Prison…

...The Norwegian Way

I’m not planning on going to prison any time soon (more like never) but I’m guessing that if one has to go Norway might be the place!!!

A new jail will open in Norway on the 1st of April, which is incredibly modern with Banksy-style street art everywhere, natural lighting and even a music studio. It looks nicer than some people's houses.

It'll contain 252 inmates when it opens, and will be the second-largest prison in Norway—situated near the Swedish border on 300 acres of land. Over 1.3 billion kroner (about $217m) was spent constructing it, with six million kroner ($1m) spent on the artwork alone, which was daubed by the Norwegian street artist Dolk.

The brand new facilities include a gym, a training room, a sound studio, a chapel, a library, several workshops, a family visiting unit, a football pitch and a school, where inmates will get the opportunity to study and gain a range of professional qualifications aimed at facilitating their release into society.

The cells themselves are bright, and are arranged in small units of 10 and 12 cells, joined to a common living area, where inmates will prepare food and socialise in very much the same way they would in any communal building. All cells have flat screen TVs and en-suite bathrooms, and some kind of view – what’s more, the windows don’t have iron bars.  Indeed if it weren’t for the 1.3km-long and 6m-high wall surrounding the compound, and the locks on the doors, you may at times forget this is a high security penal institution.

Rehabilitation is key in the Norwegian penal system, which explains most of the thinking behind the design here. 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.

However “Halden Prison” houses drug dealers, murderers and rapists, among others so I’m not sure they are the best roommates!!

Photos from here

By comparison, this is how the Ming Gong ("Migrant workers") who built all the building sin Beijing live...

Photo: Genevieve J.