Five inmates have escaped from Kerava prison this summer

Prisoners' daily activities include outdoor work on farms

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In the space of just over a week, five inmates at the Kerava prison have reached the same conclusion: an unscheduled summer holiday would nicely break up the monotony. Of the five escapees, three have already been caught.
      The latest incident occurred on Monday, when a prisoner in his 30's put to good use a rickety old bicycle that he found near a machine shop where he was working. He decided to pedal to freedom.
      The bicycle was later found abandoned near the Lahti motorway.
     
Even though the Kerava prison is technically a closed prison, it is not surrounded by a wall. The prisoners move around outside their cellblocks while carrying out their daily duties. Kerava has a sizeable number of young offenders. Most inmates are doing stretches from one to two years.
      "It is impossible to turn this facility into a sealed tin can. Therefore the wall won't be built", says assistant director Heikki Kokkonen.
     
According to Kokkonen, the recent escapes are a product of the prison's cramped conditions, the lack of trained personnel, the warm summer, and the prisoners' yearning for their fifteen minutes of fame. "One prisoner's escape may provoke others to try the same."
      The Kerava prison was designed for 155 prisoners. The present inmate count is 187. Some cells are shared by six people.
      The congestion has inevitably led to an increased number of disputes occurring among the inmates.
      Another reason contributing to the success of escapes is the lack of trained personnel. The prison is guarded by an 84-strong staff, a third of whom are replaced by untrained substitutes during the summer holiday season.
      And there are not enough guards to begin with.
      Every day, several guards are missing from the basic strength. To replace them, others have to be persuaded to come and do overtime.
     
Some inmates simply get bored, for there is not enough carpentry, gardening, and farm work for everybody. "Forty of the prisoners are unemployed", Kokkonen lists.
      "Stories about summer festivals, fishing trips, and so on from friends outside may also cause some captives to start thinking of embarking on an unscheduled break."
     
The Kerava prison provides its inmates with possibilities to study, work, and take part in sports activities.
      "This is not a holiday camp. But on the other hand, we do not aim to add to the inmates' discomfort either. The deprivation of freedom should be punishment enough", Kokkonen explains.
      The two inmates still at large are not considered dangerous. According to Kokkonen, they are minor offenders who, once caught, will end up serving a longer sentence in a prison surrounded by walls.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Strike threat at Riihimäki prison - inmates protest against cramped conditions (8.4.2005)

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