Some murderers and rapists in Norway live better than respectable citizens. This happens if, after the trial, the criminals end up in Halden - a prison that journalists and local residents call "the most humane in the world." Here's how she earned such reviews.
House in the village
Halden Prison was designed by several companies from Denmark and Norway: they won a competition from the Ministry of Justice. The architects were tasked with simulating a village so that the prisoners could consider themselves a part of society. According to the local government, the less noticeable the difference between life inside and outside the prison, the easier the subsequent transition from confinement to freedom will be.
In 2010, shortly after opening, Halden received the Arnstein Arneberg Prize for Interior Design. It is not surprising, because in the prison every detail is really thought out. All units feature white laminated tables, leather sofas and elegant chairs.
“At times, the setting is more like a Scandinavian boutique hotel than a Class A prison,” said Guardian journalist Amelia Gentleman, who visited the prison complex in the forest.
Map from the official website of the prison.
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Safety first
Halden is a maximum security prison, so it contains dangerous and especially dangerous criminals: rapists, murderers, child molesters, etc. They make up about half of the population of the "village", that is, about 120-130 people. It would seem that such prisoners are obliged to look after the guards armed to the teeth, and automatic turrets must be set up around the prison perimeter. But the Norwegians have a diametrically opposite view of this problem.
The prisoners do not see the barbed wire, electric fences, and even the sniper towers - they simply do not exist in Halden's territory. Instead, the prison is surrounded by a high wall of steel and concrete (5.6 m by 1.5 km). The architects were tasked with completely protecting the prisoners from objects that could once again remind the latter of being in captivity. And only the wall became for them a symbol and an instrument of punishment.
“We wanted to create normality. Well, and you can see an ordinary wall anywhere,”said the head of the prison Are Hoidal in an interview with The Guardian.
Most interestingly, the guards communicate with the prisoners without having pistols and rifles with them. They rarely even carry clubs with them. Halden believes that weapons can intimidate criminals in rehab and provoke social distance between them and staff. For the same reason, the guards eat and play sports with the prisoners. This interaction is designed to "create a sense of family."
Half of the guards in the prison are women. Hoidal believes that they help to minimize the aggression of prisoners. The architects specially designed the gatehouses so that they were cramped: this should encourage the officers to interact more with the prisoners.
"Welcome to Halden Prison." This is the main page of the prison website.
Better hotel
A standard prison cell measures 10 square meters - not bad for a prison. Each has a TV and mini fridge. Most of all, the journalist visitors are impressed by the separate rooms with a shower cabin and a toilet, because such luxury is not even in decent dormitories. Huge windows without bars overlook colorful forest landscapes.
There is one common area with a living room and a kitchen for 10-12 cells. The latter's drawers contain cutlery, including stainless steel knives. Prisoners eat from porcelain plates. If they don't like the prison diet, they can buy groceries at a local store and prepare their own dinner. Well, in the living room there is a modular sofa, opposite which there is a large TV with a connected game console.
Despite their alleged freedom, prisoners are locked in their cells from 8:30 pm to 7:30 am. But then they are motivated in every possible way to leave the temporary home. For example, prisoners are paid 53 kroons (almost 400 rubles) per day as an incentive if they leave the room even for a short time.
No time to be bored
Halden has a wide variety of activities to while away the time in the zone. If desired, prisoners can enroll in woodworking courses, music and cooking lessons. The prison has a recording studio, a library, a gym with a climbing wall, a football stadium and a chapel.
Is it boring anyway? Then you can invite relatives or friends: this option is available twice a week, visits last up to two hours. Prisoners are even provided with a private room with a sofa and clean sheets if they want to retire with a loved one. For families with children, there is a room with toys and changing equipment - you can stay in it all night. True, especially dangerous criminals were denied this privilege.
Crime and Punishment
Although prisoners are free to do whatever they want most of their time, they rarely break prison rules. According to the administration, fights in Halden are very rare because the guards prevent any tense situations in a timely manner. For example, if criminals have a fight, they are taken to the prison priest. Zeks will not leave him until they resolve the conflict and shake hands with each other.
“Even members of rival factions agree not to fight inside, although the promise does not apply until after their release. Several incidents of violence in Halden were exclusively in Ward A, where prisoners with serious mental illness are being held,”writes New York Times journalist Jessica Benko.
If a person does not listen to the officers and regularly breaks the rules, he will face the harshest (by the standards of this prison) punishment. He is locked in a cell during the day, and sometimes even his television is taken away.
Into a new life
Halden's creators originally planned that the prison would be primarily for the rehabilitation of prisoners, not for their punishment. Therefore, all measures are aimed at helping people prepare for life after liberation.
“We do not think about revenge in the Norwegian prison system, we pay much more attention to rehabilitation,” said the governor of the Hoydal prison.
Since there is no death penalty or life sentences in Norway, almost everyone will get out of captivity. The only exception to the rule can be terrorist Andreas Breivik - the killer of 77 people. He was sentenced to 21 years, but the term may be extended by court order.
Americans do not sleep
The Norwegian prison system, despite all the differences from more traditional prisons, has shown positive results in practice. According to statistics, the recidivism rate in the country does not exceed 20%, which is almost four times less than in the United States (76.6% according to US News).
The Americans were amazed at these numbers, and they decided to reproduce one of the most humane prisons in the world in North Dakota. For this, state officials went on an excursion to Norway, where they gained experience from their European colleagues.
So far, statesmen have managed to reformat only a few prisons in North Dakota. For example, inmates of the light-security prison "Farm" in Bismarck (they are called residents here) spend time at poetry evenings and barbecues. If people have a desire, they can sign up for the training of service dogs.
Some of the prisoners do not live within the prison walls. Some of them, whose deadline is coming to an end, are moving into premises that were previously used by oil workers during the oil boom. There are private rooms with locking doors - a luxury for American criminals.
The local maximum security prison has also undergone major changes. In particular, recently prisoners have been holding softball tournaments with the staff of the institution.