Prisons all over the world have different ways of how they want to run their prison systems. What do you think of when you hear the word ‘prison’ ? Space as small as a single dorm room, smelly, dirty, overpopulated, chaos, etc. However, these single characteristics do not apply to how Norway runs their prisons. It is extremely different from the United States in so many ways. U.S. prisons are focused on security, reflecting a sense of culture of punishment. In Norway, they have tasks to turn criminals into “good neighbors”, with a main focus on rehabilitation instead of retribution. Those are huge differences in how countries view prisons and the treatment of prisoners. 

There is a significant amount of data as to why Norway chooses to run their prisons in a different manner. This is the reason why most U.S. prisons and state corrections, between North Dakota to Oregon and even Pennsylvania, have sent representatives to Norway to understand exactly why prisoners are being treated fairly, and prisons run accordingly. It was a shocking find, that states within the U.S. are taking interest in changing their tactics. States would come back with different lessons they’ve learned and apply it to American prisons.

Throughout history, we have seen the criminal justice system in the U.S. breaking, failing our citizens, and this becomes an international discussion. Countries like Norway look to the United States as an example of what not to do in terms of the criminal justice system. 

However, Norway’s prison system wasn’t always as great as it is now. Surprisingly, Norway followed the same principles as America’s, adopting a huge emphasis on punishment and tons of security. The challenges inside the prisons started to grow and Norway knew that those principles were not beneficial. Norway decided to reevaluate after a rise of violence, high recidivism rates, and political pressures to solve these problems were increasing.

In the year of 1998, Norway made a sharp shift away from punishment to focus on rehabilitation. Norway placed much emphasis on helping inmates find jobs and homes upon their release. Sentences are shorter, they average around eight months. In the U.S, year of 2016, the average time served by prisoners was 2.6 years. In my discovery, I was surprised to find out that there are no life sentences in Norway. Also, inmates keep the same rights like other citizens. Prisoners have the ability to vote while in prison, but the U.S. strips prisoners of their basic rights, even voting. The U.S. makes sure that prisoners are treated like animals rather than human beings. Each prison in Norway offers education, drug treatment, mental health and training programs, so that inmates can be integrated back into society and flourish. These initiatives are lacking in the U.S. today.

In my findings, I revealed that taking away someone’s freedom is punishment enough. Prison  shouldn’t be categorised as cruel and prisons shouldn’t be cruel in general. Countries, such as Norway, will further make the change the world needs to see. Norway continues to seek to make the experience normal for inmates whereas the U.S. fails to provide their prisoners human decency.