The Norwegian Correctional Service (in Norwegian: ''Kriminalomsorgen'') is a

government agency A government or state agency, sometimes an appointed commission, is a permanent or semi-permanent organization in the machinery of government that is responsible for the oversight and administration of specific functions, such as an administrati ...

responsible for the implementation of detention and punishment in a way that is reassuring for the society and for preventing

crime In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definitions of", in C ...

s. The agency is governed by the Norwegian Ministry of Justice and Public Security. The agency was created as the Prison Board ( no, Fængselsstyrelsen later written ''Fengselsstyret'') in 1875 and was subordinate to the Department of Justice and Police, headed by a director. The Prison Board was disbanded in 2002 and replaced by the Norwegian Correctional Service. Kragerø Prison is (as of 2016) Norway's fourth prison for females and a fifth is expected to start operating as a wing of Kongsvinger Prison in the beginning of 2017.

Organization

Ila fengsel og forvaringsanstalt - 2012-06-09 at 12-24-43

The Correctional Service is organised into a

hierarchy A hierarchy (from Greek: , from , 'president of sacred rites') is an arrangement of items (objects, names, values, categories, etc.) that are represented as being "above", "below", or "at the same level as" one another. Hierarchy is an important ...

consisting of the Correctional Services Directorate (''Kriminalomsorgsdirektoratet'') which is responsible for the professional and administrative management, a ''regional level'', consisting of five ''regional administrations'', and a ''local level'' with individual prison and probation offices. In addition, th
Correctional Service of Norway Staff Academy (KRUS)
which has responsibility for agency training of prison officers and The Correctional IT services (KITT), which is responsible for the development, implementation and customization of

Information technology Information technology (IT) is the use of computers to create, process, store, retrieve, and exchange all kinds of Data (computing), data . and information. IT forms part of information and communications technology (ICT). An information te ...

systems in the agency. Oslo kretsfengsels inngang

The regions

Correctional Services is divided into five regions.

Eastern Region

Correctional Services Eastern Region includes the counties of

Oslo Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population ...

and

Østfold Østfold is a traditional region, a former county and a current electoral district in southeastern Norway. It borders Akershus and southwestern Sweden (Västra Götaland County and Värmland), while Buskerud and Vestfold are on the other side ...

, Akershus,

Hedmark Hedmark () was a county in Norway before 1 January 2020, bordering Trøndelag to the north, Oppland to the west, Akershus to the south, and Sweden to the east. The county administration is in Hamar. Hedmark and Oppland counties were merged int ...

and

Oppland Oppland is a former county in Norway which existed from 1781 until its dissolution on 1 January 2020. The old Oppland county bordered the counties of Trøndelag, Møre og Romsdal, Sogn og Fjordane, Buskerud, Akershus, Oslo and Hedmark. The c ...

. The administration is in Oslo. The region has a capacity of 1,557 inmates, divided to Bredtveit Prison, Halden Prison, Ravneberget Prison, Indre Østfold Prison, Oslo Prison and Sarpsborg Prison, Ila Detention and Security Prison,

Ullersmo Prison Ullersmo Prison ( no, Ullersmo fengsel) is a prison in Ullensaker, Akershus. It was opened in 1970. The prison was intended as a replacement for the Botsfengselet in Oslo. It is used for long term prisoners from the whole of Norway Norw ...

, Kongsvinger Prison, Ilseng Prison, Hamar Prison, Vestoppland Prison and Bruvoll Prison and halfway houses in the Arups gate and Sandaker in Oslo, in addition to the

probation Probation in criminal law is a period of supervision over an offender, ordered by the court often in lieu of incarceration. In some jurisdictions, the term ''probation'' applies only to community sentences (alternatives to incarceration), such ...

offices in Oslo, Østfold, Akershus, Hedmark and Oppland counties. In order to decrease costs for interpreters and other special needs of foreign inmates, foreign nationals serving sentences involving subsequent

deportation Deportation is the expulsion of a person or group of people from a place or country. The term ''expulsion'' is often used as a synonym for deportation, though expulsion is more often used in the context of international law, while deportation ...

were in 2012 incarcerated in an institution holding only foreigners as they are not intended to be re-integrated into Norwegian society. This institution opened in December 2012 in

Kongsvinger Kongsvinger () is a municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Glåmdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Kongsvinger. Other settlements in the municipality include Aus ...

Southern Region

Correctional Service southern region includes the counties of

Buskerud Buskerud () is a former county and a current electoral district in Norway, bordering Akershus, Oslo, Oppland, Sogn og Fjordane, Hordaland, Telemark and Vestfold. The region extends from the Oslofjord and Drammensfjorden in the southeast to Ha ...

Vestfold Vestfold is a traditional region, a former county and a current electoral district in Eastern Norway. In 2020 the county became part of the much larger county of Vestfold og Telemark. Located on the western shore of the Oslofjord, it bordered t ...

and

Telemark Telemark is a traditional region, a former county, and a current electoral district in southern Norway. In 2020, Telemark merged with the former county of Vestfold to form the county of Vestfold og Telemark. Telemark borders the traditional ...

. The administration is in

Tønsberg Tønsberg , historically Tunsberg, is a city and municipality in Vestfold og Telemark county, eastern Norway, located around south-southwest of Oslo on the western coast of the Oslofjord near its mouth onto the Skagerrak. The administrative c ...

, and Regional Director Bjørn Krogsrud. Correctional Service Southern Region includes Hof Prison, Bastøy Prison, Telemark Prison, Søndre Vestfold Prison, Nordre Vestfold Prison, Sandefjord Prison, Sem Prison, Ringerike Prison, Hassel Prison,

Drammen Prison Drammen () is a city and municipality in Viken, Norway. The port and river city of Drammen is centrally located in the south-eastern and most populated part of Norway. Drammen municipality also includes smaller towns and villages such as Konne ...

and Drammen halfway house in addition to the probation offices in Buskerud, Telemark and Vestfold

Southwestern Region

Correctional Services south-western region includes the counties of Rogaland and

Agder Agder is a county (''fylke'') and traditional region in the southern part of Norway. The county was established on 1 January 2020, when the old Vest-Agder and Aust-Agder counties were merged. Since the early 1900s, the term Sørlandet ("south ...

. The administration is located in

Sandnes Sandnes () is a city and municipality in Rogaland, Norway. It lies immediately south of Stavanger, the 4th largest city in Norway and together, the Stavanger/Sandnes area is the third-largest urban area in Norway. The urban city of Sandnes lies ...

. The region consists of Agder Prison, Evje, Agder Prison, Froland,

Agder Prison, Mandal Agder is a county (''fylke'') and traditional region in the southern part of Norway. The county was established on 1 January 2020, when the old Vest-Agder and Aust-Agder counties were merged. Since the early 1900s, the term Sørlandet ("south c ...

, Solholmen halfway house, Agder probation offices (

Kristiansand Kristiansand is a seaside resort city and municipality in Agder county, Norway. The city is the fifth-largest and the municipality the sixth-largest in Norway, with a population of around 112,000 as of January 2020, following the incorporati ...

, Arendal and

Lyngdal is a municipality in Agder county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Lister. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Alleen. Some of the main villages in Lyngdal include Austad, Byremo, Fleseland, H� ...

), Auklend halfway house, Haugesund Prison, Rogaland probation offices ( Stavanger and Haugesund), Sandeid Prison, Stavanger Prison and Åna Prison.

Western Region

Correctional Services, Western Region includes the counties of

Hordaland Hordaland () was a county in Norway, bordering Sogn og Fjordane, Buskerud, Telemark, and Rogaland counties. Hordaland was the third largest county, after Akershus and Oslo, by population. The county government was the Hordaland County Munici ...

Sogn og Fjordane Sogn og Fjordane (; English: "Sogn and Fjordane") was, up to 1 January 2020, a county in western Norway, when it was merged to become part of Vestland county. Bordering previous counties Møre og Romsdal, Oppland, Buskerud, and Hordaland, the cou ...

and Møre og Romsdal. The administration is located in

Bergen Bergen (), historically Bjørgvin, is a city and municipality in Vestland county on the west coast of Norway. , its population is roughly 285,900. Bergen is the second-largest city in Norway. The municipality covers and is on the peninsula o ...

, Regional Director, Per Sigurd Våge. The region consists of Bergen Prison, Vik Prison, Ålesund Prison, Hustad Prison, Bjørgvin Prison Lyderhorn halfway house, probation offices in Bergen (Hordaland), Molde,

Ålesund Ålesund () sometimes spelled Aalesund in English, is a municipality in Møre og Romsdal County, Norway. It is part of the traditional district of Sunnmøre and the centre of the Ålesund Region. The town of Ålesund is the administrativ ...

and

Kristiansund Kristiansund (, ; historically spelled Christianssund and earlier named Fosna) is a municipality on the western coast of Norway in the Nordmøre district of Møre og Romsdal county. The administrative center of the municipality is the town of ...

(Møre og Romsdal),

Florø is a town and the administrative centre of the municipality of Kinn, Vestland, Norway. The town was founded by royal decree in 1860 as a ladested on the island of Florelandet, located between the Botnafjorden and Solheimsfjorden. Florø is N ...

and

Sogndal Sogndal is a municipality in Vestland county, Norway. It is located on the northern shore of the Sognefjorden in the traditional district of Sogn. The village of Hermansverk is the administrative center of Sogndal municipality. Other villages ...

(Sogn og Fjordane). The Center for Drug Programs is under court control in Bergen.

Northern Region

Correctional Services, Northern Region includes the counties of

Trøndelag Trøndelag (; sma, Trööndelage) is a county in the central part of Norway. It was created in 1687, then named Trondhjem County ( no, Trondhjems Amt); in 1804 the county was split into Nord-Trøndelag and Sør-Trøndelag by the King of Denma ...

, Nordland,

Troms Troms (; se, Romsa; fkv, Tromssa; fi, Tromssa) is a former county in northern Norway. On 1 January 2020 it was merged with the neighboring Finnmark county to create the new Troms og Finnmark county. This merger is expected to be reversed by t ...

and

Finnmark Finnmark (; se, Finnmárku ; fkv, Finmarku; fi, Ruija ; russian: Финнмарк) was a county in the northern part of Norway, and it is scheduled to become a county again in 2024. On 1 January 2020, Finnmark was merged with the neighbouri ...

. The office is located in

Trondheim Trondheim ( , , ; sma, Tråante), historically Kaupangen, Nidaros and Trondhjem (), is a city and municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. As of 2020, it had a population of 205,332, was the third most populous municipality in Norway, and ...

. The Northern Region consists of

Trondheim Prison Trondheim ( , , ; sma, Tråante), historically Kaupangen, Nidaros and Trondhjem (), is a city and municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. As of 2020, it had a population of 205,332, was the third most populous municipality in Norway, and ...

, Verdal Prison, Mosjøen Prison,

Bodø Prison Bodø (; smj, Bådåddjo, sv, Bodö) is a municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Salten. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Bodø (which is also the capital of Nordland count ...

, Bodø halfway house,Bodø Overgangsbolig
in Norwegian Vadsø Prison and

Tromsø Prison Tromsø (, , ; se, Romsa ; fkv, Tromssa; sv, Tromsö) is a municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the city of Tromsø. Tromsø lies in Northern Norway. The municipality is the 2 ...

, in addition to the probation offices in Finnmark, Troms, Nordland, Nord-Trøndelag and Sør- Trøndelag.

References

External links

The Norwegian Correctional Services, Official information in English

International Centre for Prison Studies; Norway

Prisons and probation offices

-Official website on supplementary information on conditions of imprisonment at all prisons

-List of probation offices with additional information

{{authority control Penal system in Norway Prison and correctional agencies Correctional Services Correctional Services Government agencies established in 1875 Correctional Services