How Norway's Prisons Are Different From America's | NowThis

[Music] staying in a maximum security prison is not a normal life but that's also an ambition to reduce the feeling of being in a prison as much as possible and in here you have uh myself so i have dvd and movies from there the basic question that we ask ourselves in norway what kind of neighbor do we really want because they couldn't move into my neighborhood and they could move into your neighborhood so i think there's an important question to ask ourselves really that should have an influence on how we work inside prisons it's not for for the person to judge or to punish we have to interact and be human i think it's as simple as that [Music] [Music] the most important thing is how we treat people this is the four key elements that we would like you to remember the principle of normality the focus that we have in norway on humanity inside prisons what we call dynamic security and the emphasis that we put on reintegration into society i would say the main goal of the trip is for inspiration to go bold back in the united states let's talk a little bit more about holding them how do we work and what are the unique unique things about us [Music] and in here you have uh myself so i have dvd and movies from there here we have a real toilet with a shower and everything you know you can see everybody have their key so they can open close to their doors whenever they want even though it's nicer it's still not a summer camp but i would like you to you know look be beyond the facilities it's not the most important thing so this is the cell every cells is similar and here we have the kitchen where i used to prepare the food you can see here is inside here that's a really important principle in norway which talks about that taking someone's liberty away and taking them away from their family away from their community that in of itself is the punishment so life inside prisons should look as normal to life in the community as possible and in here you have this washing room you can wash the clothes and try it staying in a maximum security prison is not a normal life and i notice you're wearing just you're just wearing normal clothing uh yeah yeah yeah that's uh that's allowed um you can wear whatever you want um but that's also an ambition to reduce the feeling of being in a prison as much as possible that's you know the normality principle how you can normalize the correctional setting for individuals to transition out bigger challenge in our system um but definitely something to think about the commissary the stores where an individual actually gets to go to a real store and pick out commissary items i think that's a good ad adds to the normalization [Music] we think this is the most important part dynamic security sounds like a very fancy thing but it's really just having a normal interpersonal relations between the officers or all staff really and the inmates every inmate has a primary contact officer and every officer had to have two or three inmates that he's the you know the contact officer for that was the ambition from guard to also be a social worker the main subjects at the academy ethics psychology communication technique criminology law human rights of course they do learn self-defense they do learn extraction techniques they do learn to work as a team but that's not you know that's not the major components it's about how do you treat people respectfully my family always think that i just play games because that's why i like very much to play games so i often play play cards and stuff with a with inmates i know in some states it's you know forbidden and will have consequences for you if you interact with inmates as a staff member quite the opposite here we expect and demand an interaction between staff and internet it's kind of friendship with someone and to see the progress and see the changes that's the best way to job [Music] the contacts officer is for example sitting down with you and making you a future brand so what for and steps by steps to va become a free man from from day one yeah yeah the officers need to know everything about the system and give advice to the uh to the inmates about you know the future what steps should it take [Music] photos of my daughter big love of my life i've been here for one and a half year but i was transferred from prison in brazil you can compare that to come from hell to heaven it's it's a big difference the guards first of all in brazil the guards are [Music] more you feel bad and weakness the more they feel good here you have the guards you know they they was very kind to me when i came they are still very kind um we can speak you know they treat me as a human being in brazil you get treated like an animal i've been working here since the opening in 2010 and i've been working other prisons before that also it's not for for the person to to judge or to punish because the police catch the guy and goes to the court and and it gets sentenced perhaps and then it comes to prison with that we have to interact and be human it's i think it's as simple as that it really is because we can we can create walls between us but that doesn't help anything you have to communicate we have to interact without approaching people with respect and dignity it's impossible to sit down the next day and talk about his future because he will not have any trust in you so in order to you know work well with reintegration and future planning etc there has to be you know a foundation there of trust between the staff and the inmates i've visited a lot of prisons in the united states as well and somehow i don't have the same kind of feeling of you know relief of getting out of an impressive environment that i that i've experienced coming out of those prisons i think that says something about how different the environment is here i think i have big opportunities here to to prepare myself for for the life after prison i thought there is still hope there is still opportunities you know to to get a get a good life after uh getting out so [Music] you

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Keywords: norwegian prison, norwegian prison system, norwegian prison vs american, norwegian prison documentary, norwegian prison halden, norwegian prison system vs us, norwegian prison cells, prison reform stories, norway prisons, norway vs american prison, prison reform, halden prison, norway vs america, american prisons, NowThis, norwegian prison reaction, inside prison life, social justice, Norway, criminal justice, american reaction, American reacts to norway prison

Id: zNpehw-Yjvs

Length: 9min 12sec (552 seconds)

Published: Thu Aug 06 2020