American warden visits prison in Norway, couldn't believe wh

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cwerdna

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An American Warden Visited A Norwegian Prison, And He Couldn't Believe What He Saw:
http://www.businessinsider.com/an-american-warden-visited-a-norwegian-prison--and-he-couldnt-believe-what-he-saw-2014-10" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

There's also a 7 minute YouTube video. Without spoiling it all, I am as surprised and perplexed as the warden. I couldn't imagine seeing all the things he saw in Norway in an American prison.
 
My favorite Norwegian prison is Bastøy. I'd like to commit a crime in Norway that would land me there with a life sentence just before I reach retirement age! :D

http://www.bastoyfengsel.no/English/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
 
"goldenretriever on Oct 20, 10:22 PM said:
I can understand the American's skepticism, but it would have cleared things up a bit if the Norwegian side could have produced some credible evidence that this rehabilitative (as opposed to punitive) system actually works, and actually places newly released prisoners back into society as functional, and accepted, human beings, after they've done their time. Is there a Part II to this documentary that explores that issue?"

I guess he missed the part about their incarceration rate being less than 1/10th ours.

I mean what more proof do you freaking need?
 
"The question is, do we have less crime"?

Now, there's a thought. I thought the idea was to be angry and make people suffer.
 
Nubo said:
"The question is, do we have less crime"?

Now, there's a thought. I thought the idea was to be angry and make people suffer.
No - the idea is to appear tough and get elected.

Making people suffer is an added benefit.
 
evnow said:
Nubo said:
"The question is, do we have less crime"?

Now, there's a thought. I thought the idea was to be angry and make people suffer.
No - the idea is to appear tough and get elected.

Making people suffer is an added benefit.

Yeah but that means getting elected by people who prefer to be angry and make people suffer. We have the highest incarceration rate in the civilized world and people clamoring for more. And not for rehabilitation.
 
Nubo said:
Yeah but that means getting elected by people who prefer to be angry and make people suffer.
To an extent.

Everyone has fears & hopes. Depends on what politicians focus on. Unfortunately, in a multi-cultural society we have in the US, fear mongering can be quite effective.

This is also the reason why politicians can so easily drum up support for wars here. People want that nth degree of security or rarther, the promise of security) even if it means killings 100s of thousands of people in a distant country.
 
As far as I know, we have an insanely high recidivism rate here in the US. Having people go through the criminal justice system over and over again is far costlier than implementing solid rehabilitation programs and generally seeking to prepare inmates for re-integration into society. Also, I like that the Norwegians have chosen to sacrifice a bit of security (presumably after conducting risk analysis for each inmate) in order to treat inmates more like human beings.

To be fair, the US has much bigger social challenges than Norway. Being a big country with baggage from the past isn't easy. Still, I'd like to see a greater share of "correctional" budgets allocated to rehabilitation and vocational training. Whenever the circumstances permit, I think inmates should be given meaningful work to do along with opportunities for positive spiritual transformations. While the most "hardened" criminals might not be moved, many others will choose to better their lives and contribute to our country.
 
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