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NORWEGIAN PARLIAMENTARY OMBUDSMAN
National Preventive Mechanism
ANNUAL REPORT 2017
Ullersmo Prison, Juvenile Unit East
and gives particular cause for concern since these
inmates are juveniles.
It emerged that it varied whether the juvenile
inmates were given the opportunity for outdoor
exercise every day. A contributory cause of this was
that the outdoor area was so poorly lit that the prison
did not consider outdoor exercise in the afternoon
sufficiently secure during the winter months.
There were a total of 3 visiting rooms at the
juvenile unit. They were all sparsely furnished and
not very welcoming. Juveniles under the age of
18 had the opportunity to call their next of kin and
friends for a total of one hour per week. This is half
the telephone time that juvenile inmates at Bjørgvin
prison are allowed.
Ila Detention and Security Prison
6–9 March 2017
The prison has 124 places divided between 12 sections
and 230 employees. More than half of the places
are adapted for inmates sentenced to preventive
detention.
Main findings
Only two of the sections at Ila Detention and Security
Prison had a toilet or shower in the cells. Inmates
had limited access to toilets at night. In practice,
most inmates therefore chose to urinate in the sink.
Several inmates also stated that they had defecated
in the rubbish bin. Inmates complained about poor air
quality in several sections, and that it was especially
cold in Section H in winter.
The inmates largely gave the impression that
they felt safe. However, views differed somewhat
between inmates in the different sections, and
there had been episodes where particular groups of
inmates had been harassed. The prison stated that
it had a zero-tolerance policy to harassment and
bullying, and that immediate action was taken in such
cases. Inmates who stated that they did not feel safe
mentioned low staffing levels in particular, which led
to fewer staff being present in the common areas.
It seems clear that there were persons in Section G
with severe mental health problems whose condition
had deteriorated during their imprisonment. The
prison had made great efforts to have individuals in
long-term isolation transferred to mental health care
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