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/en/sosiale-forhold-og-kriminalitet/statistikker/fengsling/arkiv
13545
Record high number of inmates
statistikk
2003-01-13T10:00:00.000Z
Social conditions, welfare and crime;Immigration and immigrants
en
fengsling, Imprisonments, crime, criminal cases, prisoners, reason for imprisonment (for example prison sentence, custody, protective custody), new imprisonments, releases, time served, offence groups (for example violence, drugs, crimes for profit), types of offence (for example theft, murder, rape)Social conditions, welfare and crime, Crime and justice, Social conditions, welfare and crime, Immigration and immigrants
false

Imprisonments, 2001

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Record high number of inmates

The year 2001 saw a record high number of people held in Norwegian prisons. The level of 2800 inmates held on an average day, is an increase of about 200 from the previous year.

There were 12 000 new imprisonments in the course of the year, which is about 10 per cent more than in 2000. The average number of prisoners raised by 8 per cent. This is an increase of about 200 persons.

The prison population at the beginning of the year, i.e. January 1st, was more than 2 400 inmates. The development from 1999 to 2001 indicates an increase of 15 per cent for these two years. These trends are in part the result of an increase in the prison capacity: There were 109 extra available places in 2001, and the available places were utilized to a greater extent in 2001 than in the previous year. Still, the increase in the prison population is mainly due to an increase by 14 per cent in unconditional prison sentences.

Average number of prisoners in Norwegian prisons, 1960-2001

4 000 new imprisonments to custody

The number of new imprisonments to custody increased to 3 495 in the course of the year. This represents an increase in about 10 per cent from 2000 to 2001. A decrease of nearly 7 per cent from 1999 to 2 000, resulted in an increase for new imprisonments to custody of 2 per cent in the period from 1999 to 2001. There were no significant change in the average number of prisoners to custody from 2 000 to 2001. 612 people were held in custody on an average day. The increase in the prison population is mainly the result of more people serving prison sentences.

 

Comments on new 2001-figures

After publishing NOS Crime Statistics 2000, some main errors were detected in the data source. These errors affected the prison population at the beginning of the year (table 47 and 48), and the figures concerning discharges (table 52 and 54) and departures (table 56) from the penal institutions.

For the first time in many years, the figures for departures from penal institutions are at about the same level as the figures for entries to penal institutions. This is due to changes in registration procedures in the Norwegian Central Penal Register (SSP) in 1997, which is not implemented in the statistics until 2001.

 

Earlier published figures for custody does not show the same increase from 2000 to 2001, as the new figures for 2001. The revised figures for custody are more like the figures from The Norwegian Ministry of Justice and the Police.

 

Comments on not revised 2000-figures

Supposed Statistics Norway do not make the same revision for 2000 as for 2001, the figures for the prison population on January 1st 2000 will be artificial high, and the figures for departures artificial low. This is due to removal of errors in the data source for the figures for 2001. Unfortunately, this removal of errors is not consistent for 2000. The development from 1999 to 2001 indicates a trend, which is more in line with the figures for new imprisonments and the average number of prisoners.

 

Tables

Published tables