Normality principle

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The normality principle (Norwegian: normalitetsprinsippet) is a principle used by the Norwegian Correctional Service that guides the practice of incarceration in Norway. The principle drives the punishment for crimes to focus only on the restriction of liberty and to not deprive the sentenced offender of other rights, where feasible. [1] [2] [3]

Norwegian Correctional Service

The Norwegian Correctional Service is a government agency responsible for the implementation of detention and punishment in a way that is reassuring for the society and for preventing criminal acts. The agency is governed by the Norwegian Ministry of Justice and Public Security.

Incarceration in Norway's criminal justice system focuses on the principle of restorative justice and rehabilitating prisoners. Correctional facilities in Norway focus on the care of the offender and making sure they can become a functioning member of society again. Norway has one of the lowest recidivism rates in the world, currently 20%, with approximately 3,933 offenders in prison, and one of the lowest crime rates in the world. Norway's prisons are renowned for being some of the best and most humane in the world. Norway does not have the death penalty or sentence people to life imprisonment. The maximum custodial sentence is 21 years, however the courts do have power to add to sentences as they see fit during sentences if they do not feel the offender has been fully rehabilitated.

Contents

Description

The Norwegian Correctional Service describes the normality principle as follows: [1]

In addition to security reasons, infrastructural and financial reasons are cited as possible reasons for further denying sentenced offenders some rights.

A similar description of the principle is provided by Marianne Vollan, Director General of the Norwegian Correctional Service, in an interview. [4]

Reception

The article Maintaining normality when serving a prison sentence in the digital society in the Croatian Medical Journal discusses the practice of the normality principle in Norway. It notes that the restrictions on Internet use and telephone use runs against the normality principle, and may prevent inmates from learning digital skills necessary to reintegrate into society. [5]

The Croatian Medical Journal is a bimonthly peer-reviewed diamond open access general medical journal. It was established in 1953 as the Acta Facultatis Medicae Zagrabiensis, obtaining its current name in 1992. Its first issue under its current title was published in February 1992, and it has been published by Medicinska naklada since 2001. It was previously published by the University of Zagreb School of Medicine. The editor-in-chief is Tomislav Smoljanović. According to the Journal Citation Reports, the journal has a 2016 impact factor of 1.619.

An article in The Atlantic about Scandinavian prison systems discusses the normality principle as part of its discussion of the Norwegian prison system. [3]

<i>The Atlantic</i> Magazine and multi-platform publisher based in Washington, D.C.

The Atlantic is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher. It was founded in 1857 in Boston, Massachusetts as The Atlantic Monthly, a literary and cultural commentary magazine that published leading writers' commentary on the abolition of slavery, education, and other major issues in contemporary political affairs. Its founders included Francis H. Underwood and prominent writers Ralph Waldo Emerson, Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr., Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Harriet Beecher Stowe, and John Greenleaf Whittier. James Russell Lowell was its first editor. It was also known for publishing literary pieces by leading writers.

The last episode of Inside the World's Toughest Prisons , a documentary series with each episode taking an inside look into a prison, looks at the Halden Prison in Norway. The normality principle is discussed in the episode. Are Høidal, the governor of Halden Prison (who is also interviewed in the episode) has also written an article for the Federal Sentencing Register describing the normality principle in action in Halden Prison. [6]

Inside the World's Toughest Prisons is a three-season television documentary produced by London-based Emporium Productions and available on Netflix. The documentary shows life in 12 prisons around the world, mostly from the prisoner perspective but also including the perspective of prison guards and others interacting with the prison system. Season 1 was hosted by Irish journalist Paul Connolly and originally aired on Channel 5 (UK). Seasons 2 and 3 were commissioned by Netflix and hosted by UK journalist Raphael Rowe, who had himself served 12 years in prison for a crime he was eventually acquitted of.

Halden Prison prison

Halden Prison is a maximum-security prison in Halden, Norway. It has three main units and receives prisoners from all over the world, but has no conventional security devices. The second-largest prison in Norway, it was established in 2010 with a focus on rehabilitation; its design simulates life outside the prison. Among other activities, sports and music are available to the prisoners, who interact with the unarmed staff to create a sense of community. Praised for its humane conditions, Halden Prison has received the Arnstein Arneberg Award for its interior design in 2010 and been the subject of a documentary, but has also received criticism for being too liberal.

See also

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References

  1. 1 2 "About the Norwegian Correctional Service". Norwegian Correctional Service . Retrieved June 22, 2019.
  2. "Om kriminalomsorgen". Norwegian Correctional Service . Retrieved June 22, 2019.
  3. 1 2 Larson, Doran (September 24, 2013). "Why Scandinavian Prisons Are Superior. 'Open' prisons, in which detainees are allowed to live like regular citizens, should be a model for the U.S." Retrieved June 22, 2019.
  4. "Interview: Marianne Vollan". Justice Trends. Retrieved June 22, 2019.
  5. Toreld, Eva Marie; Haugli, Kristin Opaas; Svalastog, Anna Lydia (2018). "Maintaining normality when serving a prison sentence in the digital society". Croatian Medical Journal. 59 (6): 335–339. doi:10.3325/cmj.2018.59.335. PMC   6330768 . PMID   30610776.
  6. Høidal, Are (October 2018). "Normality behind the Walls: Examples from Halden Prison". Federal Sentencing Reporter. 31 (1): 58–66. doi:10.1525/fsr.2018.31.1.58.