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PATIENT

‘Dangerous’ man on the run after hospital escape

A 54-year-old man with a history of violence is on the run in Sweden after he escaped from a psychiatric hospital on Friday, with police warning the public that he is very dangerous.

Published: 9 August 2013 16:50 CEST

The man made a run for it from the psychiatric ward of the Karsudden Hospital in Katrineholm, central Sweden.

Local police warned that if the man drinks any alcohol or takes drugs, there is a risk that he will be “very dangerous”. The man has been previously convicted for aggravated violence and rape and was under psychiatric care.

He was last seen wearing a brown leather jacket and black jogging trousers, and has a deep wound on his right arm and a flag tattooed on his left shoulder. He has been described as 180 centimetres tall, heavy bodied, and with a rectangular face. He has dark blonde hair, green eyes, crooked teeth and a straight nose.

“If you see him, ring 112 immediately. Do not talk to him,” Lars Ånestrand of the local police told the TT news agency.

Six police patrols are on the lookout for the man, who is believed to have taken a bicycle after escaping, but Ånestrand referred to the search as a “needle in a haystack” job.

The 54-year-old was convicted for aggravated rape in 1987, and was admitted to the Karsudden ward in 2005.

The man has been under psychiatric care for 26 years, during which time he has committed several crimes, including coercion, theft, and violence against officers.

TT/The Local/og

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PRISONS

Denmark announces plan to cut number of prison escapes

Authorities in Denmark are to provide proposals for a new plan of action aimed at cutting down the number of prison breakouts.

Published: 27 November 2019 14:29 CET
Denmark announces plan to cut number of prison escapes
File photo: Johan Gadegaard/Midtjyske Medier/Ritzau Scanpix

An action plan from relevant authorities should help to ensure that far fewer escapes from correctional facilities take place in Denmark in the future, Minister of Justice Nick Hækkerup said to press on Wednesday.

Hækkerup is to ask the National Police, the Danish Prison Service (Kriminalforsorgen) and the public prosecution authority to provide recommendations and produce the plan in collaboration with health authorities.

“There have been too many prison escapes. Every time there is an escape from one of our prisons, detention centres or, as last week, from a psychiatric ward, it is a serious matter,” the minister said.

“It is totally unacceptable that we are seeing time and again that prisoners or detainees have succeeded in escaping,” he continued.

“It goes without saying that when a person is remanded in custody or serving a sentence, that person must be incarcerated, and unable to avoid this.

“It is part of our legal system that you have to take your punishment and serve it,” he said.

Last week, a prisoner escaped from a psychiatric ward in Slagelse in dramatic circumstances. Shots were fired at the floor during the escape operation, and hospital staff were threatened.

The episode is far from unique in Denmark. A 2018 Council of Europe report placed Denmark at number seven among its 47 member countries in relation to the number of escapes from open and closed prisons.

Denmark is in third place if the number of escapes from closed prisons only is considered.

“Every escape is one escape too many. But on the other hand, I think it would be too ambitious to think that we can get to a stage where there are no escapes at all,” Hækkerup said of his aims for the plan of action.

“But I am prepared to look at all options once the relevant authorities have provided their descriptions of the problem and what initiatives are needed. Because we need to stop prison breakouts,” Hækkerup said.

READ ALSO: Denmark makes two arrests over prisoner breakout at hospital

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