Minor offenders are placed in prisons for adults since the capacity of the country’s two juvenile prisons has been used up.
There are a total of eight prison places for young offenders between the ages of 15 and 18 in Norway. They are distributed with four places each in the youth units in Bjørgvin and Eidsvoll prisons, newspaper Aftenposten writes.
In addition, in 2019, three custody prison places for minors were established at Eidsberg prison.
Over the past year, there have been 17 inmates under the age of 18 in prison, i.e., twice as many as the available capacity. Thus, juveniles offenders must be placed in regular prisons.
Very expensive
According to State Secretary Thor Kleppen Sættem (H) in the Ministry of Justice and Emergency Preparedness, the youth units at the prisons are very expensive. A total of 68 employees cover the eight ordinary prison places in the youth units.
Figures from the Norwegian Correctional Service show that each prison place costs NOK 7 million.
The Directorate has asked for more funding for youth prison places, but in the state budget for 2021, Oslo Prison will be given priority.
Source: © NTB Scanpix / #Norway Today / #NorwayTodayNews
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