What do you think about Norwegian prisons?

[curiousnorway]

I'm wondering what you thinks about it. If it's good prisons, good for rehabilitation or too nice.

Norwegian prisons:

Halden Prison.

Bastøy prison.

Skien prison.

US prisons:

#Prison #Norway #NorwegianPrisons

Updates

+1 y

An user on GAG recommended this video that's about Michael Moore visiting Norwegian prisons.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jDjISR5OHa4

[Naydyonov]

I think a 4 tiered system should be made.

Tier 1: Under 18 offenders with exception of crimes such as murder, terrorism, etc, and 1st time offenders.
This jail will be just like Norway's, built specifically for rehabilitation.
Tier 2: This one will be built to 'punish' the prisoners with work a bit , just not make it easy for them but offer lots of support. This one is built for 2nd time offenders of low tier crimes.
Tier 3: Prisoners of higher tier crimes such as assault with a deadly weapon are sent here alongside with repeat offenders of low tier crimes. These are serious prisons. No lullabies here. You've had your 2-4 chances and now you're being punished. You will do some work, if not your sentence is prolonged. Working by a system that your work is counted up, so say you produced 100$ worth of something , that's 100$ off 20,000$. Now a lazy person will have 5$ taken off per day, while a hardworking one will have 20 times more taken off. The more you work the faster you're out.
Tier 4: Penal Colonies. This is where your terrorists, murderers, rapists go. This is a work camp. You are given no treats. You ruined someone else's chance at life, so as a society we ruin yours. You do physical labor that normal people in society do not want to do. Your rights consist of the following;
-- You run --> You're shot.
-- You beat up a Guard --> Shot or Beat Up
--> Kill another inmate --> Again, up to debate. You accidentally did it, you're probably beat up. You bashed his head in with a rock, you're shot.
That's it.
I'm sorry but reading about a 17 year old who took out a classmate to the forest where she and her 1 year older boyfriend spent 4 hours killing him. The body was found with 152 stab wounds. She got 10 years as a minor.
Sorry but you not only killed him but stabbed him 152 times and extended the process to 4 hours.
You deserve to be treated like an animal, disregarding your age.

That's my view.

[PoliceLivesMatter]

I didn't watch the full video, but the man who's a neuroscientist said that our brains are able to change basically. I believe this to not be the 100% truth. Behavior genetics says that certain genes have been linked to antisocial behavior and criminality, meaning, some individuals are genetically born more inclined to commit crimes than others. I don't believe rehabilitation works for everyone and especially not the same way. The prison cells in Norway seems very high class to be honest. I would say better than most apartments in NYC.

[Gypsy_x]

Norway has a recidivism rate of 20%. Contrastingly, America's is about 70%+. Maybe its not about brains changing so much as the criminal justice system actually working.

[PoliceLivesMatter]

Well, I wouldn't be so sure that you can correlate the criminal justice in Norway to the 20% recidivism rate. In criminology there's a term called "spurious." It basically implies that two things can seem like they're related but not actually related at all. There could be a underlying factor that is related to BOTH instead of both being the cause of one another. Plus I'm sure you haven't done research on the American CJ system but if you had, there's MANY rehabilitation, work, and release programs specifically for inmates.

[Gypsy_x]

Of course, but you also have mandatory sentencing, plea bargains, and various other measures that put people in prison for longer than they need to be.

Norway isn't a one of case. All Scandinavian countries, the Netherlands, Switzerland, etc have low recidivism and similar methods of imprisonment.

[PoliceLivesMatter]

Well, all those countries have way different interpretations on crime than the US. Every country has its own definitions on what constitutes a crime and if there are degrees of severity. That's why you can't compare the systems of each because the countries are DRASTICALLY different. The only way to compare is to somehow equalize both countries and their definitions instead of comparing raw numbers because things are defined differently in each country.

[PoliceLivesMatter]

Victory!!

[Gypsy_x]

But surely if another country is having a wildly successful rehabilitative program, you'd want to perhaps take a few leaves outta their book?

[phantombandit]

So the USA, Canada, UK and Ireland all have similar justice systems with similar recidivism rates.

Sweden, norway, denmark and finland also have similar justice systems with similar recidivism rates. Actually finland had an American style system 30 years ago and they decided to do a 360 to a more norwegian approach. Their recidivism and crime rates fell at the same time. There is also such a thing as 'ignoring facts because they are inconvenient.'

[lumos]

I think Norwegian prisons clearly do a better job at rehabilitating people and giving them a chance at reconnecting with society once/if they get out, and the stats in the second video prove that.
It seems like the American mindset is to throw people into shitty facilities where they'll end up feeling miserable, disconnected from the outside world, and that that's somehow supposed to be threatening enough so that the people feel less encouraged to commit more crimes, lest they be thrown back in. Which might work for some, fear is an overwhelmingly powerful tool. But it seems like they also give little to no help to their inmates to get back up on their feet and to gain a second chance. And they completely miss the bigger picture. Which is that, if you make an inmate feel shitty in prison, with shitty food, shitty facilities, nothing to do, no outlets, no help... they will walk out of that prison feeling way angrier and shittier than they did before walking in there. And you're letting these angry people out in the world where innocent people can and will be harmed by this collective rage. That's probably one of the biggest reasons why it's so easy for them to fall back into their old habits and to start committing crimes again.

[alice55]

It doesn't look prison to me. It almost look like an hotel (especially compared to the prison of France). French prison are considered one of the worst in Europe.

This is a French prison : i.f1g.fr/.../...d2-da27-11e5-ae75-04c5eacbe0f1.jpg

media.rtl.fr/.../...pee-a-la-prison-de-fresnes.jpg

articlesprecedents.lejouretlanuit.info/.../1800135_6_df16_cellule-de-confinement-de-la-maison-d-arret_0bb8b91a141a1ac7f86de29427ccdb0d-leveled.jpg

www.francetvinfo.fr/.../720075.jpg

alimentation-generale.fr/.../...le-1-Baumettes.jpg

static.lexpress.fr/.../...-baumettes-2_5896073.jpg

[Wonderland94]

Well though I believe our prisons can be, not all are, atrocious those other prisons do seem a bit too nice. They are criminals after all and while they deserve a decent quality of life, they do need to be punished. And staying in a nice place like that for free sounds more like a vacation to me.

[curiousnorway]

They've no WiFi access, phones and can't go out when they wants to. You've to get permission to be allowed leaving prison. Your freedom is taken away.

[Wonderland94]

I understand but I still feel they are living a better life than they deserve, depending on the offense. And that's just my opinion.

Oh and I've lived without WiFi (or any internet), had limited phone access, and couldn't leave the premises without permission. Life was actually pretty damn nice. And a lot easier so if that's what their prisons are like, sign me up. I used last time as a well needed vacation and this time it would just be free. Oh and I may even get my own room which I didn't have last time so actually an improvement.

[Wonderland94]

My point is I think there is a middle ground between our awful prisons and their way too nice prisons.

[phantombandit]

@Wonderland94

It just depends on your priorities. On one hand you have raw statistics. They have a 20% repeat offending rate vs our 70%. On the other hand you have an emotional desire for revenge. However, dont confuse that with victims rights. They take care of their victims over there. In the USA you are just expected to move on with any emotional trama and medical bills etc... and just be happy that the guy is serving 38 life sentences in a shithole.

Personally, I am very numbers driven, but I do agree, it does lack a sense of justice.

Watch this, its really interesting about their system.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jDjISR5OHa4

[BlueCoyote]

Well, the scientific data on this matter is very clear and unequivocal: the Scandinavian prison system works the best. Recidivism rates are the lowest in the world. And that's all I really care about.
I don't like it when people argue from an emotional standpoint when it comes to the topic of crime and criminals. I understand that the issue is an emotional one but it must not be treated emotionally. It's one of those areas where it's best to follow cold reason.

[madhatters4]

it seems like the proof is in the efficacy. they have a much lower rate of repeat offenders and far higher rates of "rehabilitating" convicts.

america's prison system is terrible and real black eye compared to most developed nations

[Gypsy_x]

Prison rates are so low because Norway has a rehabilitative approach to criminal justice, rather than punitive. Its fantastic, and the hallmark of a modern civilised society.

[Juxtapose]

^^^^ THIS!

[liamgall95]

As far as I know, a LOT of US prisons are "for profit" private prisons; so they try and cram in as many prisoners as they can, and give them as low human-rights as the law will allow in order to be cheap.

Norway And Scandinavia in General, try to rehabilitate the inmates, rather than punish them... there are pros and cons of each, but hey... Norway high prices and taxes have to go to somewhere, right?

[TripleAce]

America is a place that rewards the rich and shits on the poor to keep them worse off... America also had open access to a range of various weapons... more violence is expected

Norway lol... you're talking about one of the best standards for quality of life... of course

[loraa]

I believe that it's great that Norway made their prisons this way. They learn and change over there. Other prisons just create more violence and harm. How are you supposed to learn from what you did in that certain dreadful environment?

[Stamps]

Prison should be a place where people DO NOT want to go to. How's going to prison a punishment this way?

[curiousnorway]

@Stamps, if you gets treated like an animal in the zoo you would get very angry on the system, don't learn how to live a normal life and your mental health just gets worse making you more likely to repeat criminality. Therefor the re-offending rate in the US is higher than in Norway. In addition in Norway it's more common to get the opportunity for free education and work training than in the US prisons. US prisons are often private and people makes money on inmates. In Norway every prisons are public and therefor they can't make them cheap so people can make money at them. They're there to serve a purpose and teach criminals that it exist better life styles than criminality, not to fill people's pockets and be so harsh that the inmates gets more unstable.

[BigRayFromNC]

Two questions here on this.

1) Are you planning on going to prison in Norway?

2) What do you think of prisons in the Country of Turkey?

[curiousnorway]

1) No. I've no reasons to commit a crime and nor do I want to go to prison in Norway. I've a high living standard, so for me Norwegian prisons aren't luxury. They've no WiFi access and you can't go outside when you wants to. There's no freedom.

2) It's absolutely inhumane. They gets treated worse than many animals. It shouldn't be allowed and the human rights court should be involved. If Breivik (Norwegian terrorist) can complain about his prison conditions to the human right court, then these people also should get the opportunity to do so.

[Parkwayvwhitechapel]

i've seen this kind of thing before, i would like to stay there, seems better then going in debt going to university here in the u. k.. you can study whilst in norweigan prison,
Do they train prisoners there to become black metal musicians/guitarists?

[Yayeet]

They're too good. For people that have little, this encourages them to commit crimes. They may not be able to go out, but they have a meal every day, and a bed to sleep on, and a roof to live under, and much better conditions than if they weren't in prison.
That being said, it's good because they want to rehabilitate them, but at the same time, there's people that need to spend their whole life in prison, like the one who committed that mass shooting several years ago

[John583]

You’re in prison, if you don’t want to be in prison don’t commit a crime. If you’re in prison because you were wrongfully accused I’m sorry. hopefully you can sue the government for wasting years of your life.

I have no sympathy for prison inmates regardless of the degree of their felony.

[Sugarfetus]

America is not a place where dream lives really. It's a place where greedy people make money and shady people on the street rampaging around. I mean I was grown up in NYC. However other area is similar that store is robbed and gun shot everywhere. It's really where animals living

[Summer-Evenings]

Watch the first episode of Mindfield on YouTube. Incarceration and isolation destroy and permanently damage the brain. What we do to people here, is beyond barbaric

[CubsterShura]

I can't tell. But looks like criminals live in a 5 star hotel there 😍😍😍

[curiousnorway]

They've no WiFi there and can't leave the prison when they want to. They've to get permission to do so. In Norway this is a standard, but in countries which isn't 1st world countries it may look like a luxury place.

[CubsterShura]

I see.

[Arai02]

Those prisons are nice turn the dorms at my university! Now I'm wondering how their dorms look like..

[curiousnorway]

Norwegian dorms can look like this:
rosenborgstudentby.no/.../J%C3%B8rgen-Hybel.jpg

s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/.../7dfa3711-cf81-49ac-a6dc-f075ba4493e0

bloggfiler.no/.../463562-7-1282034009929.jpg

[Soteris]

Considering the job of a Prison is to keep people inside and if they let them go, make sure they dont do it again. As such Norway seams to be doing pretty well for themselves.

[fauchelevent]

The Norwegian prisons look like student accommodation here :P

[jacquesvol]

student accommodation here was way worse when our son studied (and even poorer when we studied.)

[jacquesvol]

Our prisons are pre WW1 style bad. Thus they breed recidivism.

[catarecute]

America has a lot of sadists so they like watching people rote in prison cells and be tortured.

[Rainie_]

Norwegian prisons have better rooms than university accommodation rooms in the U. K. 😂😭

[ultimega]

I totally agree with this!

[CasaNorba]

damn I'm actually surprise the crime rate in Norway isn't as nearly as high as the crime rate here is

[curiousnorway]

Maybe it's because Norway have better mental health care system, the health care generally are free and we've a welfare system taking care of the poor. In addition we've stricter gun controls. Another factor may be that when you first turn criminal you're not treated like an animal in Zoo.

[CasaNorba]

makes a lot of sense. another reason why it may be is because you guys got a better economy system. over here in America the government puts taxes up our asses that in the end it results making it impossible to scape debt, which in the end it results people just getting desperate. desperate enough to do stupid shit just paid their debts and avoid trouble.

but hey I'm planning on moving out of this hell hole someday, wouldn't mind putting Norway as one of my options now

[CasaNorba]

not sure how the racism is there though, though I really doubt is as bad as here

[curiousnorway]

The system isn't allowed to be racist. Since Norway has been a homogeneous country in many periods it hasn't been that much racism. But in the 19th century some Norwegians were racist toward Sami-people. Today it's not so much racism as in the US. But it do exist. It's more common with seeing some culture as superior to others than race. Many Norwegians see some none-Western culture as inferior to their own culture.

[CasaNorba]

I see sounds cool. cause the thing is that I'm not originally from the US myself, I'm actually from the Caribbean. oh well either way I'm gonna add visiting Norway to my bucket list

[Paris13]

Any One, hun, Seem Far far Better than... North Korean Ones.
Beautifully Done! xxoo