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It shows a new concept of monetary analysis of the prison structure in the three western counties.
Bergen Prison Photo: Ørjan Deisz
The government announced the Conceptual Currency Analysis (KVU) on Tuesday.
It has been carried out by Dovre Group Consulting AS on behalf of the Government and the Ministry of Justice.
Here is the main conclusion.
The consulting firm recommends replacing these ten prisons with three large prisons near the largest cities: Bergen, Stavanger and Ålesund:
- Bergen Prison
- Bjørgvin Prison
- Vik’s Prison
- Haugesund Prison
- Stavanger Prison
- Ålesund Prison
- Hustad Prison
- Lyderhorn Prison
- Sandeid Prison
- Åna Prison
The report was already ready in the spring of 2019, but it has not been published until now, in the fall of 2020. This is due to the quality assurance, says the government.
Justice Minister Monica Mæland will now take a position on what the prison structure in western Norway should look like in the future. Here it is during the opening of the Mandal prison. Photo: Tor Erik Schrøder
Will not build three new prisons
The government has ordered and paid for the deal, which has been worked on for several years. However, they rejected the findings that were presented on the same day the report was published.
– However, from the government side, the conclusion is clear, namely that there is no basis to build three new prisons to replace the current ten, writes Secretary of State Thor Kleppen Sættem in a press release on the site website of the Ministry of Justice.
The Norwegian Prison and Probation Service has carried out conceptual currency analysis of custodial and sentencing capacity in Western Norway.
The work was carried out with the help of Dovre Group Consulting AS, and then quality guaranteed by Menon Economics, DNV GL and ÅF Advansia.
Bjørgvin Prison is long overdue in maintenance and is one of the prisons that is recommended to close. Here are the prison tenants Ørjan Fond and Terje Skaar who are employed in the prison. Photo: Eirik Brekke
Will rehabilitate the city
The recommendations of the companies that have the quality assured report differ greatly from the recommendations of the Dovre Group.
– It was surprising to see such different recommendations in the two reports, the concept currency analysis and the quality assurance report. Now we want to publish the reports so that all interested parties have the opportunity to read them, says Sættem.
The quality assurance report recommends that it only be built new to meet the increasing demand for places of confinement, but that as a general rule the current prison is preserved and rehabilitated.
“This is because it seems unjustifiable to replace all current prisons with new buildings, until the costs are too high and the benefits for the unsafe,” states the quality assurance report.
You can read both the report and the quality assurance reports here.
In the future, more places of imprisonment will be needed in western Norway. This room belongs to the new women’s ward in Bergen prison. Photo: Live Austgard
Promises to follow up
The delay in the maintenance of several of the prisons is considerable and there have been repeated demands for improvements.
Among other things from the tenant of Bjørgvin prison, who in 2017, among other things, had the basement of his administration building filled with water.
The government promises that they will do something, although it is still a bit uncertain where the politicians will land.
– It is still necessary to rehabilitate several of the current prisons. We will follow up on this in the same way that we have done in recent years, that is, giving high priority to new construction and rehabilitation, says the Secretary of State.
The door is therefore open to new prison buildings in western Norway.
