11. Bungalows Rather Than Cells
Norway not only has a relatively low prison population but it also has an incredibly low reoffending rate. Much of this is put down to the way they treat prisoners, with two of the country’s facilities offering them the chance to live in small bungalows rather than cells. They include in-built toilets and showers, televisions and even decking so that they can sunbathe during the summer months.
Arne Nilsen, governor of the prison, explains that this is part of the normality principle that operates within Norway, where daily prison life should be as removed as little as possible from ordinary life.
“In the law, being sent to prison is nothing to do with putting you in a terrible prison to make you suffer. The punishment is that you lose your freedom. If we treat people like animals when they are in prison they are likely to behave like animals. Here we pay attention to you as human beings.”
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