Everyday life in prison

Clothing

The prison will provide you clothes and necessary bedlinen and towels when you arrive in prison.

You may also use your own clothes, but it may be restricted due to the requirements of the prison order or occupational safety. You are responsible for washing your own clothes.

In an open prison, you have to use your own clothes. You get appropriate work clothes and protective clothing from the prison for work. Prisons have facilities for you to wash and maintain your own clothes in the accommodation wards or elsewhere. Open prisons will provide bedlinen and towels according to their individual practices.

Free time

Prisons arrange guided free time activities suitable for the prison conditions. In addition, you can do certain recreational activities independently. In closed prisons, the prisoners have the right to exercise outdoors for at least one hour a day.

Open prisons may arrange group visits outside the prison, for instance, to libraries, indoor swimming pools, sports competitions, cultural events, religious events, and camps.

You may also engage in some hobbies, handicrafts, studies, and physical exercise independently. Most prisons have their own library. The library services may also be arranged so that the prisoners can use the local public library.

‍Health Care Services for Prisoners

The Health Care Services for Prisoners (vth.fi) arranges all its services by itself or by outsourcing them. It operates under the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare and works in close cooperation with the Prison and Probation Service.

All prisons in Finland have a polyclinic except for Suomenlinna Prison, which uses the polyclinic of Helsinki Prison.