New Kerava Open Prison introduces 40 additional prisoner places and modern practices

In Kerava Open Prison, young prisoners form an important target group and approximately 60 per cent of the prisoners are first timers. All in all, 34 per cent of the prisoners are under 29 years old and 26 per cent were 30 to 39 years old. The prison emphasises interactive work and close cooperation between the instructors and the prisoners.

- The prisoners’ activities are arranged so that they are connected to the surrounding society is as much as possible. The aim is to plan the rehabilitation carried out in prison together with the prisoner’s municipality of residence, thus taking also into account the time after the release. Likewise, the work activities of prisoners consist more and more of work that benefits society and is arranged together with cooperation partners. The work activities rely heavily on the cooperation with the vocational institutions. In Kerava, the main cooperation partners providing vocational education and training are Keuda Group and Vocational College Live, says Prison Director Minna Saukko.

Kerava Prison is a rehabilitative open prison. The rehabilitation focuses on increasing the social inclusion of prisoners, which means supporting them to manage their own affairs, such as taking care of their health, learning everyday skills, and creating social networks.

The sentence plans of the prisoners include measures supporting a life without crime which extend from the prison term to the time after release. This requires close cooperation between the prison and, among others, the municipal social and health services, the police, the educational system, and the third sector.

- The prisoners need to know what a civilian life looks like and how to cope there when they are released, says Director Minna Saukko.

The new prison has a service centre where the basic services for the prisoners, such as the dining room, reception facilities, polyclinic, and teaching facilities, are located. In addition, there are nine separate accommodation buildings in the prison area.

The prison has 53 staff members in total. Kerava Open Prison was built in the area where the work activities of the old Kerava Prison were arranged. The total area of the new buildings is 4 760 square meters.

Separate accommodation ward for people with reduced mobility

The prison also has an accommodation ward with ten places for people with reduced mobility. The Finnish Association of People with Physical Disabilities was consulted when planning the accommodation ward. According to Minna Saukko, people with reduced mobility have not been taken into account in the planning of prisons to this extent previously.

In addition to the accommodation ward for prisoners with reduced mobility, accessibility has been taken into account, for example, in the visitor areas. The services are also tailored to suit prisoners with reduced mobility. Another new feature is an intensive substance rehabilitation ward with 12 places. The ward enables closer support for substance abuse problems also in an open prison. Here too, the starting point is that the work done in prison does not end with the release but the time after release and the continuing need for support will be planned already during the prison term.

- The prison in Kerava is a modern open prison that provides 40 additional prisoner places in the Greater Helsinki region. Until now, there has been lack of places in the open prisons in our area for the prisoners to have an opportunity to prepare for a life after release, says Katri Järvinen, Region Director of the Criminal Sanctions Area of Southern Finland.

Kerava Open Prison is one of the 11 open prisons in Finland. In addition, Finland has 15 closed prisons.

Further information:
Minna Saukko, Director of Kerava Prison, tel +358 29 56 82802
Katri Järvinen, Region Director of the Criminal Sanctions Region of Southern Finland, tel. +358 29 56 81100