The Prison and Probation Service Union (Fængselsforbundet) has voiced strong criticism of the proposed “security officers,” a new type of officer planned as part of the penal reform to address the critical shortage of prison officers. These officers, who will be just 18 years old, will be permitted to work in prisons.

The union chairman, Bo Yde Sørensen, argues that 18-year-olds lack the maturity and life experience necessary to effectively manage situations within a closed state prison. He recalls a previous similar initiative that was discontinued due to the officers’ inability to fully contribute to the overall tasks.

According to information obtained by Politiken and Ritzau, Justice Minister Peter Hummelgaard informed the Parliament in a written response that the Prison and Probation Service phased out similar security officers in 2009 because they “could not sufficiently participate in the overall task solution.”

These “security officers” will undergo a shorter training period of only four months, in contrast to the three-year training required for regular prison officers, who must be at least 21 years old.

As outlined in the plan, these officers are intended to assist prison officers and will be authorized to use force, but they will not be assigned tasks of “greater complexity.”

The “security officers” initiative is included in the political agreement on penal reform presented by Peter Hummelgaard in June, which has the support of all parliamentary parties except the Unity List and the Citizens’ Party.

While SF supports the agreement, they have expressed reservations and hope to discuss the age requirement. SF’s legal spokesperson, Karina Lorentzen, stated that 18 is very young in relation to interacting with inmates and fears that the new role may put further strain on the officer group. She hopes they can further educate themselves and become proper prison officers.

The penal reform agreement also includes a plan to create 2,000 new prison places by 2036, which will further increase the demand for prison officers.

The number of prison officers has been declining for the past 13 years, with only 1,850 officers in June, a decrease of 1,000 from 20 years ago.