of violence against another inmate. But when the person in question was to be returned to the normal ward, there was no room due to “building conditions”.

As a result, the inmate was placed in a ward where you rarely meet other people. It is considered very burdensome.

Other inmates in the prison have also experienced this. The prison has made such decisions 12 times.

“The prison thus appears to have an illegal practice, which must be changed,” writes the Civil Ombudsman in its conclusion.

– The law is designed for something that occurs suddenly and unexpectedly. The fact that there is a lack of space in the department he will be in is not a reason to exclude someone from the community, civil ombudsman Hanne Harlem explains to NRK.

Civil ombudsman Hanne Harlem: – Serious

Prison manager Eirik Bergstedt says it is tradition for the prison to follow the Civil Ombudsman’s statements. He says they will take time to familiarize themselves with the statement that came on Friday, but does not hide that there will be consequences.

– That this can lead to changes rather quickly, there is no doubt, acknowledges Bergstedt.

Civil ombudsman Harlem says social contact is very important. Not least so that inmates can return to society again.

– We know a lot about what it means for mental health and the execution of the sentence. “Excluding someone from social contact without justification as permitted by law is serious,” she points out.

The student-run legal aid service Jussbuss has daily contact with inmates. They were the ones who appealed the decision on behalf of the inmate.

– What we have seen is that a great many sit in isolation due to staffing or building conditions in the prisons. In this case, we believed that the prison had no legal basis for such a practice, says Kaja Øien Hultgren ifengselsgruppa to Jussbuss.

Significantly less human contact

Inmates at Ringerike prison are together with other inmates and staff for nine hours on weekdays and ten to eleven hours at the weekend. They can work in the prison, exercise and have free time with others.

If one is excluded from community, it means two hours of human contact.

– There is a significant reduction with other inmates and employees, explains Bergstedt.

You end up in this department if you have used drugs in the prison, had a weapon, been violent or broken other rules in the prison.

But sitting here due to a lack of space is illegal, the ombudsman believes.

– Then you will not have to wait for a new place together, but will be moved over immediately. That is how we interpret it, acknowledges Bergstedt.

– Does that mean that you have to cut down on the number of inmates?

– Yes, it has long been full of community. There is reason to believe that compliance with the practice will mean a slightly different type of operation, replies the prison manager.