Bastoy prison is based on an
idyllic island
Bastoy prison says on its website that its philosophy comes from an old Indian saying: "We don't own nature. We borrow and manage it in our lives, thinking about our descendants."
Bastoy Prison webpage: photos & information - such as history, construction, rehabilitation of buildings, projects & economics...
http://www.statsbygg.no/prosjekter/prosjektkatalog/585_bastoy/html/foto/f_01.htmlUnder the history section you can read how it use to be a deliquent youth institution, for boys & girls...
Photos here borrowed with their descriptions from...
Deutsche Welle, Germany Article link:
http://www.dw-world.de/Norwegian Prison Prepares Inmates for the Outside World
The island of Bastoy in the Oslo Fjord is one of Europe's most
unusual prison facilities. Inmates there live and work in
conditions that authorities hope will prepare them for a normal
life after they get out....
From Time Magazine Article...
Sentenced to Serving the Good Life in Norway
By William Lee Adams / Bastoy, Halden and Oslo Monday, Jul. 12, 2010
The seagulls begin squawking at 6 in the morning and the cigarettes cost too much, but Lars, 41, knows there are worse places to call home.
On Bastoy, an island 46 miles (74 km) south of Oslo, he and 124 other residents live in brightly colored wooden chalets, spread over one square mile of forest and gently sloping hills.
Besides enjoying views of the surrounding fjord, they go horseback riding and throw barbecues, and have access to a movie theater, tanning bed and, during winter, two ski jumps. Lars' neighbors often conceal the reasons they are there, but, as in any small community, word gets around....
Despite all its trappings, Bastoy island isn't an exclusive resort: it's a prison. Arne Kvernvik Nilsen, Bastoy's governor and a practicing psychotherapist, describes it as the world's first human-ecological prison — a place where inmates learn to take responsibility for their actions by caring for the environment.
Prisoners grow their own organic vegetables, turn their garbage into compost and tend to chickens, cows, horses and sheep.
They also operate the ferry that shuttles a number of them to school and jobs on the mainland, make their own dinner (they're allowed to use knives) and chop wood (using axes and chainsaws).
Although authorities carry out routine drug tests, the prison generally emphasizes trust and self-regulation: Bastoy has no fences, the windows have no bars, and only five guards remain on the island after 3 p.m. and on weekends.
"They are among the worst criminals in Norway. They are murderers, they are rapists, they are Hells Angels," says Nilsen. "But they keep the whole society alive and running."....
In an age when countries from Britain to the U.S. cope with exploding prison populations by building ever larger — and, many would say, ever harsher — prisons, Bastoy seems like an unorthodox, even bizarre, departure.
But Norwegians see the island as the embodiment of their country's long-standing penal philosophy: that traditional, repressive prisons do not work, and that treating prisoners humanely boosts their chances of reintegrating into society.
"People in other countries say that what Norway does is wrong," says Lars, who is serving a 16-year sentence for serious drug offenses. "But why does Norway have the world's lowest murder rate? Maybe we're doing something that really 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, Norway's low level of criminality gives it a massive advantage.
Its prison roll lists a mere 3,300 inmates, a rate of 70 per 100,000 people, compared with 2.3 million in the U.S., or 753 per 100,000 — the highest rate in the world....
John Pratt, a professor of criminology at New Zealand's Victoria University of Wellington and an authority on Scandinavian prisons, believes that the secret to the low crime levels in Norway and its Nordic counterparts is strong welfare systems that reduce poverty and inequality — key drivers of criminality.
Studies show that countries and states investing more in education, health and social security typically spend less on their prison systems.
Last year, California spent 11% of its state budget on its prisons — more than it put into higher education. "For marginalized populations in Anglo countries, the prison increasingly acts as a kind of surrogate welfare state," says Pratt.
"That's not only much more expensive than running a welfare state, it's also brutalizing and often degrading — and that has negative consequences for everyone."
The prisoner's cottages must
be maintained by the inmates
themselves
It Takes a Village
Thirty-six percent of prison places in Norway, including all of those at Bastoy, are classified as low-security....
"At some point in the future, these men will live in the community," says Knut Storberget, Minister of Justice and the Police. "If you want to reduce crime, you have to do something other than putting them in prison and locking the door."....
On April 8, Norway took that strategy to a new level by inaugurating Halden, a maximum-security prison... "the smaller the difference between life inside and outside the prison, the easier the transition from prison to freedom." With that in mind, architects designed Halden to mimic a small village as a way to remind prisoners they are still part of society....
"The punishment is to be in prison, not to lose your rights as a citizen," says Terje Moland Pedersen, the Deputy Minister of Justice.
Building on its so-called "normalization principle," the prison expects inmates to spend most of their day out of their cells....
Strong relationships between prisoners and guards also help with rehabilitation....
The respect they get from prisoners stems, for the most part, from appreciation, not fear.....
Taking care of horses teach
prisoners responsibility
Shared Values
Criticism of Halden has been muted, but it does exist. At the moment, foreigners account for 32% of Norway's prison population, and Per Sandberg, deputy leader of the conservative Progress Party, worries that Halden's high standard will lure more organized crime to the country.....While he's not thrilled that the government spent $1 million outfitting Halden with art, his main complaint is that foreigners shouldn't exploit the welfare system: "Halden should only be for Norwegian criminals."
...In Halden, the local community sees the prison as an opportunity for jobs, not as something to fear. The majority of Norwegian prisoners don't pose a serious threat to society....Bastoy's policy on escapees demonstrates how little people worry about criminals out in the community. Nilsen, the governor, makes a deal with inmates when they arrive. "If you run away, please telephone us as soon as possible so we know you are O.K. and won't need to make use of helicopters,'" he says, noting there have been just three incidents in the past two years....
The national media's portrayal of crime also helps foster tolerance for Norway's prison system. Newspapers rely on subscriptions rather than newsstand sales, so they don't depend on sensational headlines. And the writing style is less emotional, more pragmatic, than in other countries.....In Norway, acts of extreme violence are seen as aberrant events, not symptoms of national decay.
Some prisoners are in charge
of livestock
Beyond the Walls
Despite the exceptional conditions in Norway's prisons, it's still a challenge for someone who's incarcerated to learn how to live in freedom. Thomas Mathiesen, co-founder of the Norwegian Association of Penal Reform and professor emeritus at the University of Oslo, says amenities shouldn't blind people to that reality....
....The government is also keen to set up more so-called "open prisons" like the Sandaker facility in downtown Oslo. Situated on the ground floor of a residential apartment building, Sandaker houses 16 inmates who work in the city during the day and return to the apartment in the evening.....allowing convicts to spend the last stretch of their sentences at the facility helps ease their transition from imprisonment to freedom.
Residents pay rent, clean their own clothes, take out cell-phone contracts and have access to the Internet — many for the first time in their lives. "Prisons are like bubbles. They're safe, you always have food, you know what to expect," Oster says. "Here, you have to face reality and prepare yourself mentally and practically for life on the outside."....
Back on Bastoy, Lars has been thinking about life on the outside for nine years — the first eight in a high-security prison, and the past year on the island....
Sure, he now knows that cows are more affectionate than horses, but that doesn't make up for having to watch his four children grow up from afar. "It makes you tired," he says, pointing out that he has to be counted by guards four times a day, submit to random drug tests and return to his chalet by 11 p.m. every night. "I'm grown up now," he says. "I'm too old for this."
But he still has two years to go before parole. In the meantime, he runs a bicycle-repair shop in a converted shed and organizes group sessions for prisoners who want to become better fathers. He's active in the community, but says he won't miss it. "I don't know if I'll commit crime or do drugs again," he says taking a drag on a cigarette. "I hope not. I don't want to visit this place again."
If Norway's prisons fulfill their promise, he won't have to.
Time Magazine Article Link...
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,2000920,00.html
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