More than two hundred people came today to the open day of the Norgerhaven prison in Veenhuizen. This open day was supposed to take place in March 2020, but was canceled due to corona. The people on the list from then have now been approached again to ask if they were still interested. There was so much enthusiasm that no new call was placed to attract visitors.
The visitors were divided into ten groups and since a prison is of course not a really open institution, they had to show their IDs and hand in their phones at the entrance. They also had to go through the detection gates.
Social task
Deputy director Jan Roelof van der Spoel explained the prison complex, which is officially called Penitentiary Institution Veenhuizen. It consists of Esserheem, Klein Bankenbosch and Norgerhaven. A renovation of Norgerhaven is planned and during this renovation the detainees will be transferred to Groot Bankenbosch, which is currently not in use.
“We don’t do this work for ourselves, but for society. So we think it’s important to give people an idea of how prison custody works and also to show how we prepare prisoners for their return to society,” says Van der Spoel about the purpose of the open day.
Norgerhaven consists of 242 cells, 31 of which are multi-person cells. It includes a House of Detention, a prison, a building for detainees who need extra care and a Father’s Wing, where detainees can also cuddle with their children instead of the regular contact in the visitors’ room with a partition in between.
Not a hotel
The visitors were given a tour of the sports fields, the recreation room, the visitors’ room, the lawyers’ consultation rooms and the rooms for ‘unsupervised visits’, where there are some chairs and a bed. “The curtain closes, the door closes and then we say: have a nice afternoon!”, says employee José.
Visitors were also allowed to take a look at the cell complex. “Let’s close the door behind you. Then you’ll feel how small such a space is,” explains employee Martijn. “People sometimes think that a prison is just like a hotel. But imagine that you have been here for years. That is really no fun,” says Martijn.
Detainees work four hours a day, five days a week, and are paid less than one euro per hour for this, according to visitors during a tour of the laundry. “We wash here for eight northern penitentiaries. We get about 7,500 kilos of dirty laundry a week. The inmates put the laundry in large washing machines and then the dryers. They put the laundry through the mangle, sort it and fold it “says employee Daniel.
Seclusion space impresses
The seclusion area made a big impression. “You can be placed here for punishment if, for example, drugs are found, but you may also be placed here with a ‘measure’. Then there are usually psychological complaints,” said José. There is a plastic mattress and a plastic seating cube in the penalty area. There is also a steel toilet and a sink.
In the room for detainees with a measure, there is a steel-framed bed with straps. “That is used, for example, if someone wants to injure themselves,” says the penitentiary employee. A visitor calls another room for prisoners with a measure the SM room, because of the belts and a black mask that is supposed to prevent injuries to the head.
Visitors find it a special experience. The word “impressive” often comes up. They notice that such a prison is quite a business. “I find it incredibly interesting. I learn all kinds of things. I never thought there was so much to it,” says a visitor.