NORWEGIAN PARLIAMENTARY OMBUDSMAN National Preventive Mechanism 6 7 USE OF RESTRAINT BEDS IN NORWEGIAN PRISONS Thematic Report 2020 Use of Restraint Beds in Norwegian Prisons Strapping inmates into restraint beds is the most intrusive form of coercive measure at disposal in Norwegian prisons. Eighteen of the thirty-one high-security prisons in Norway have restraint beds. Being put in restraints can pose a considerable risk of both physical and psychological injury. During its visit to Norway in 2011, the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT) emphasised that removing restraint beds from Norwegian prisons should be a long-term goal. After its visit in 2018, the Committee further emphasised that the restraint beds should be removed from Norwegian prisons in its entirety.1 1 Introduction Prisons can only use restraint beds to prevent inmates from harming themselves.2 Being placed in a restraint bed involves being strapped into a bed that is permanently installed in a security cell. Police custody facilities no longer use restraint beds, and their use in mental healthcare institutions has long been debated. The Norwegian Official Report NOU 2019:14, Draft Law on the Reduction of Coercive Measures [Tvangsbegrensningsloven], was published in June this year and included a proposal to phase out the use of restraint beds in mental healthcare i­nstitutions entirely.3 The purpose of the report was to make the Storting aware of the risk of violation of the prohibition against torture and inhuman ­treatment that solitary confinement in prison entails. The ­report concludes that the use of restraint beds in prisons involves a risk of harm to health, and that inmates placed in restraint beds are often exposed to trauma during an acute life crisis. The Parliamentary Ombudsman has studied the use of restraint beds in Norwegian prisons in more detail over the past six months. This article looks at some of the most important findings and what they mean. The Parliamentary Ombudsman has criticised the use of restraint beds in prisons following several visits. In the spring of 2019, the Parliamentary Ombudsman submitted a Special Report to the Storting on Solitary Confinement in Norwegian Prisons.4 1 The CPT's visit to Norway in 2018, [CPT/Inf (2019) 1]. A restraint bed in a prison visited by the NPM. 2 The Execution of Sentences Act Section 38 and the Directorate of Norwegian Correctional Service (2002). Guidelines to the Execution of Sentences Act and its Regulations, section 38.7. Revised version of 15 March 2019. 3 Norwegian Official Report NOU 2019:14 (2019). Draft Law on the Reduction of Coercive Measures [Tvangsbegrensningsloven]. 4 Special Report to the Storting on Solitary Confinement and Lack of Human Contact in Norwegian Prisons. Document 4:3 (2018/2019).