Norway lets prison inmates serve their sentences at home to fight coronavirus
The Local Norway - [email protected]
Published: 17 Apr, 2020 CET.
Updated: Fri 17 Apr 2020 11:05 CET
Close to a hundred convicted criminals have been released from Norway's prisons to reduce crowding and help prison authorities reduce the spread of coronavirus, according to the Norwegian Correctional Service.
According to a press release issued on Friday, 94 more inmates are now serving their sentences at home after being fitted with electronic ankle monitors.
"The coronavirus epidemic is a major challenge for both inmates and prison staff," Lise Sannerud, the service's director, said in a press release.
"Getting more prisoners fitted with ankle monitors and at the same time simplifying the rules for the implementation of this form of punishment is one of the measures we can take."
When a ban on prison visits was put into place on March 15, there were 311 people serving their sentences at home with ankle monitors, now there are 405.
The correctional service has the capacity to increase this number to 500 and is leasing out a further 200 monitors.
Under the coronavirus law brought in on March 24, inmates with serving sentences shorter than six months or those serving the last six months of a longer sentence can serve their sentence at home, after being fitted with an ankle monitor.
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According to a press release issued on Friday, 94 more inmates are now serving their sentences at home after being fitted with electronic ankle monitors.
"The coronavirus epidemic is a major challenge for both inmates and prison staff," Lise Sannerud, the service's director, said in a press release.
"Getting more prisoners fitted with ankle monitors and at the same time simplifying the rules for the implementation of this form of punishment is one of the measures we can take."
When a ban on prison visits was put into place on March 15, there were 311 people serving their sentences at home with ankle monitors, now there are 405.
The correctional service has the capacity to increase this number to 500 and is leasing out a further 200 monitors.
Under the coronavirus law brought in on March 24, inmates with serving sentences shorter than six months or those serving the last six months of a longer sentence can serve their sentence at home, after being fitted with an ankle monitor.
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