Visits in 2016 The prison did not provide much information in languages other than Norwegian. A few documents had been translated into English but no information was available in other languages. It emerged that the prison rarely calls in interpreters other than for translating court documents. In interviews, many inmates expressed dissatisfaction with the information received on admission or stated that they had not understood the information given. After the visit The report was published in November 2016, and the Parliamentary Ombudsman has asked to be informed about the follow-up of the report's recommendations in February 2017. Telemark Prison, Kragerø unit 1-2 November 2016 Telemark Prison’s Kragerø unit has 18 high-security places for female inmates. Main findings The prison has been a men's prison since the end of the 19th century, but was converted into a women's prison in January 2016. In connection with its conversion into a women’s prison, meetings were held with Bredtveit and Sandefjord prisons, but the staff at the Kragerø unit had not received courses on or training in how to handle the special challenges that female inmates face or international standards that apply to this group in particular. The inmates mostly stated that they felt safe, were treated with respect, received help when needed and felt they were well taken care of by the staff. 37 The fact that the prison is small and has a stable staff also made them feel safe. Body searches and the collection of urine samples from inmates always appeared to be carried out by female prison officers. Several inmates had daily care and control of children at the time of their imprisonment. Nevertheless, there was no person responsible for children at the prison, and the person responsible for children at Telemark Prison’s Skien unit had not visited the Kragerø unit since its conversion into a women's prison. The amount of information material translated into other languages was highly limited, despite the fact that about 50 per cent of the inmates at all times are foreigners. The findings indicate that interpreters were used when documents were served on inmates or in connection with medical consultations. The prison also occasionally used the lawyers’ interpreters to communicate messages to inmates. Other than that, there was little to suggest that the prison made much use of interpreting services in relation to foreign inmates, not even in connection with admission. The exercise yard appeared poorly suited for the purpose. This is further exacerbated by the fact that it is not possible to see further than a few metres from anywhere in the prison, including the exercise yard and the common room on the top floor. The severely restricted possibility for physical outdoor activity contributed to the impression that Kragerø Prison is unsuitable for long-term stays and for pregnant inmates. The contact officer scheme appeared to function well. A review of the sections’ procedures showed that all the sections complied with the CPT’s recommendation for a minimum of 8 hours outside the cell each day.