The head of the Danish Prison Staff Union, Bo Yde Sørensen, warned that Denmark's prison system is nearing "complete collapse," according to a newsletter he sent to union members, as reported by TV2Fyn.
Sørensen’s warning came after a week in which the Danish prison staff union Fængselsforbundet intensified its media campaign, warning of the continued rise in the number of prisoners and of plans that have begun to be discussed to house two prisoners instead of one in a single cell.
Ringe prison is moving towards accommodating two prisoners per cell.
Ringe Fængsel prison is one of the prisons expected to have, starting next fall, two beds in each cell, due to the increasing number of inmates and the rising pressure on the prison system.
«We stand at a crossroads if we still want prisons in the future that are at a somewhat acceptable Western European standard,» Bo Sorensen wrote in the newsletter.
Employees agree to work long hours
The prison staff union reported that up to 400 employees signed an agreement allowing them to work up to 60 hours a week, so that they could guarantee the days off they had been promised.
In the newsletter, Sorensen said that the union does indeed bear some responsibility for this situation, explaining that the union entered into the agreement within the framework of the tripartite agreement, but its original purpose was to help the Danish Prison Service (Danmarks Fængsler), not to use it as a "lifeline" to cope with compulsory overtime.
A significant increase in the number of prisoners
The average number of prisoners present daily in the Danish prison system rose from about 4,200 to 4,600 in just a few months.
The union compares this to the past 25 years, when the number of prisoners in Danish prisons was usually around 3,500, while the number is currently heading towards the 5,000 prisoner mark.
The prison staff union asserts that the combination of the difficult situation of the staff and the increasing influx of prisoners has led to a point where the union is no longer able to bear the shared responsibility for the operation of the prisons.
Withdrawal from the workforce due to fears of further deterioration
This situation prompted the prison staff union to also withdraw from a task force dedicated to dealing with the crisis, due to concerns that the continuation of the situation would lead to a further deterioration in the conditions of both staff and prisoners.
According to the source, Bo Sorensen said that if the union is going to continue to share responsibility for running the prisons, the situation has reached a point where "we have to take it the other way around," instead of continuing to push staff to work longer and longer hours outside their shift schedules, which he says they have been doing for many years.
The head of the union also warns that if the parties involved in the tripartite agreement are unable to meet again and reach a common solution, there is «an alternative to being an active and innovative partner» in managing the crisis.
These warnings come at a time when Danish prisons are facing increasing pressure due to rising prisoner numbers, coupled with significant strain on staffing levels and working hours, raising concerns for the union about the system's ability to maintain acceptable working and living conditions within prisons.
