Open institution prisoners to renovation work of the Nuuksio national park

15.3.2004
The Criminal Sanctions Agency, the National Board of Forestry and Helsinki prison have made an agreement concerning the use of prisoner labour in the renovation work of the Nuuksio national park.

The prisoners working in the national park are open institution prisoners of Helsinki work colony who have been assessed to be suitable for an open institution. This means for instance regular intoxicant testing and other assessment in which the prisoner has been stated to be suited to work in freer circumstances.

According to the agreement, the prisoners are engaged since April this year in the Nuuksio national park in demolition and renovation of buildings, making of fences and duckboards, building and erecting of guide boards and clearance of nature and mowing. Work in this site is estimated to last several years.

On the average six prisoners will be working in the national park. Helsinki prison is responsible for the transport, surveillance and maintaining of order on the site. The National Board of Forestry is responsible for the planning and supervision of work.

Prisoners working in Nuuksio like in other outside sites are open institution prisoners. By placing a prisoner in an open institution one attempts to adapt and prepare a prisoner for civilian life. The precondition of the placement in an open institution is that the convict is assessed to be suited in the freer circumstances of an open institution. In addition the inmate placed in an open institution is required commitment to abstinence which is supervised by tests.

In the Nuuksio national park there is a lot of preparation work of routes and structures and also more and more care of nature. The funds of the National Board of Forestry for the care and maintenance of the area are insufficient for the need. The agreement made now will be a remarkable improvement to development of the public services and care of the nature.

The National Board of Forestry has good experience of corresponding co-operation in the Aulanko nature reserve in Hämeenlinna. In Aulanko the co-operation with the Ojoinen work colony subject to Hämeenlinna prison is almost a tradition. The Nuuksio national park suits due its location to be an object of Helsinki work colony. Later co-operation will be carried out also in other nature reserve areas but Nuuksio is the main object.