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Prison where inmates are treated like ppl has by far the lowest reoffending rate in Europe

Discussion in 'BBS Hangout: Debate & Discussion' started by Mathloom, Feb 27, 2013.

  1. Mathloom

    Mathloom Shameless Optimist
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    http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2013/feb/25/norwegian-prison-inmates-treated-like-people

    I thought this would be of interest to you guys since it is a serious problem in the US.

    Fantastic article, speaks for itself. FYI reoffending/recidivism rate in US is 60%, and in the UK it's 50%. Norway is 30%. If lowering the recidivism is not the top priority of every prison, then this is something we will look back on and wonder how humanity could be so stupid, sick and barbaric.
     
  2. AroundTheWorld

    AroundTheWorld Insufferable 98er
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    I heard from someone that prisons in Dubai have Playstations and Internet access, at least for overnight guests who were incarcerated due to public intoxication.
     
  3. Nextup

    Nextup Member

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    recidivism is not the goal, money is the only goal.
     
  4. Mathloom

    Mathloom Shameless Optimist
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    Heard from someone huh? :p lol

    It is not very consistent, but yes some groups of people in prison have access to a playstation and even fewer have internet access. It is certainly not something you can "demand".

    For overnight guests, they don't go to prison, they go to a "cell" which is actually just a room which you share with anyone else who's being kept overnight. You might spend 1 or 2 days there at most and there might be up to a dozen people there. There's no internet access, but I have heard some of them have playstations.
     
  5. Mathloom

    Mathloom Shameless Optimist
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    Higher recidivism = more expenses for you (taxpayer) + more victims = more revenues for suppliers

    For government, prison is a cost centre, so it would be moronic to voluntarily ignore high rates of recidivism. It is only those who supply food/materials and build prisons who benefit from this. Along with religious people who want to correlate their version of good/bad with right/wrong - for them, this is worth the taxpayer money.
     
  6. Nextup

    Nextup Member

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    Private prisons.
     
  7. joepu

    joepu Member

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    Thread title misleading. They get into bastoy for good behavior and if they reoffend their chance of going there again is probably zero. It works because bastoy is an incentive for them but doubt it will work if they made all prisons the same.
     
  8. Mathloom

    Mathloom Shameless Optimist
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    I think you're misreading it as: all prisoners there are transferred. I think what the author meant is: inmates at other prisoners can transfer to this prison with X, Y, Z conditions.

    Regardless of why it works, it works. According to the article, all prisons in Norway follow this ideology to varying degrees. Norway's average 30% recidivism is still HALF that of the US and 20% less than the UK. So there really is no basis to state that it would not succeed if all prisons were that way.

    The more important factors IMO are:

    1) You have to have liberty in the first place in order for the absence of liberty to matter. Not all countries have that, and few countries have as much of it as Norway.

    2) If there is a significant amount of poverty in a country, this will not work since it would be an upgrade for some people's lives hence incentivizing crime.

    But we have enough of a sample now to say: this works incredibly well compared to other systems. The only goal is securing society's safety and liberty.
     
  9. glynch

    glynch Contributing Member

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    I was listening to an interesting radio interview with a psychiatrist who said there is a very high correlation between relapse and stress. He mentioned that putting addicts in prison which is extraordinarily stressful and that in additon to moronic measures like preventing them from ever getting post release food stamps ,when pedophiles and all other felons can, assures many will relapse.
     
  10. glynch

    glynch Contributing Member

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    Recidivsm creates more profit for theCorections Corporation of America and other entities traded on the stock market.
     
  11. glynch

    glynch Contributing Member

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    In the US the priniple goal is punishment and many members of the public are content to have the prisoners in deplorable conditions or even raped.
     
  12. bigtexxx

    bigtexxx Contributing Member

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    Norway is not an accurate analogy for the US. Norwegians are actually raised with a moral code. Many US inmates are raised with no father figure and a thuggish culture that is celebrated in the ghettos across the US.
     
    1 person likes this.
  13. Classic

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    It is a corrupt corporate machine like many others. The fact that prisons are corporations with shareholders tells you all you need to know about our 'system'.
     
  14. krnxsnoopy

    krnxsnoopy Contributing Member

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    I actually agree. I'd think potential criminals in US would take advantage of such a system.
     
  15. Air Langhi

    Air Langhi Contributing Member

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    Translation: Blacks

    This is how Bigtexxx toes the race line and can still claim he is not a racist.

    Maybe if they didn't grow up in ghettos with no fathers they might not be in prison. There are places in Chicago and other parts of this country were you are basically born into the system and you just can't say no without getting shot.
     
  16. Nextup

    Nextup Member

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    prison is still prison no matter how nice it is, I doubt many young men want to be in a place with no access to women. Sure some homeless people might try to get into prison rather then live on the streets but it wouldn't be enough to cause a concern.
    Our prisons are out of control, the inmates still have access to illegal drugs in prison. The problem is Americas sick punish at all cost mentality.
     
  17. krnxsnoopy

    krnxsnoopy Contributing Member

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    The chicken and the egg perspective. That can be debated for days. The main and only relevant point in this discussion is that this sytem would not work in this country.
     
  18. bigtexxx

    bigtexxx Contributing Member

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    You're very wrong. Thuggish culture and no father figure spans many races. Whites, Blacks, Hispanics, Asians, and more.
     
  19. Nextup

    Nextup Member

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    We would all respect you more if you were at least honest. Theirs nothing worst then a racist who tries to pretend like their not. Just admit it. Your like a gay man trapped in the closet, come out the closet because you are nothing more then a closet racist.
    Texx do you dislike blacks? Texx do you dislike minorities in general?
     
  20. StupidMoniker

    StupidMoniker I lost a bet

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    Singapore's prisons have a recidivism rate in the 20's, and are not the luxury hotels of Norway. They also cane people for minor offenses. Seems like other factors may influence. On the other hand, if we execute every criminal, we will have a recidivism rate of 0%, so if that is the only goal that matters (as the OP claims it should be) the solution is obvious.
     

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