During the COVID-19 period, the Ombudsman has monitored the conditions in the institutions of the Prison and Probation Service.

The Ombudsman has made recommendations and raised issues with the authorities about testing strategy and isolation of inmates, among other things. The Ombudsman is now concluding his monitoring and expressing satisfaction that the Prison and Probation Service has focused a great deal on the area.

‘It is important to prevent infection spreading. At the same time, inmates within the Prison and Probation Service continue to live in quite restrictive conditions due to COVID-19, so it is also important that the restrictions are not extended further than necessary. Therefore, it is positive that the Prison and Probation Service has focused on both preventing infection spreading and making a plan for a gradual easing of restrictions for the inmates,’ says Ombudsman Niels Fenger. In this connection, he points out that it is a good thing that the Prison and Probation Service can draw on its own imedical expertiseand the health authorities while preparing its efforts.

Better prevention and phasing out restrictions
During the COVID-19 period, the Prison and Probation Service has changed its contingency plans, so that it is now expressly stated that new inmates
must be screened and that, to the greatest extent possible, it must be avoided to place new inmates in double occupancy cells. In addition, the Department
of Prisons and Probation’s testing strategy has been developed so that it is now possible to test new inmates, among others.

In March 2021, the Prison and Probation Service presented a plan for phasing out the restrictions that have been implemented. However, during the
most recent lockdown from the end of 2020 and in 2021, the inmates have been able to receive visits from 3-5 closely connected persons, and to a certain
extent, they have been allowed to go on leave for Christmas and Easter.
Similar offers were not available during the first lockdown in 2020.
 

As a part of the COVID-19 monitoring, the Ombudsman has visited two state prisons, two local prisons and one halfway house and been in dialogue with
the Department of Prisons and Probation and the Danish National Police.
Read the news item of 14 July 2020 here.
Further information:
Niels Fenger, Parliamentary Ombudsman, tel. +45 42 47 50 91
Morten Engberg, Senior Head of Department, tel. +45 33 13 25 12