34 Drammen prison 24-25 May 2016 Drammen Prison has a capacity of 54 places, divided between three sections, all at the high- security level. At the time of the visit, the prison had both male and female inmates. Main findings Despite the fact that international standards state that female inmates shall be kept physically separate from male inmates, women and men serve together in all the sections in Drammen Prison. Female and male inmates work together, take part in communal activities together, go outside for fresh air together, go to school together and exercise together. This places great demands on staffing and security in the prison. During the visit, a number of findings were made that indicate that men and women should not serve together in the manner seen in Drammen Prison. Drammen Prison NORWEGIAN PARLIAMENTARY OMBUDSMAN National Preventive Mechanism ANNUAL REPORT 2016 The NPM received a lot of feedback about the officers being present during communal activities in the sections. It also emerged from the prison’s procedures that communal activities were to take place under supervision. It emerged however that there was considerable risk of harassment and abuse etc. and that female inmates received a lot of unwelcome attention from male inmates. The risk of undesirable incidents under minimum staffing conditions and in hectic periods was confirmed. In some areas, it was difficult to offer the same conditions and activities to male and female inmates in the prison. This was partially explained by the fact that the women make up a minority that need facilitation, and partly by the fact that security needs increase when men and women serve together. The prison had few activities and programmes targeting only the female inmates.