The Parliamentary Ombudsman has carried out a monitoring visit to Jyderup Prison, which was turned into a women’s prison in October 2021.
The purpose of establishing a women’s prison was to improve safety against harassment and abuse for the female inmates and to improve the possibility of offering them relevant activities and occupation.
‘Since Jyderup Prison is the only women’s prison in Denmark, it must accommodate many different inmates. This may cause difficulties in the daily life. My recommendations are generally that the prison’s management ensure that the prison is a safe place to be for all inmates’, says acting Parliamentary Ombudsman Henrik Bloch Andersen.
According to the management, the prison has to deal with many inmates with psychiatric diagnoses and other mental health difficulties. This may cause a feeling of insecurity among the other inmates and requires attention regarding the handling of mentally vulnerable inmates. The prison’s physical setting may at the same time cause difficulties in relation to inmates with physical disabilities and care needs.
The visiting team also found that the occupation and activity options vary a great deal in the prison’s various units.
In addition, several inmates said that the distance to family, including in particular their children, affects them a lot. The visiting team also found a separate issue, where an inmate with a child could not currently be transferred to serve in the open unit because there were inmates in that unit who had been convicted of sexual crimes. This meant that the woman was placed in the remand unit where the physical setting was not as good for the child.
In continuation of his monitoring visit, the Ombudsman has given a number of recommendations to the prison’s management. Among other things, the Ombudsman recommends:
- that management take into account inmates’ needs due to any reduced functional capacity
- that management pay attention to the handling of mentally vulnerable inmates
- that management look into creating more occupation options in the closed unit and more cell work in the remand unit
- that management ensure that the possibility of extended visits from closely related children is considered in all of the prison’s units
- that management address the fact that inmates with children who are serving in an open unit cannot be received there under the current circumstances.
Read the Ombudsman’s closing letter (in Danish only).
Further details:
Director of International Relations,
Klavs Kinnerup Hede, kkh@ombudsmanden.dk