– Women under the age of 20 sit for several weeks in a cell completely stripped of everything. Some are completely isolated, says prison inspector Jan Balstad. Behind the grid, the employees have experienced attempts at hanging, self-strangulation and serious self-harm. Prison staff are now sounding the alarm about women who should rather have been treated in psychiatry. Instead, they are placed in a security cell that is considered a very intrusive coercive measure. At the same time, the prison is required to save 14 million until the new year. Now they fear the consequences. – If there are cuts in staffing, we are very vulnerable. Especially on holidays and nights. If we are to get people to run the department properly, the staffing should not be reduced, says Balstad. It was Agderposten that first mentioned the case. This is what a security cell looks like. Photo: Henrik Bøe / news When the prison opened three years ago, the then Minister of Justice Jøran Kallmyr said that he hoped the inmates would get a good rehabilitation before they return to society. Today the situation is different. – We do not do much with either treatment or rehabilitation, but we do the best we can, says Balstad. Since the winter of 2021, 18 non-conformance reports have been registered concerning suicide attempts or self-harm. Jan Balstad is worried about the inmates in the closed ward. He says many of them do not qualify for prison but should have been admitted to psychiatry. Photo: Kristine Sandnes / news Other inmates react – We hear people screaming and banging on the wall around the clock, says Marita (30). She is in an open ward in the women’s prison. Everyday life and safety there is something completely different than in a closed ward. Yet they are marked by the desperation they hear through closed doors. – It’s sad to hear. I know people are struggling and I have experienced it myself. She says the situation makes her feel hopeless. – I think that many are misplaced and perhaps should have received other help and follow-up than being caged inside. Marita (33) is a shop steward among the inmates in Agder prison, Evje ward. She is on trial for drug offenses and will finish her sentence in April next year. Photo: Kristine Sandnes / news Women struggle more in prison Evje and Hornnes municipality is responsible for the health service in prison. Unit leader Sigmund-Olav Syrtveit says female prisoners have greater challenges than men in prison. Syrtveit says that the municipality’s nurses often refer inmates to psychiatric help, but often without success. – The experience is that they often turn in the door and return the same day. Or after a few days – without the problem being solved. He wished it was easier to get a longer treatment, hospitalized. – We have good cooperation with the prison service and the special health service, but good measures often run out of resources, he says. Agder prison, ward Evje is one hour away from Kristiansand. 10 out of 30 inmates are at a high security level. Photo: Per-Kåre Sandbakk / news Aerial photo Capacity problem Director Tanja Rosså Ødegård in the prison service acknowledges that they have a problem. She believes the conditions of imprisonment are good in prison, but says it helps little when mental illness is present. – We have a high threshold for using coercion, but sometimes we have to use coercion because it is one of the tools we have for the individual to be protected. She believes that it is a societal problem that psychiatry is being reduced. – The Prison and Probation Service had of course also wanted psychiatry to have such a large capacity that they could take care of everyone in society. She also confirms that the prison has greater costs than they have the financial framework for. – It is not only Evje who has a claim on savings. It has most units in Norwegian prison care. She says a lot has to do with politicians and those who allocate the economy. Director of the Prison and Probation Service Tanja Rosså Ødegård says the capacity problems are an obstacle for the inmates to receive the right treatment. Photo: Kriminalsorgsdirektoratet Two hours of community every day – These are issues we take very seriously. Norwegian prisons must be a safe place to be for both prisoners and employees. This is what State Secretary Hans-Petter Aasen (Sp) in the Ministry of Justice and Emergency Preparedness says. This year, the government has allocated 50 million. Next year, NOK 100 million will be allocated to strengthen the staff and content of the penal care. – The Norwegian Prison and Probation Service has implemented various measures to reduce the incidence of isolation, among other things, prisons must ensure that inmates spend at least two hours together every day. The ministry is reviewing the regulations on the exclusion and use of coercion in prison, in light of, among other things, criticism from the Civil Ombudsman, says Aasen. State Secretary Hans-Petter Aasen (Sp). Photo: Ministry of Justice and Emergency Preparedness For information: Unit leader Sigmund-Olav Syrtveit in Evje and Hornnes municipality has been interviewed by journalist Kai Stokkeland. Journalist Kristine Sandnes who has written the case for the web is Syrtveit’s niece.
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Prison sounds the alarm: – More people should have been admitted – news Sørlandet – Local news, TV and radio
