In 2025, the Danish prisons may lack 1,000 more places.
Jyllands-Posten writes this on the basis of an internal negotiating memorandum from the ongoing negotiations on the Prison and Probation Service’s finances, which the newspaper has gained insight into.
The memo states that the prisons risk having 5,250 inmates by 2025, while only 4,222 places are expected to be available.
This means that prisons will have to utilize more than 120 percent of their capacity.
The newspaper writes that the expected increase is due to increased penalties in connection with corona-related crime and structural conditions when the police receive more money.
Bo Yde Sørensen, who is chairman of the Prison Association, tells Jyllands-Posten that both the current situation and the forecast are unprecedented.
– We have never been fewer prison officers, had so many prisoners and stood with such a forecast as we do now. I am not responsible for the operation, but I can say that I have no idea what to do, he says.
Minister of Justice Nick Hækkerup (S) writes in a written response to the newspaper that everyone who has followed the development can see that the Danish Prison and Probation Service is in a difficult place.
– If we do nothing, there will be a very large number of places in the Danish Prison and Probation Service in the coming years. Therefore, it is the government’s clear ambition for the forthcoming multi-year agreement that the capacity of our prisons is expanded and that targeted efforts are made to strengthen the retention and recruitment of prison officers.
– It is a big task that needs to be lifted. And it’s not free. Therefore, I have a hope that the parties at Christiansborg take the responsibility on their shoulders and contribute to finding the funding that is needed.
Source: The Nordic Page