Reduction of a sentence for time spent in a child welfare institution

Justices: Øie, Webster, Noer, Bergh, Steinsvik

The penalty for violation of section 328 subsection 1, cf. section 327, cf. section 15 of the Penal Code – contribution to two robberies, of which one was aggravated – was stipulated to 360 hours of community service, alternatively one year of imprisonment. The convicted person was 16 and half years old at the time of the offences, and the prosecutor and the defence counsel agreed that a community sentence was an appropriate reaction. The Supreme Court held that the alternative prison sentence, based on age, would be one year and four months. During the hearing, the convicted person had been placed in an institution against his will, see section 4-24 of the Child Welfare Act. The content of this coercive measure was however not of such a nature that it – used as a surrogate for remand in custody – would entail depravation of liberty within the meaning of section 83 of the Penal Code. Nor had the forced institutionalisation taken place in connection with the relevant case. The conditions for deduction for time spent in custody under section 83 of the Penal Code were thus not met, but a discretionary deduction of four months was granted for the time in the institution.