Those who break the law are viewed sympathetically rather than vilified or viewed as potential source of prison labor. They are viewed as in need of help. That is why their prison is a beautiful island where the prisoners dress in regular clothes, are housed in regular lodgings, wake themselves, make their own breakfast, go to work, and receive what amounts to counseling so that they can return to society normal, happy and healthy. Their prisoners operate ferries that go off the island, grow vegetables, and walk about freely. The only people in uniform are the guards.
This is a stark difference to how prisoners are treated in the US, where all inmates are clothed in jumpsuits -- usually bright orange -- that look ridiculous and dehumanize the inmates. Moreover, prisoners in the US have nowhere near the level of comfortable lodgings that prisoners in Norway have: they live in small cells, with bars -- have little access to natural light. They are treated as though they were animals that can't be trusted. The Norwegian island prison is just the opposite. One inmate who killed two people with a chainsaw was sentenced to 4 years: he came to the island and was fine -- he lived peacefully among the prisoners and even worked in the forest with a chainsaw. There were no incidents. The respect for life that is evident in the Norwegian prison is clear and palpable: life is connected to nature and to the outdoors so that there is a sense of rejuvenation in all the projects and in all the ways that prisoners can go about reviving themselves and becoming whole again. "If you treat people properly they may change their behavior and become ordinary citizens," the prison counselor explains in the Michael Moore documentary. In the US, there is no such prevailing opinion, attitude or philosophy at work in the corrections system. This may be one reason recidivism rates in the US are higher than they are in Germany and in the Netherlands. Another reason could be that the US measures recidivism differently than in Euorpe.
As the Vera Institute of Justice's paper on corrections highlights, "Germany and the Netherlands use different base populations" when it comes to measuring recidivism rates (Subramanian, Shames, 2013, p. 6). "Both countries usually look at all people sanctioned by a…
.....criminal justice system protects the public from criminals and criminal activity by investigating, catching, and thwarting crime. Although some countries have similar methods of punishing criminals and preventing crime, many countries have different methods and strategies. Norway has its own way of handling criminals and criminal investigations that often involves a decentralized police and investigative force. The United States operates via tiered system: federal, state, and local (Cole, Smith, &
Punitive, and correctional system in the United states of America in contrast with the German, Norwegian and Netherlands systems. • Introduction to US criminal justice system • A general outlook of the German, Norway, and Netherlands criminal justice system • A thesis statement Similarities Opening statement Classification of prisons • security levels • Prisons differentiated based on age, and sex. Operations within incarceration facilities • Compulsory work duties and vacations • Compensation for work Access to amenities • Leisure activities • Education and skill