Written by: Sashwat Paudel - 23038, Grade XI
Posted on: 25 March, 2022
A question that I find myself pondering upon is whether the prison system and the punishments are justified, or are they completely absurd ? Does prison even work? Does any form of confinement or punishment have a deterrent effect on crime?
Upon analyzing this question with contradicting methods adopted by two well-renowned countries that have their own way of dealing with criminals. We'll take an example of Norway's prison system and compare it to that of the United States. Even if you have little to no knowledge about these, you will be able to register that their approaches are at complete opposite ends of the spectrum. The prison system of the United States is known to be the “standard” in terms of prisons. Inmates are locked up in a cage, stripped off of their freedom and are not provided with much liberty during their sentence. Many people call this ‘harsh’, simply because prisoners are given little to no liberty to undertake anything productive during their sentence. “Productive” in the sense that it contributes to the society and the community. This system is known to be accepted all around the world as the standard of prisons.
Taking a look at the system of Norway, remember how I said that these two prison structures absolutely contradict each other? Well, you’re in for a treat. If you don't have any preliminary information about the prison system of Norway you might be outright amazed to hear that the methodology they have adopted is unlike any prison you might have ever seen, heard or even thought about.Prison in norway is drastically different than that of other countries is because of the fact that prisoners there are given absolute liberty. The prisons themselves are similar to apartments that people live in. Someone visiting the prison in Norway could mistake it for a literal apartment, and you may think I'm exaggerating quite a bit with this statement, but I'm actually not. Even calling someone a “prisoner” seems out of place and downright weird when talking about the prisons of norway.
Critics or even the general public might not even consider the prison in Norway as an actual “prison”. And to be completely honest, they are not entirely false for having that view, as prisons are considered a place to punish, rather to rehabilitate, which Norway does. Now let's keep aside all of these details and try to address the elephant in the room. Which prison is more effective and why? And do the adversely different ideologies have any correlation with variance in crime? A lot of research deems the penitentiary in the United States has failed brutally, whereas that of Norway has worked way better than that of The United States. Many people might be downright bamboozled to hear this. How can something be so lenient yet be more effective than something that is agreed upon as the standard for literally decades?
When we talk about the success of prison, We specifically look at how likely a person is to recommit a crime after they are released upon serving their sentence. Discuss this parameter alone and the US prison system might be considered as the worst in the world, whereas Norway tops the list by reflecting the highest level of success and effectiveness. You might not believe this, but Norway has the lowest reoffending rate at just 20%. For perspective, the US has a reoffending rate of 76.6%.
So we’ve come to a conclusion that Norway’s system is way better than other prison systems. But more importantly, if this system of Norway is so efficient, why aren't other countries using it? Scratching the surface, we might think that if it works for them, it would definitely work for others. We might even have the right to argue that other countries should be adapting to the system. But unfortunately, things like these have no magical answer nor do they have a magical fix. The system that has been specifically designed and used for 30 million Norwegians might not work as effectively for other countries with different amounts of population. Perhaps, the current system could work, but it would be nowhere as effective as in Norway, which stays as one of the most effective prisons of the world.
