Iceland breaks ground on its first purpose-built security prison

Iceland needs more prison space and facilities designed for high security, Justice Minister Þorbjörg Sigríður Gunnlaugsdóttir said as the first shovels were turned for a new prison at Stóra-Hraun on Tuesday, mbl.is reported. Prison director Ragna Bjarnadóttir and Bragi Bjarnason, mayor of the municipality of Árborg, also took part in the groundbreaking.

The new facility will be Iceland’s first prison designed and built as a security prison. Nearby Litla-Hraun prison will continue operating during construction, which is expected to take several years. Gunnlaugsdóttir noted that Litla-Hraun, designed by Guðjón Samúelsson, was originally intended to be a hospital.

The minister said the new prison would make it easier to separate inmates when necessary, prevent them from continuing criminal activity after they begin serving their sentences, and improve safety for prison officers and other staff.

Gunnlaugsdóttir said many local families have links to Litla-Hraun because generations of their members have worked there. She added that residents were pleased with the project. Local expertise, she said, was one factor in favour of the location, since people living there might not want to work in Reykjavík.

Stóra-Hraun will house people serving prison sentences, while Hólmsheiði will remain a remand prison, where detainees are held before trial. The minister also said she and other MPs from Reykjavík should ensure that public institutions are not all based in the capital.