The Icelandic National Broadcasting Service, RÚV, reports that there has been a substantial rise in the foreign population of Icelandic prisons over the last five years.
In 2000, seven foreign prisoners completed their sentences in Iceland, in 2004 the corresponding number was close to forty.
Each prisoner costs several million Icelandic króna a year.
Last year 14 prisoners completed sentences for white collar crimes (fraud, embezzlement, etc), 12 for drug related crimes. In 2004, the figures were 21 and 9, respectively. This is a reversal from the period 2001 to 2003 when narcotics related crimes were more common than white collar crimes.
