A prison is a detaining structure where convicted people are kept. Accused persons are also detained in prison pending their trial if they are not out on bond terms. Violent offenders at Norway’s Halden Prison share luxury flats, eat sushi, and even produce rap albums. At the same time, this humanitarian attitude is admirable (Oliroux 00:01:15 – 00:02:00). If society’s sole goal is to punish an inmate as harshly as possible, the final result will almost certainly be a criminal who despises culture even more than before. In addition to robbing prisoners of their liberty, the primary goal of imprisonment must be rehabilitation. If Halden prison contributes to inmates becoming positive contributors to society, it is the way forward for the prison system.
In the documentary, Wittcombe comes across as psychotic, almost outrageously, and she reaffirmed that jails were for rehabilitation, not punishment. These concessions would never exist in the Western world. They would be challenging to implement since many inmates appear to return due to the difficulty of reintegrating into society after incarceration. The attitude that convicts should be considered misfits who should be imprisoned rather than rehabilitated is too deeply embedded in the minds of politicians and government officials like Ann Widdecombe, as seen in this documentary (Oliroux, 00:21:45 – 00:25:09). This type of policy is not beneficial to society. For society to reduce the rate of recidivism, it must create a sense of belonging for the inmates. Norway accomplishes this by demonstrating how to contribute to society’s members to the inmates.
Norwegian prisons don’t emphasize the crime committed; instead, they want to bring them in so that no additional crimes are committed and so that they can live as neighbors with others, which they will have to do eventually. The support given in the article on Norwegian prisons includes restorative justice. Many people believe that prisons are used to control the actions of individuals. For Norway, it is the ability to rehabilitate individuals to reintegrate into society. This concept has, over time, been used and has been dubbed restorative justice. As an outcome, inmates in Norway participate in various activities to become productive and atone for their transgressions. While some students attend school, they acquire life skills. Daily, they may communicate with their family. They are permitted to see and spend quiet time with their incarcerated loved ones twice a week. They believe that stripping someone of their liberty instead of imprisoning them is the proper penalty. Norway can also add five years to the sentence until it gets confirmation that the defendant has already been rehabilitated.
Although Norway’s prison system looks unsuccessful, research shows that it is operative. It has one of the world’s lowest reoffending, at 20% (Gerhold). Put another way, only 20% of those reissued return to society as habitual criminals. In contrast, the figure in the United States is 76.6. percent (Gerhold). After they are released, most offenders believe that their institutions will help them become better people. In addition, the guards engage in “dynamic security,” which requires them to interact with or communicate with the people they are protecting. In the meantime, the US takes a more rigid, authoritarian stance.
The discrepancies between the US and Norwegian prison systems can be influenced or determined by various factors. Such factors as culture, economy, and even criminal populations and habits all contribute to causing the discrepancies (Gerhold). The United States prisons have many challenges that can be addressed by studying the Norgewian ways. On the other hand, Norway’s prison system will not achieve this position for no reason. Indeed, the US can glean some pearls of wisdom from how the Norwegian prisons are run.
Works Cited
Gerhold, Rudy. “Norway vs. US: How Different Are Their Prison Systems?” Kent Partnership, 2021.
“The World’s Most Luxurious Prison.” YouTube, uploaded by Oliroux, 2021.