Hey Thoughty2 here. In 2008 an inmate in Colorado, convicted of
armed robbery, was released from prison 90 years too early, due to a clerical error. He couldn't believe his luck and was determined
to get his life back on track. He got a job, got married, had kids, went
to church every week and started coaching youth soccer. After six years of making the most of his
accidental freedom, authorities realised their mistake and sent him back to prison. In America prison inmates are accidentally
released too early, disturbingly often. Also in Colorado another inmate was mistakenly
released four years early, their story wasn't as pleasant. Whilst out of prison he killed the state's
correction chief when he knocked on the inmate's door. But if an inmate serves their entire sentence
or is perhaps let out early for good behaviour, what are the chances of them re-offending. Does the prison system actually work? There are currently over nine million people
incarcerated in prisons worldwide. Half of that number is held in just three
countries, the US, China and Russia. The US has the most prisoners by far, with
over 2.3 million adults behind bars within its borders. America has just 5% of the world's population
but over one quarter of its prison population. So does this mass incarceration work? No, absolutely not, in fact it does quite
the opposite. Prison only creates more crime and more prisoners. It is a completely self-criminalising system. Imagine if I told you I had a fantastic new
plan to stop crime. We take all the people that have been naughty
and put them into a building where they can't leave and all they can do to keep themselves
occupied is talk to all the other criminals and learn. Learn how to commit more complex crimes and
get away with it. And plan their next grand criminal escapade
once they are released. They may even form coalitions. Crime is practiced on one-another inside prison,
in whatever ways possible. Some rise to the top of the food chain and
become kingpins or gang leaders that command and orchestrate new crimes on the outside,
from inside prison. Many experts have labelled prison as "crime
school" and it's easy to see why. This is an excerpt from a letter by a UK prisoner
called Ben, that was entered into a yearly prisoner writing competition. "The day I was sent to prison, I learned how
to steal cars. Still in shock from the jury’s verdict,
I was led from the courthouse into a white van. A convict in another compartment was boasting
of how he drove off and sold luxury motors: BMWs, Mercedes and the like. He used an electronic device to override their
immobilisers. Unseen figures from other compartments called
out questions: “How long does it take?” “What models does it work on?” “How can I get one?” I listened, intrigued. I’d never stolen anything and didn’t intend
to. Then again it sounded so easy …" So then it's no surprise that the recidivism
rate is so high. In the US almost 70% of prisoners are rearrested
within three years of being released and 77% are rearrested within five years. And that's just the people that are caught
recommitting crimes. Sure, when it comes to any kind of prison
statistics, America is always the worst example, but other countries are not far behind, in
the UK 47% of prisoners reoffend within three years. But there is one country that has broke the
mould and has reduced their recidivism rate to just 20%. But we'll talk about that in a minute. Hatred breeds hatred and violence causes violence. People who have been hurt are the most likely
to go on to hurt others. And as long as the prison system is based
on violence and hard-line punishment it will continue to create more violence and crime. The world's leading psychologists have long
agreed that confining humans in cages with minimal human interaction and sometimes with
no human interaction whatsoever, is unimaginably damaging to one's long-term mental health. It creates deep mental wounds. It de-humanises people and devalues a person's
sense of worth. And once you take that away, more crime can
seem like the only way forward after release from prison. But by far one of the most damaging effects
of prison on both prisoners and society is isolation, especially from family members. Prison tears away a person's support network
and research shows that the number one factor that determines if a person will re-offend
or not after release, is whether they have support from their family and friends. Prison makes this level of support practically
unachievable. But the wounds go even deeper, in America
2.7 million children have a parent inside prison, research has shown that when a child
loses their mother or father figure to prison, with minimal contact, they are many, many
times more likely to grow up to commit crime themselves. So not only is prison causing adults to re-offend
its also preparing the next generation to be criminals too. So what's the answer? It's very well saying that prison doesn't
work but surely the only alternative, that doesn't violate every human rights law, is
allowing murderers, rapists and other criminals to roam the streets? Or is it? Remember earlier I mentioned that there is
a country where the reoffending rate is just 20%. Well, what if I also told you that this mystical
place also has one of the lowest incarceration rates in the world. They have put only 70 out of every 100,000
of their citizens behind bars. Compared to the world's leading incarcerator,
America, which has put 716 of every 100,000 of their citizens in prison, over 10 as many. Welcome to a magical land called Norway. Where the air is clean, the food is pickled
and the streets are ridiculously safe. Norway is officially the 6th safest country
in the world according to The Legatum Prosperity Index of 2016, joining the ranks of other
Scandinavian countries and places like Singapore and Japan. Sure Norway has had its upsets in recent years
but overall its still one of the safest places to live. Yet how can this be when they incarcerate
such a tiny percentage of their population? Surely the only way to keep the public safe
is to lock up all the criminals for life so they can't commit any more crime. That makes sense in theory, but the most important
factor is what happens after a prisoner is released. There isn't a constant supply of new criminals. It's estimated that only 15% of the population
of a country will ever commit a crime during their lives and the vast majority of major
crimes that are worthy of prison time are committed by an even smaller group of constant
reoffenders, in most countries at least. So then it makes sense that if you reform
that tiny pool of people that are continually committing crimes, over and over again, by
turning them into fully functioning, upstanding members of society then the prison population
will naturally decrease instead of increasing every year, as it has in America. And that's how Norway has created one of the
safest countries in the world and achieved one of the lowest prison populations, by mastering
the art of rehabilitation. In fact Norway's rehabilitation methods have
been so successful that their prison population is falling every year and so is crime. Whilst the rest of the world is busy building
more and more prisons. But their method of rehabilitation is quite
unusual. Unlike in most developed countries, the prison
authorities don't sit you in a white room and have a patronising conversation with you,
about how you will manage on the outside. They don't make you absolutely promise that
you'll get a job and not shoot anyone. What they do is actually refreshingly simple
and obvious, they treat you like a normal person. This may seem unfair, after all these are
criminals, not puppies. But when you think about it, why shouldn't
criminals be treated like normal people, and given proper accommodation, jobs and social
lives. They may have messed up, but your basic human
needs don't suddenly change when you get sentenced. And to strip away the essential things that
make you human only serves to cause further mental damage to a person, increasing the
likelihood of them committing violent crime in the future. Welcome to Halden, a maximum security prison
in Norway, that houses the countries most violent criminals. All inmates are treated the same, no matter
their crime. There is no pointless and damaging solitary
confinement. This is an inmate's cell, it's nice and roomy,
they all have unrestricted windows to the outside with plenty of natural light, and
it's all theirs, they don't have to share with anyone. There's a flatscreen TV in every room, private
shower, mini-fridge and other luxuries. I've definitely stayed in worse hotel rooms. There's a cookery school where all inmates
are taught how to cook for themselves. A shop and kitchen, so inmates can buy ingredients
and make their own meals or cook for their prison buddies, and yes, there are plenty
of sharp knives lying around. Prisoners are free to leave their cells at
any time and enjoy the prisons various facilities, such as the gym, sports hall with a rock climbing
wall, outdoor sports field, music studio where inmates are encouraged to make music that
is often played by local radio stations, a woodworking studio, a library with CDs, DVDs
and games. Not only are prisoners encouraged to spend
time outside their cells but they are actually paid to do so. Prisoners are given an incentive of 53 Kroner,
or $7 dollars per day to leave their cells and socialise. All inmates are offered the opportunity of
education and paid jobs within the prison. Nobody has ever tried to escape from Halden
prison and incidents of violence are extremely rare. Norway is a vast, beautiful country and in
Norway taking away a person's freedom is considered enough of a punishment for any crime. So instead of spending a person's prison sentence
punishing them further, Norwegian prisons focus solely on rehabilitation and repairing
the mental damage that may have caused them to commit crime in the first place. This may be too progressive for some and it
raises an ethical concern. Is it right and just that a person who potentially
murdered a friend or family member should be treated as though they're at a five-star
retreat, at the cost of taxpayers? But when viewed pragmatically it makes perfect
sense, this prison has achieved an incredibly low recidivism rate of just 20%, the lowest
in the world. And this in turn, lowers crime rates every
year, it's better for society and the economy. This is all helped along further by the incredible
support a Norwegian ex-prisoner receives after being released. Various agencies give them support and check
up on them regularly, making sure they have accommodation, a support network and crucially
a job. Contrary to America where a criminal record,
even for a minor offence is a big black mark on your CV and permanent government records,
which ensures you will never get a proper job and can never develop a career for the
rest of your life. It goes without saying that if you take away
a criminal's chance to get a job, they're probably going to turn to crime to fund themselves. Well, I'll be dammed! In Norway ex-prisoners are given free healthcare,
education and a mandated pension. Just like any other citizen. Whilst many around the world have criticised
Norway for being too soft on crime, the numbers speak for themselves, with a 20% recidivism
rate. Punishment just doesn't work and it doesn't
provide a deterrent, punishment only exacerbates the problem, many countries have made a compelling
case to prove that. Norway has proven that the only way to solve
the crime issue is to work with criminals to achieve a better future. And Norway have taken this one huge step further. Halden Prison may seem like a paradise to
many. I mean, most students across the world probably
live in worse conditions. But there's a prison that's even more luxurious,
a place that would give your last holiday abroad a run for its money. Welcome to Bastoy Island in Norway. A beautiful secluded island, lush with forests
and fauna, with some of the most idyllic beaches in the world, just 50 miles south of Oslo. But this isn't a five star holiday resort,
this is a prison. Bastoy island is Norway's minimum-security
prison and the most luxurious prison in the World. But this isn't where the small-time crooks
are held. Bastoy is home to murderers, rapists and child
molesters. There are no locks, chains, cells or razor
wire. Prisoners are free to roam the island at their
leisure, and enjoy bike rides, or go to the beach for a dip in the ocean, whenever they
feel like it. Prisoners live in shared apartments and everyone
has their own private bedroom with a lock and key. Even the prison guards don't have a key to
prisoner's rooms. The wooden houses are flush with TVs, computers,
musical instruments and other luxuries. Island inmates can take free classes in music,
cookery, computer studies, craftsmanship or academia, to prepare them for work after their
release. They can apply for jobs on the island; most
work on the farm, looking after the animals, using heavy machinery and growing food to
feed the other islanders. They live within their own ecosystem and the
island is fully self-sufficient and sustainable. The island hosts around 120 inmates with only
five prison guards keeping watch overnight. Even during the day, the inmates vastly outnumber
the prison staff, who say they have good friendships with all the inmates and are regularly invited
in their homes for coffee and a chat when passing by. One of the previous residents of Bastoy Island
was sent here after he chopped up two people with a chainsaw. Whilst on the island he was allowed to work
in the forest with a chainsaw. For recreation there is a sauna, tennis courts,
plenty of fishing spots and horseback riding. There is a resident head chef that cooks up
restaurant quality dishes for anyone who doesn't want to cook for themselves. Some longer-term residents have the freedom
to leave the island on boats and go to work at real jobs on the mainland, 5 days a week. No one has ever tried to escape from Bastoy
Island. Well, why would you? This is essentially a holiday camp for criminals
that many non-criminals would pay good money to stay at. This infuriates many people, why should we
coddle and pamper violent criminals? Well, in the words of the head psychologist
at Bastoy prison and its ex-governor Arne Nilsen "If we have created a holiday camp
for criminals here, so what? We should reduce the risk of reoffending,
because if we don't, what's the point of punishment, except for leaning toward the primitive side
of humanity?" And its difficult to argue with him when Bastoy
Island prison's re-offender rate is just 16%, even lower than the already impressive Norwegian
national average of 20%. The maximum prison sentence in Norway is just
21 years. Even the terrorist Anders Breivik who, in
2011, killed eight people with a van bomb in Oslo then chillingly shot dead 69 people
at a summer camp, was only given a sentence of 21 years. Upon entering the court room the judge shook
Breivik's hand and smiled at him, as is customary in Norway. This and his short sentance was greeted with
mass skepticism and disgust by the world's media. He is the biggest challenge Norway's idyllic
prison system has ever faced, will it prove as successful at reforming him as it has many
more before him? Only time will tell. Whether you agree with Norway's views on rehabilitation
or not, you have to hand it to them, they are doing something right, they have accomplished
one of the safest societies in the world without ever really punishing anyone. And when hard line punitive treatment in America
and other countries has only made problems far worse and increased violence by both criminals
and the authorities, year on year, perhaps it is time for the world to pay attention. Thanks for watching.
Det amerikanske fengselsvesenet, og delvis også rettsvesenet, er pill råttent. Det virker som om systemet skaper flere/verre kriminelle, enn å prøve å rehabilitere dem. Det største problemet er imidlertid at folk flest, spesielt direkte eller indirekte ofre av kriminelle, ønsker at fengsler skal være helvete på jord, da det er den ultimate hevn (kanskje bortsett fra dødsstraff).
Selv om all forskning og statistikk viser at dette systemet ikke fungerer, så velger de heller å følge magefølelsen. Veldig trist.
Som om det ikke er nok, så har de klart å innføre fengsler drevet av private. Dette er fengsler hvor bakmenn sitter igjen med milliarder i dollar i overskudd hvert år, og som i tillegg subsidierer andre private næringer ved å betale mer for tjenester enn hva føderale fengsler gjør.
Jeg har gitt opp å tro at spesielt denne delen av USA kan bli bedre, da nåværende mentalitet er innarbeidet og akseptert blant "alle", også i den gemene hop (les: befolkningen).
Noen som har artikler om hvordan det norske kriminalomsorgen utviklet seg slik?
Det hørtes ikke helt ut som han forstod forvaringskonseptet, men fremdeles en flott presentasjon.
Veldig utrivelig utseende på han karen på thumbnailen. Skal ikke skue hunden på hårene men uansett, liksom.
Vi er kjempe flinke men vi er fortsatt nummer 1 på meth og heroin missbruk i Europa. Vi kan fortsatt redusere enda mere kriminalitet hvis vi sluttet med det null toleranse tullet. Heldigvis så har folks oppfatning endret seg litt etter litt med årene.