Ten prison places in Akureyri would ease pressure

Ten places at the closed prison in Akureyri would help the prison system under current conditions, mbl.is reports, citing a response from Justice Minister Þorbjörg Sigríður Gunnlaugsdóttir to a parliamentary question from Independence Party MP Njáll Trausti Friðbertsson.

The minister said prison capacity is now under heavy pressure and places are in short supply. She added that the closure of the Akureyri prison in September 2020 had increased occupancy at larger prisons at the time.

No specific assessment was made of the closure’s effects. However, the minister said there was no indication it had reduced the system’s capacity, including when measured by the number of days served in prison. The cost per place in Akureyri had been considerably higher than at other prisons, and the closure was intended to improve the use of public funds and prison places.

Friðbertsson also asked how much of the savings had been offset by increased transport costs for remand prisoners and police, as well as practical difficulties and reduced police response capacity in northern Iceland. The minister said those costs had not been assessed comprehensively, but police costs for transporting and communicating with remand prisoners had not changed the reasoning behind the closure. The prison building has been used by police since it closed.

The minister said steps had been taken to shorten waiting lists, including changes to the conditions for community service and the rules on parole. A new prison in Akureyri is not on the agenda; the minister said the focus was on developing a prison system that meets requirements for security and human rights.