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Critics dismissively speak of “luxury prisons” when they see images from Norwegian correctional facilities such as Bastøy: small, bright rooms, televisions, kitchens, workshops, gardens and prison officers who do not behave aggressively. But behind this system is not leniency. It is based on a sober question: What ultimately makes society safer? Almost all prisoners will eventually be released — and then they will be our neighbors, or stand next to us at the supermarket checkout. Norway says: Prisoners should not be “broken” or humiliated. They should be prepared to function in the real world later on and make a contribution.
Norway’s prisons look too friendly to many people. The images show small rooms, tidy and bright, with a television, bedside table and birch trees outside the window. They hardly resemble what they are: cells. And that is precisely the point. Because this system is meant to make society safer: when people return to life outside prison, they should not come back more dangerous than before.
These are modern prison cells in Norway that resemble rooms in contemporary youth hostels. Alongside them are communal kitchens, event rooms and workshops. These are prisons that aim to resemble real life. And not just in their architecture.
A Prison Like a Youth Hostel: Norway’s Correctional Facilities Feel Irritatingly Humane to Many
On Bastøy, a small island 75 kilometers south of the capital Oslo, inmates work jobs, are allowed to move around freely and can use vouchers they have earned to shop in the local supermarket. In general, it is difficult to distinguish prisoners from prison officers. On Bastøy, the latter do not even wear uniforms. And a lot is expected of the prisoners: they have to carry out all kinds of work, grow food, chop wood and much more.
In Norway, a very large share of the prison system consists of open facilities and halfway houses of this kind. Around 30 to 40 percent of all available prison places in the country are classified as open prisons or transitional facilities.
To many, this looks like a luxury system for criminals — one that runs completely counter to intuition. Isn’t crime prevented by deterring criminals? Don’t wrongdoers have to be punished harshly and kept as far away as possible from the law-abiding population? Norway’s justice and prison system repeatedly faces accusations of being naïve.
Harsh Prison Conditions Do Not Prevent Crime — But They Make Reintegration into Society More Difficult
And yet: the numbers support Norway’s approach. The efficiency of a justice system is measured not least by the so-called recidivism rate — the proportion of released prisoners who commit another offense within a certain period of time. It shows whether imprisonment has had an effect and whether the offender will avoid committing further crimes in the future.
Norway’s recidivism rate is among the lowest in the world — below the European average and far lower than in the United States, where everyday prison life is particularly harsh and strict. In addition, Norway has strikingly few prison inmates, both in absolute numbers and relative to the size of its population.
In the United States, according to studies by the Bureau of Justice Statistics, around two thirds of all released prisoners return to prison within three years. The system there resembles a revolving door: the severity of the punishment does not seem to bring about improvement, but often entrenches criminal careers.
Norway Relies on Trust — And Therefore Has Lower Reoffending Rates
In the United States, roughly three out of five released prisoners quickly end up back in prison; in Norway, it is only about one in five. That is exactly why the real question is not whether prison looks harsh, but whether it works. In Norway, prison is not merely a punishment; it also has an educational purpose. Inmates are prepared for life “outside” again. They do not only atone for their crimes — they learn to behave differently. And for that to happen, life in prison must resemble life outside prison.
What is especially interesting is that the Norwegian system is also cost-effective. The low recidivism rate saves money in many areas: police work, court proceedings, victim protection and incarceration. As a result, the Norwegian system is significantly cheaper than the American or broader European system.
If You Treat Even Criminals Like Human Beings, You Ultimately Get a Better Society
“If you treat people like scum, they will become scum. If you treat them like human beings, they will become human beings,” says Tom Eberhardt, the director of Bastøy, summarizing his philosophy.
Behind this is not romanticism, but the pragmatism of a simple truth: almost every person currently sitting in a cell will one day be released. They will take the bus, stand at the supermarket checkout and move into an apartment — they may potentially become our neighbor.
If a system isolates a prisoner and locks them into an artificial world, it releases a ticking time bomb back into society. And that is exactly what Norway wants to prevent.
Crime is best fought when it does not arise in the first place — and that means preventing people from developing criminal intentions and ideas to begin with. Prison should not break people; it should repair them.
When prisoners disappear into strict prisons, are placed in ugly, cramped cells where gang crime flourishes, or are completely controlled by the institution, the punishment may be harsh. But they are not being prepared for real life. Instead, destructive patterns of behavior are reinforced.
Supporters of harsh prison sentences overlook one essential point: crime often does not arise from evil character traits, but rather from an inability to cope with “normal” life. Someone who, for whatever reason, has never learned to organize their life, show up to work on time and pay bills when they are due will not learn those things through harsh punishment.
This is exactly where the Norwegian justice system intervenes. A door instead of bars, a bed with bright sheets, a desk — the cell is meant to resemble a room. Meaningful activities, opportunities for education, work — everyday life is meant to resemble normal life. And most importantly: prison officers do not issue harsh commands, but are instructed to talk to inmates and treat them in a friendly and humane way.
The Western world has known this approach for two thousand years. Already in the Bible it says: “If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also.” (Matthew 5:39) Norwegian society does not strike back, but turns the other cheek. Under the technical term “non-complementary behavior,” this refers to strategies that do not mirror criminal behavior back at the offender. Prison inmates are not treated like scum, because this gives them the opportunity to improve.
Even if not all inmates necessarily deserve this — after all, serious criminals are also imprisoned in Norway — they are met with trust. Trust that they can change, and that they can make a meaningful contribution to the world “outside.”
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