An American Warden Visited A Norwegian Prison, And He Couldn't Believe What He Saw

We all know the world could be a better place, but...

prisons?

Retired superintendent James Conway is a 38-year veteran of the Attica Correctional Facility in New York. He spent none of that time pitying his inmates. "It was your actions that put yourself here," he said, referring to the prisoners. "Who cares how they feel?" Well, Conway experienced quite a shock when he visited Halden Prison, one of the newest correctional facilities in Norway. In an excerpt from a made-for-TV documentary called "The Norden," Jan Stromnes, deputy head of the prison, takes Conway on a tour of the premises — and he couldn't believe what he saw. "I'm having a hard time believing that I'm in a prison," Conway said in the documentary, reported on by the blog Finansakrobat.

10 inmates share a living room complete with a television, dartboard, and ... knives for cooking

Norway has an incarceration rate of 70 per 100,000, totaling 3, 571 inmates for the entire country. The US rate is more than 10 times Norway's — 707 per 100,000, or 2,228,424 people behind bars.

source

And in US prisons 10 prisoners are shared among prison guards, forced to live in literal concrete boxes and don't forget the wonderful Prison Loaf all prisoners are given to eat. S + F

Maybe Norway takes the concept of rehabilitation seriously?. Norway has by far the lowest of rate of recidivism in all of Europe. So obviously they are doing something right

The prisons in Norway are well known for being like a goddamn hotel.
It's sickening.

a reply to: AlaskanDad

Their motto is..

You can do the crime because you can do the time...

Of course not very interesting for real criminals... criminals are doing hard time by association. Maybe in Norway not so many people in jail too?

a reply to: Viking9019

Is it any wonder why American prisoners usually end up back on some jail roster? They create the conditions for crime, using it as an example to over-police the civilians.

Over there, you do something wrong, you're treated like a human being (not sure about all cases, however).

Don't worry, Norway's luxurious prison standards will drop once the immigrant population overwhelms the natives and police have to begin catching the newly-arrived criminals and the courts convict them. This isn't anti-immigrant rhetoric, statistics show the increase in crime rates in every Scandinavian country since the EU began importing huge numbers of third world immigrants by calling them political refugees.

a reply to: Yeahkeepwatchingme

Ah, confinement loaf - I hear it mellows them right out.
Make the prisoners eat pharmaceuticals or starve.
Good plan.

One of the local prisons where I live in Canada is like this in a way too. The inmates live in shared housing quarters on an open property, and they have jobs on the property.

a reply to: AlaskanDad

How dangerous are the criminals in this facility?
Or is it just a place for non-violent felony offenders like fraud and stuff?

Does this prison allow for all inmates to live like this? I am sure it's only reserved for people whom have the ability to be rehabilitated... What good would it do to throw 10 serial killers into a hotel room together? (except speeding up the process of execution..)

If I lived in Norway, and were homeless- I'd rob a bank with a squirt gun and hope for a very long sentence.

a reply to: Viking9019

Not all prisoners are murders rapist or maniacs.

Wiki

The article says that although recidivism rates are calculated differently between countries, only 20% of Norway's prisoners end up back in jail within 2 years (compared to 50%–60% in the UK and US). Prisoner governor Are Hoidal was quoted as saying, "In the Norwegian prison system, there's a focus on human rights and respect.

originally posted by: Dabrazzo
Norway has by far the lowest of rate of recidivism in all of Europe.

I just looked it up, and it appears that the rate is 20%. That is pretty impressive compared to the US with a rate of ~75% within 5 years..

That's it!
I'm going to Norway. I'll throw a couple of rocks at a car or something and land myself in one of their luxury suits, I mean cells.

First I read about their great lifestyle, their excellent schools, now their prisons too?

Although, I am having a hard time believing that really evil folks like serial killers, or child molesters would get to live in those nice rooms too.
Or perhaps Norway just doesn't have any really bad people, who knows?
Could this be for people who commit fraud, or tax evasion, etc. ( crime that doesn't include them being a danger to others)?

a reply to: Serdgiam

I guess Norway just has a more enlightened way of looking at things they essentially believe its more effective for a person to want to stay away from crime than for systems to try to scare them away from it. And that seems entirely true.

Its funny seeing some peoples comments deriding this system when it is blindingly obvious this works and is clearly better for a society. Some people just dont get it I guess.

Problem with America they seem to want to put people in prison indefinitely as part of this crazy slave labour market corporate interests have created. To me thats kinda scary and clearly doesnt solve anything, infact it just makes things far worse.

a reply to: Serdgiam

I wouldn't argue that it's mainly because of our prison system, but more with how our society views inmates upon release, how the government treats inmates upon release, and the fact that those in the families and cultures (not races, but cultures) to which inmates return tend to promote and reaffirm the activities that put them in prison in the first place.

I admit wholeheartedly that the U.S. has a pretty crappy idea of what to do with criminals, but treating them like they're on "Big Brother" is not, in my opinion, the best way to go about it.

originally posted by: Serdgiam

originally posted by: Dabrazzo
Norway has by far the lowest of rate of recidivism in all of Europe.

I just looked it up, and it appears that the rate is 20%. That is pretty impressive compared to the US with a rate of ~75% within 5 years..

With such a low crime rate is it any wonder the repeat rate would be low as well? That may have nothing to to with the prison just the mentality of the populous.

originally posted by: Dabrazzo
a reply to: Serdgiam

I guess Norway just has a more enlightened way of looking at things they essentially believe its more effective for a person to want to stay away from crime than for systems to try to scare them away from it. And that seems entirely true.

Its funny seeing some peoples comments deriding this system when it is blindingly obvious this works and is clearly better for a society. Some people just dont get it I guess.

Problem with America they seem to want to put people in prison indefinitely as part of this crazy privatized slave labour market corporate interests have created. To me thats kinda scary and clearly doesnt solve anything, infact it just makes things far worse.

Both systems seem to be successful at their goals. The US system, as you state, is designed as a business. Recidivism equates to 'repeat customers,' and that is quite critical to any successful business. Obviously, the societal repercussions are severe, but those who are profiting the most also tend to be the furthest removed and insulated from society. Their only measuring stick for success is financial growth, regardless of how myopic that is..

In that same vein, the more that society devolves, the higher the profits become. Its not just the prison system though, and that makes it even worse. Success is simply not defined by anything with a real world value, yet fiat currency can still be used to purchase real world value.

In other words, the US prison system is operating within context and is similar to every business from McDonalds to Food Stamps to healthcare. Its a very serious problem, in my opinion. On the flip side, small percentage yields from large sections of the population can also be used to all of our benefit, we just don't 'go there.'

a reply to: Hoosierdaddy71

Maybe, maybe not.

Its obviously a topic that involves the culture/society of the locality, but correlation may not equal causation and I am doubtful there would be a sole cause to the effect in the first place.