Finland adds 180 prison places with modular cell blocks

Finland’s overcrowded prisons are set to receive 180 additional places as modular cell blocks are installed at Kylmäkoski Prison in Akaa and Helsinki Prison, Yle reports.

Deliveries to Kylmäkoski will begin next week, with 60 new places to be added there. Helsinki Prison will receive 120 places. The new facilities are expected to be completed by the end of the year and brought into use in early 2027.

The modules will arrive by truck largely ready for assembly. Each contains one or two cells connected by a corridor. At Kylmäkoski, they will be combined into a two-storey, 60-place block.

Each floor will contain two units, one with 12 places and the other with 18. The cells will measure 11.8 square metres and have their own toilets. The units will also include three shared showers, prisoner telephone booths and a dining area where prisoners can prepare and eat food.

Fire safety, doors and locking systems have received particular attention, according to Juha Eriksson, deputy director of Kylmäkoski Prison.

Faster than conventional construction

The project has progressed quickly. Planning began last year, while construction work is already well advanced. Conventional construction, including planning and needs assessments, would probably take four to five years, Eriksson said.

Senaatti Properties is leasing the modular cell blocks from Adapteo Finland for 10 years. Temporary construction permits have been obtained for the facilities.

The Criminal Sanctions Agency will pay Senaatti Properties approximately three million euros more in rent each year for the new premises. Senaatti Properties’ investments in establishing the cell blocks, building and fencing the yard areas, and modifying other prison facilities total about 5.3 million euros. The cost will be divided equally between Kylmäkoski and Helsinki prisons.

A decision on possible continued use of the cell blocks will be made closer to the end of the lease period.

Chronic overcrowding at Kylmäkoski

Kylmäkoski has faced a long-term shortage of space. Overcrowding has been chronic for years, and prisoners have regularly had to be housed in temporary cells despite this not being permitted.

Some of the prison’s larger cells accommodate three prisoners, while others house two. There are also individual cells, Eriksson said.

Despite the cramped conditions, the situation at the prison has remained calm. There has been little violence between prisoners, apart from a few exceptions, and no significant violence against staff, Eriksson said.

Maintaining the situation requires careful allocation of prisoners to units so that they have limited contact with prisoners from other units. Adding prison places will also require more staff. Several dozen new employees will be hired at Kylmäkoski and Helsinki prisons, according to Mika Antikainen of the Criminal Sanctions Agency.

Overcrowding will continue

The new places will ease the situation, but Finnish prisons will still need several hundred additional places, Antikainen said.

The number of prisoners has increased partly because of changes to legislation concerning sexual offences, first-time offenders and the use of weapons. Courts are also handing down more severe sentences than before.

Several other prison construction projects are under way across Finland. A 160-place extension at Vantaa Prison was completed at the end of 2025. A new prison in Oulu was completed late in 2025, providing 20 additional places in a closed prison. A new 100-place prison was also completed in Vaala last year, replacing Pelso Prison.