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

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

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 (polity), state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definiti ...

s. The agency is governed by the Norwegian Ministry of Justice and Public Security. The agency was created as the Prison Board ( 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 Ancient Greek, 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 ...

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 a set of related fields within information and communications technology (ICT), that encompass computer systems, software, programming languages, data processing, data and information processing, and storage. Inf ...

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 ; ) 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 of 1,064,235 in 2022 ...

and

Østfold Østfold () is a county in Eastern Norway, which from 1 January 2020 to 31 December 2023 was part of Viken. Østfold borders Akershus and southwestern Sweden (Västra Götaland County and Värmland), while Buskerud and Vestfold are on the other ...

Akershus Akershus () is a county in Norway, with Oslo as its administrative centre, though Oslo is not located within Akershus. Akershus has been a region in Eastern Norway with Oslo as its main city since the Middle Ages, and is named after the Akers ...

, and

Innlandet Innlandet is a Counties of Norway, county in Norway. It was created on 1 January 2020 with the merger of the old counties of Oppland and Hedmark (Jevnaker Municipality and Lunner Municipality were transferred to the neighboring county of Viken ( ...

. The administration is in Oslo. The region has a capacity of 1,557 inmates, divided to

Bredtveit Prison Bredtveit Prison (formally Bredtveit Prison Service, Custody and Supervision Unit, ) is a prison located in the neighborhood of Bredtvet in Oslo, Norway. During World War II it was a concentration camp. Pre-World War II It originated at Bredtv ...

Halden Prison Halden Prison () is a maximum-security prison in Halden, Norway. It has three main units and has no conventional security devices. The third-largest prison in Norway, it was established in 2010 with a focus on rehabilitation; its design simulate ...

, Ravneberget Prison, Indre Østfold Prison,

Oslo Prison Oslo Prison () is the district prison of Oslo, Norway. It is the largest prison in Norway, with a capacity of around 350 detainees. The prison was called ' until 2001. The prison has several departments. Department A is the former Botsfengselet, ...

, Sarpsborg Prison,

Ila Detention and Security Prison Ila or ILA may refer to: Government * Ila Detention and Security Prison, a prison in Bærum, Norway * Israel Land Administration * Israel Land Authority, the successor agency to the Israel Land Administration Organizations * Idaho Library Associa ...

Ullersmo Prison Ullersmo Prison () 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 Norway, officially the King ...

, 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 offence (law), offender, ordered by the court often in lieu of incarceration. In some jurisdictions, the term ''probation'' applies only to community sentences (alternatives to incar ...

offices in Oslo, Østfold, Akershus, and Innlandet 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 by a state from its sovereign territory. The actual definition changes depending on the place and context, and it also changes over time. A person who has been deported or is under sen ...

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 Aust ...

Southern Region

Correctional Service southern region includes the counties of

Buskerud Buskerud () is a Counties of Norway, county and a current electoral district in Norway, bordering Akershus, Oslo, Innlandet, Vestland, Telemark and Vestfold. The region extends from the Oslofjord and Drammensfjorden in the southeast to Hardanger ...

Vestfold Vestfold () is a county and a current electoral district in Norway. Located on the western shore of the Oslofjord, it borders Buskerud and Telemark counties. The county administration is located in Tønsberg, Norway's oldest city, and the larg ...

, and

Telemark Telemark () is a Counties of Norway, county and a current electoral district in Norway. Telemark borders the counties of Vestfold, Buskerud, Vestland, Rogaland and Agder. In 2020, Telemark merged with the county of Vestfold to form the county o ...

. The administration is located in the city of

Tønsberg Tønsberg (), historically Tunsberg, is a List of towns and cities in Norway, city in Tønsberg Municipality in Vestfold county, Norway. It is located about south-southwest of the capital city of Oslo on the western coast of the Oslofjord near ...

, and Regional Director is Bjørn Krogsrud. Correctional Service Southern Region includes

Hof Prison Hof Prison () was a prison in Hof in Vestfold, Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the a ...

Bastøy Prison Bastøy Prison () is a low-security, male-only prison on Bastøy Island, Norway, located in the Horten municipality about 75 km south of Oslo. The prison is on a 2.6 km2 island and hosts 115 inmates making it the largest low-security prison in Nor ...

, Telemark Prison, Søndre Vestfold Prison, Nordre Vestfold Prison, Sandefjord Prison, Sem Prison,

Ringerike Prison Ringerike Prison ( Norwegian: ''Ringerike fengsel'') is located in Ringerike municipality, just south of the small town of Tyristrand, Norway, not far from Tyrifjorden. The total area within the wall covers approx. 74 acres. Ringerike prison is ...

Hassel Prison Hassel may refer to: Places *Hassel (Bergen), a municipality in the borough of Bergen, Lower Saxony, Germany *Hassel (Weser), a municipality in the district of Nienburg, Lower Saxony, Germany *Hassel, Saxony-Anhalt, a municipality in the district o ...

, Drammen Prison 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 Rogaland () is a Counties of Norway, county in Western Norway, bordering the North Sea to the west and the counties of Vestland to the north, Telemark to the east and Agder to the east and southeast. As of 1 January 2024, it had a population of 49 ...

and

Agder Agder is a counties of Norway, county () and districts of Norway, traditional region in the southern part of Norway and is coextensive with the Southern Norway region. The county was established on 1 January 2020, when the old Vest-Agder and Au ...

. The administration is located in

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

. The region consists of Agder Prison, Evje, Agder Prison, Froland, Agder Prison, Mandal, Solholmen halfway house, Agder probation offices (

Kristiansand Kristiansand is a city and Municipalities of Norway, municipality in Agder county, Norway. The city is the fifth-largest and the municipality is the sixth-largest in Norway, with a population of around 116,000 as of January 2020, following th ...

Arendal Arendal () is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Agder counties of Norway, county in southeastern Norway. Arendal belongs to the Districts of Norway, region of Southern Norway, Sørlandet. The administrative centre of the munici ...

and

Lyngdal is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Agder county, Norway. It is located in the Traditional districts of Norway, traditional district of Lister Region, Lister. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Alleen ...

), Auklend halfway house, Haugesund Prison, Rogaland probation offices (

Stavanger Stavanger, officially the Stavanger Municipality, is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Norway. It is the third largest city and third largest metropolitan area in Norway (through conurbation with neighboring Sandnes) and the ...

and

Haugesund Haugesund () is a municipalities of Norway, municipality and List of towns and cities in Norway, town on the North Sea in Rogaland county, Norway. As of December 2023, the municipality of Haugesund has a population of 37,855. The vast majority of ...

), Sandeid Prison, Stavanger Prison and

Åna Prison Åna Prison ( Norwegian: ''Åna fengsel'') is a prison in Hå municipality in Rogaland, Norway. It is one of the largest prisons and has capacity for 219 inmates, 140 in a closed prison and 24 in a department with an open prison. The prison is for ...

Western Region

Correctional Services, Western Region includes the counties of

Vestland Vestland is a Counties of Norway, county in Norway. The county is located in Western Norway, and its administrative centre is Bergen, where the executive and political leadership is based. The County governor (Norway), County Governor is based in ...

and

Møre og Romsdal Møre og Romsdal (; ) is a Counties of Norway, county in the northernmost part of Western Norway, Western Norway. It borders the counties of Trøndelag, Innlandet, and Vestland. The county administration is located in the Molde (town), town of M ...

. The administration is located in

Bergen Bergen (, ) is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestland county on the Western Norway, west coast of Norway. Bergen is the list of towns and cities in Norway, second-largest city in Norway after the capital Oslo. By May 20 ...

, and the Regional Director is Per Sigurd Våge. The region consists of Bergen Prison, Vik Prison,

Ålesund Prison Ålesund () is a town in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. The town is the administrative centre of Ålesund Municipality. The centre of the town of Ålesund lies on the islands of Hessa, Aspøya, and Nørve with newer developments located on the ...

, Hustad Prison,

Bjørgvin Prison Bergen (, ) is a city and municipality in Vestland county on the west coast of Norway. Bergen is the second-largest city in Norway after the capital Oslo. By May 2025 the population is 294 029 according to Statistics Norway. The municipali ...

, and Lyderhorn halfway house. Probation offices are in Bergen,

Molde Molde () is a List of towns and cities in Norway, town and the seat of Molde Municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is located in the Traditional districts of Norway, traditional district of Romsdal. It is located on the Romsdal Pen ...

Ålesund Ålesund () is a List of towns and cities in Norway, town in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. The town is the administrative centre of Ålesund Municipality. The centre of the town of Ålesund lies on the islands of Hessa, Aspøya, Ålesund, Asp� ...

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

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

, and

Sogndalsfjøra Sogndalsfjøra is a village in the municipality of Sogndal in Vestland county, Norway. It is located where the river Sogndalselvi runs out in the Sogndalsfjorden, a branch of the large Sognefjorden. The village is located about northwest of the ...

. The Center for Drug Programs is under court control in Bergen.

Northern Region

Correctional Services, Northern Region includes the counties of

Trøndelag Trøndelag (; or is a county and coextensive with the Trøndelag region (also known as ''Midt-Norge'' or ''Midt-Noreg,'' "Mid-Norway") in the central part of Norway. It was created in 1687, then named Trondhjem County (); in 1804 the county was ...

Nordland Nordland (; , , , ) is one of the three northernmost Counties of Norway, counties in Norway in the Northern Norway region, bordering Troms in the north, Trøndelag in the south, Norrbotten County in Sweden to the east, Västerbotten County to t ...

Troms Troms (; ; ; ) is a Counties of Norway, county in northern Norway. It borders Finnmark county to the northeast and Nordland county in the southwest. Norrbotten Län in Sweden is located to the south and further southeast is a shorter border with ...

, and

Finnmark Finnmark (; ; ; ; ) is a counties of Norway, county in northern Norway. By land, it borders Troms county to the west, Finland's Lapland (Finland), Lapland region to the south, and Russia's Murmansk Oblast to the east, and by water, the Norweg ...

. The office is located in

Trondheim Trondheim ( , , ; ), historically Kaupangen, Nidaros, and Trondhjem (), is a city and municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. As of 2022, it had a population of 212,660. Trondheim is the third most populous municipality in Norway, and is ...

. The Northern Region consists of Trondheim Prison, Verdal Prison, Mosjøen Prison, Bodø Prison, Bodø halfway house,Bodø Overgangsbolig
in Norwegian Vadsø Prison, and

Tromsø Prison Tromsø is a List of towns and cities in Norway, city in Tromsø Municipality in Troms county, Norway. The city is the administrative centre of the municipality as well as the administrative centre of Troms county. The city is located on the is ...

, in addition to the probation offices in Finnmark, Troms, Nordland, northern Trøndelag, and southern 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

Organization

The regions

Eastern Region

Southern Region

Southwestern Region

Western Region

Northern Region

See also

References

External links

Prisons and probation offices