During nine monitoring visits in 2025 to institutions with children, the Parlia-mentary Ombudsman focused on conditions for 15-17-year-olds in state and local prisons.
Generally, young people are not to be placed in a state or local prison. Howev-er, considerations of for example law enforcement may mean that it happens after all when 15-17-year-olds are remanded in custody or have to serve a sentence.
Particular attention to young people
The Ombudsman concludes that staff in the visited institutions generally paid particular attention to the young people. They were also generally familiar with the relevant rules and with the Danish Prison Service’s guidelines on treatment of underage inmates, which had been drawn up in continuation of the Om-budsman’s monitoring visits in 2017 regarding young people in state and local prisons, among other places.
However, the monitoring visits also showed that custodial parents generally did not receive information and guidance in a way that enabled them to look after the underage persons’ interests during the imprisonment. The Ombudsman therefore makes a general recommendation regarding the case processing in the Danish Prison Service.
‘Young people under 18 constitute a small and potentially vulnerable group of inmates in state and local prisons. It is crucial that they are treated in accord-ance with their rights and that the parents are included to a relevant extent so that they can help look after the young peoples’ interests during the imprison-ment’, says Parliamentary Ombudsman Christian Britten Lundblad.
Focus on securing relevant places
The Ombudsman’s investigation has shown that, in certain instances, young people may be placed in institutions that do not have designated places for young people – and that this also applies beyond short-term placements. How-ever, based among other things on the information that additional places for young people were established in 2025, it is the Ombudsman’s impression that there is a management focus in the Danish Prison Service on ensuring that young people are placed in institutions that can accommodate the special needs associated with the treatment of underage inmates.
In the thematic report, the Ombudsman recommends, among other things, that the institutions ensure that, on arrival of a young inmate, a special treatment plan is drawn up for the young person as soon as possible, for example in the form of relevant education and activation programmes.
At a meeting, the Ombudsman has discussed his observations and recom-mendations with the Danish Prison Service, and he will follow up on them at future meetings and future monitoring visits.
Read the Ombudsman’s thematic report.
Further details:
Director of International Relations Klavs Kinnerup Hede
kkh@ombudsmanden.dk