[url]http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1986002,00.html[/url]
[release][img]http://img.timeinc.net/time/daily/2010/1005/postcard_0510.jpg[/img]
By the time the trumpets sound, the candles have been lit and the salmon platters garnished. Harald V, King of Norway, enters the room, and 200 guests stand to greet him. Then a chorus of 30 men and women, each wearing a blue police uniform, launches into a spirited rendition of "We Are the World." This isn't cabaret night at Oslo's Royal Palace. It's a gala to inaugurate Halden Fengsel, Norway's newest prison.
Ten years and 1.5 billion Norwegian kroner ($252 million) in the making, Halden is spread over 75 acres (30 hectares) of gently sloping forest in southeastern Norway. The facility boasts amenities like a sound studio, jogging trails and a freestanding two-bedroom house where inmates can host their families during overnight visits. Unlike many American prisons, the air isn't tinged with the smell of sweat and urine. Instead, the scent of orange sorbet emanates from the "kitchen laboratory" where inmates take cooking courses. "In the Norwegian prison system, there's a focus on human rights and respect," says Are Hoidal, the prison's governor. "We don't see any of this as unusual."
Halden, Norway's second largest prison, with a capacity of 252 inmates, opened on April 8. It embodies the guiding principles of the country's penal system: that repressive prisons do not work and that treating prisoners humanely boosts their chances of reintegrating into society. "When they arrive, many of them are in bad shape," Hoidal says, noting that Halden houses drug dealers, murderers and rapists, among others. "We want to build them up, give them confidence through education and work and have them leave as better people." Countries track recidivism rates differently, but even an imperfect comparison suggests the Norwegian model works. Within two years of their release, 20% of Norway's prisoners end up back in jail. In the U.K. and the U.S., the figure hovers between 50% and 60%. Of course, a low level of criminality gives Norway a massive advantage. Its prison roll lists a mere 3,300, or 69 per 100,000 people, compared with 2.3 million in the U.S., or 753 per 100,000 — the highest rate in the world.
Design plays a key role in Halden's rehabilitation efforts. "The most important thing is that the prison looks as much like the outside world as possible," says Hans Henrik Hoilund, one of the prison's architects. To avoid an institutional feel, exteriors are not concrete but made of bricks, galvanized steel and larch; the buildings seem to have grown organically from the woodlands. And while there is one obvious symbol of incarceration — a 20-ft. (6 m) concrete security wall along the prison's perimeter — trees obscure it, and its top has been rounded off, Hoilund says, "so it isn't too hostile."
The cells rival well-appointed college dorm rooms, with their flat-screen TVs and minifridges. Designers chose long vertical windows for the rooms because they let in more sunlight. There are no bars. Every 10 to 12 cells share a living room and kitchen. With their stainless-steel countertops, wraparound sofas and birch-colored coffee tables, they resemble Ikea showrooms.
Halden's greatest asset, though, may be the strong relationship between staff and inmates. Prison guards don't carry guns — that creates unnecessary intimidation and social distance — and they routinely eat meals and play sports with the inmates. "Many of the prisoners come from bad homes, so we wanted to create a sense of family," says architect Per Hojgaard Nielsen. Half the guards are women — Hoidal believes this decreases aggression — and prisoners receive questionnaires asking how their experience in prison can be improved.
There's plenty of enthusiasm for transforming lives. "None of us were forced to work here. We chose to," says Charlott-Renee Sandvik Clasen, a music teacher in the prison and a member of Halden's security-guard chorus. "Our goal is to give all the prisoners — we call them our pupils — a meaningful life inside these walls." It's warmth like that, not the expensive television sets, that will likely have the most lasting impact.[/release]
Nice to see some countries don't focus on simply locking up their criminals. An approach like this seems to keep them from re-offending, and I'd be willing to bet that the cost of a prison like this is offset by not needing to worry about prosecutions for re-offenders.
Brb, raping a chick in Norway
Awesome. Just awesome.
[QUOTE=NickFury666;21685033]I'd like to get arrested in Norway[/QUOTE]
I'd rather live there as a law-abiding citizen.
It's a nice idea, but it must be very expensive to run in the long term.
And what if it's so nice that criminals reoffend to get back in?
[QUOTE=PrismatexV8;21684961]Nice to see some countries don't focus on simply locking up their criminals. An approach like this seems to keep them from re-offending, and I'd be willing to bet that the cost of a prison like this is offset by not needing to worry about prosecutions for re-offenders.[/QUOTE]
That prison is nicer than my house.
I would commit a billion crimes if I could get sent to that prison every time.
Wow this seems almost too good to be true
[QUOTE=Whomobile;21685050]It's a nice idea, but it must be very expensive to run in the long term.
And what if it's so nice that criminals reoffend to get back in?[/QUOTE]
Obviously, it isn't, since their re-offense rates are significantly lower than the US.
This is why you go to Norway to burn churches and stab people in the face
I wouldn't mind incarceration there.
Prisons are suppose to be punishment for committing a crime. That's why they are cold, smelly and uninviting. You don't want to be there, therefore there's less incentive for committing a crime. This would never work in the States. So much blood would be spilt in the living room. You would have daily gang related shankings. And the houses for family stays could pose as a hostage threat as violent inmates tie up their family to negotiate release. OR even get drugs and weapons from them while meeting for extended periods of time.
Maybe after years of working it in there, but just throwing the current inmates in a prison like this would likely have negative side effects.
brb killing spree
Now I can commit my depraved fantasies in Norway, and get to live in what amounts to a high-quality college dorm for free!
So where's the punishment.
[QUOTE=mastermaul;21685118]So where's the punishment.[/QUOTE]
Years in captivity.
The point is rehabilitation.
[QUOTE=PrismatexV8;21685129]Years in captivity.
The point is rehabilitation.[/QUOTE]
Some people have it worse on the outside, and is this one of those white collar prisons or real crime ones?
[QUOTE=davidofmk771;21685174]Some people have it worse on the outside, and is this one of those white collar prisons or real crime ones?[/QUOTE]
This is for robbers, rapists, and murderers.
[QUOTE=Canuhearme?;21685186]This is for robbers, rapists, and murderers.[/QUOTE]
Oh god wow. I doubt they will ever go back for all of that free food and t.v. on purpose. Are they punished at all except for the fact that they can't go outside of the prison?
[QUOTE=NickFury666;21685033]Brb, raping a chick in Norway[/QUOTE]
This is why humane prisons are wrong.
[QUOTE=davidofmk771;21685215]Oh god wow. I doubt they will ever go back for all of that free food and t.v. on purpose. Are they punished at all except for the fact that they can't go outside of the prison?[/QUOTE]
They have to take cooking lessons.
At least, I [I]think[/I] they have to take them, it could be an option, like an extracurricular.
[editline]12:28AM[/editline]
[QUOTE=PermabannedGuy;21685219]This is why humane prisons are wrong.[/QUOTE]
Then how do you explain their extremely low rate of being thrown back in jail?
[QUOTE=Canuhearme?;21685233]They have to take cooking lessons.
At least, I [I]think[/I] they have to take them, it could be an option, like an extracurricular.[/QUOTE]
It's a way to prepare them to get a job in the real world and stay out of crime.
I'm not saying we need to make our prisons into Club Fed, but shit like that could help recidivism.
[QUOTE=PrismatexV8;21685254]It's a way to prepare them to get a job in the real world and stay out of crime.
I'm not saying we need to make our prisons into Club Fed, but shit like that could help recidivism.[/QUOTE]
Good point.
[QUOTE=OvB;21685088]Prisons are suppose to be punishment for committing a crime. That's why they are cold, smelly and uninviting. [/QUOTE]
Had to stop there.
It doesn't matter if they are [I]supposed to be[/I]. Spiting a criminal for their offense doesn't fix anything. The idea of the prisons in Norway are to make sure the people don't re-offend, and they do that through counseling, and forcing them to live in a productive and educated manner; so that when they get out, they can find a job and live a normal life. What more, it works, apparently.
The US prison system takes petty thieves and drug users that dropped out of highschool and turns them into hardened criminals. it's like a fucking criminal training school. No convict stops to anylize their punishment; they don't stop and think "gee, I shouldn't have smoked that pot and got sent here," all they know is that they have to sleep with one eye open or they'll get fucked in the ass by some hairy bulky guy. When they get out, sure, they may not want to go back, but after they get out, they're even more frustrated and mentally unstable than they were when they got in there in the first place.
[QUOTE=hypno-toad;21685409]Had to stop there.
It doesn't matter if they are [I]supposed to be[/I]. Spiting a criminal for their offense doesn't fix anything. The idea of the prisons in Norway are to make sure the people don't re-offend, and they do that through counseling, and forcing them to live in a productive and educated manner; so that when they get out, they can find a job and live a normal life. What more, it works, apparently.
The US prison system takes petty thieves and drug users and turns them into hardened criminals. it's like a fucking criminal training school. No convict stops to anylize their punishment; they don't stop and think "gee, I shouldn't have smoked that pot and got sent here," all they know is that they have to sleep with one eye open or they'll get fucked in the ass by some hairy bulky guy. When they get out, sure, they may not want to go back, but after they get out, they're even more frustrated and mentally unstable than they were when they got in there in the first place.[/QUOTE]
US Prisons spawn more gang members then the ghetoo, not to mention most call it "Graduate school."
[QUOTE=Canuhearme?;21685233]Then how do you explain their extremely low rate of being thrown back in jail?[/QUOTE]
A population of less than 5 million and sparse distribution of said population, and higher ratio of resources to population. Basically, geography and demographics.
[QUOTE=OvB;21685088]Prisons are suppose to be punishment for committing a crime. That's why they are cold, smelly and uninviting. You don't want to be there, therefore there's less incentive for committing a crime. This would never work in the States. So much blood would be spilt in the living room. You would have daily gang related shankings. And the houses for family stays could pose as a hostage threat as violent inmates tie up their family to negotiate release. OR even get drugs and weapons from them while meeting for extended periods of time.
Maybe after years of working it in there, but just throwing the current inmates in a prison like this would likely have negative side effects.[/QUOTE]
You don't seem to understand that punishing people makes them say fuck that. That's why gangsters hate police; stay gangsters and once they come out of prison are stone cold and worse than they were when they went in.
The idea should never be punishment; but to learn and rehabilitate, to reteach and to intergrate them into society. The punishment should be the shame and sorrow they should feel during this. Of course some people are sick sociopaths but many people in prison are not. Gangsters are just regular guys like you and I who are typically just gangsters because it's the only job they can get.
That's why so many blacks are in gangs, it's really the only well paying way they can support their families.
Punishing people and making them hate life, hate them selves; and hate the system doesn't do shit.
[QUOTE=hypno-toad;21685409]Had to stop there.
It doesn't matter if they are [I]supposed to be[/I]. Spiting a criminal for their offense doesn't fix anything. The idea of the prisons in Norway are to make sure the people don't re-offend, and they do that through counseling, and forcing them to live in a productive and educated manner; so that when they get out, they can find a job and live a normal life. What more, it works, apparently.
The US prison system takes petty thieves and drug users and turns them into hardened criminals. it's like a fucking criminal training school. No convict stops to anylize their punishment; they don't stop and think "gee, I shouldn't have smoked that pot and got sent here," all they know is that they have to sleep with one eye open or they'll get fucked in the ass by some hairy bulky guy. When they get out, sure, they may not want to go back, but after they get out, they're even more frustrated and mentally unstable than they were when they got in there in the first place.[/QUOTE]
Iron logic.
[QUOTE=OvB;21685088]Prisons are suppose to be punishment for committing a crime. That's why they are cold, smelly and uninviting. You don't want to be there, therefore there's less incentive for committing a crime. This would never work in the States. So much blood would be spilt in the living room. You would have daily gang related shankings. And the houses for family stays could pose as a hostage threat as violent inmates tie up their family to negotiate release. OR even get drugs and weapons from them while meeting for extended periods of time.
Maybe after years of working it in there, but just throwing the current inmates in a prison like this would likely have negative side effects.[/QUOTE]
humane prisons might not work, but those prison don't work either
"If we make life like a living hell for these fallen angels, then we might just be turning out devils once they are released and re-integrated into society" - Byron F. Garcia
A simple thief that's going to be set free in couple year living with many murderers, might change him into a murderer himself.
[QUOTE=hypno-toad;21685409]Had to stop there.
It doesn't matter if they are [I]supposed to be[/I]. Spiting a criminal for their offense doesn't fix anything. The idea of the prisons in Norway are to make sure the people don't re-offend, and they do that through counseling, and forcing them to live in a productive and educated manner; so that when they get out, they can find a job and live a normal life. What more, it works, apparently.
The US prison system takes petty thieves and drug users that dropped out of highschool and turns them into hardened criminals. it's like a fucking criminal training school. No convict stops to anylize their punishment; they don't stop and think "gee, I shouldn't have smoked that pot and got sent here," all they know is that they have to sleep with one eye open or they'll get fucked in the ass by some hairy bulky guy. When they get out, sure, they may not want to go back, but after they get out, they're even more frustrated and mentally unstable than they were when they got in there in the first place.[/QUOTE]
Pretty much this.
[editline]12:46AM[/editline]
[QUOTE=lolwutdude;21685501]humane prisons might not work, but those prison don't work either
"If we make life like a living hell for these fallen angels, then we might just be turning out devils once they are released and re-integrated into society" - Byron F. Garcia
A simple thief that's going to be set free in couple year living with many murderers, might change him into a murderer himself.[/QUOTE]
I think a mix of both would work, Humane but Punishing in that you must do hardwork, be consoled and blah blah blah.
Basically reintegration into society.
[QUOTE=Billiam;21685493]Iron logic.[/QUOTE]
I'm glad you're seeing it my way.
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