Copyrighted Image used under fair use standards,"Kolmaarden prison in Norrkoeping, Sweden," Courtesy of AP Images
Open Prisons
Open prisons are a growing trend throughout Sweden, and they have proven to have many benefits for the prisoners within them. In these, prisoners stay in housing like that of a college dorm, with ready access to accessories like televisions and sound systems, and they are still able to work and see their family while electronically monitored [1]. Prisoners and the workers are not expected to wear uniforms, and often they will eat in community spaces built throughout the prison. These community spaces include activities such as: table tennis, pool tables, making artwork, and more [1]. The philosophy behind an open prison give the prisoners a sense of the "polished glass nightmare" [3]. Life inside resembles life outside as much as possible, but now there are strict curfews, the prisoners are away from their friends and family, and they have to live with the knowledge that they did this to themselves [3]. Though some closed prisons still exist in Sweden, the shift to open prisons is on the rise, as they believe that "the more closed a system is, the harder it will be to return to freedom" [3].
"This picture shows a 6-square-meter prison cell inside the high-security prison in the town of Norrtaelje, Sweden on November 15, 2013" [1].
Copyrighted Image used under fair use standards, Courtesy of Getty Images |
This picture shows a kitchen part of a working area inside the high-security prison in the town of Norrtaelje, Sweden on November 15, 2013. [1].
Copyrighted Image used under fair use standards, Courtesy of Getty Images |
Treatment of Prisoners
Copyrighted Image used under fair use standards, Courtesy of Niclas Sandberg "'Our role is not to punish. The punishment is the prison sentence: they have been deprived of their freedom. The punishment is that they are with us,' says Nils Öberg, director-general of Sweden’s prison and probation service" [1]. |
The primary goal of Swedish open prisons is to strengthen the mental health of the inmates. Their prison systems are built on a foundation of treating prisoners like human beings- not criminals [4]. In doing so, they offer 5 different types of occupational activities, work activities, service, education, and treatment programs. All occupational activities are supposed to be adapted to the needs of a specific inmate as outlined in their sentence plan [2]. With a staff to prisoner ratio of about 1:1, the prison system becomes very costly as adequate staff resources are sought after, but the pros are thought to outweigh the cons in the long run [4]. However, the prison system is not only beneficial for the prisoners. They are designed to help the officers as well. Each prisoner is assigned a contact officer that "monitors and helps advance progress toward return to the world outside—a practice introduced to help officers avoid the damage experienced by performing purely punitive functions: stress, hypertension, alcoholism, suicide, and other job-related hazards" [3].
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Sources
- Aleem, Zeeshan. “Why the U.S. Needs to Start Paying Attention to Sweden's Remarkable Prison System.” Mic, Mic Network Inc., 26 Oct. 2015, mic.com/articles/109138/sweden-has-done-for-its-prisoners-what-the-u-s-won-t#.hd7VhO3mE.
- Brå. “Work, Education and Treatment in Swedish Prisons: A Study on Occupational Activities for Inmates .” Bra.se, 2015, www.bra.se/download/18.31d7fffa1504bbffea065d06/1448970661178/2015_20_Work,%20training%20and%20treatment%20in%20Swedish%20prison_r.pdf
- Larson, Doran. “Why Scandinavian Prisons Are Superior.” The Atlantic, Atlantic Media Company, 30 Aug. 2018, www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2013/09/why-scandinavian-prisons-are-superior/279949/.
- Oberg, Nils. “In Sweden, We Treat Our Prisoners like Human Beings, Not like Criminals.” The Telegraph, Telegraph Media Group, 27 Nov. 2014, www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/telegraph-view/11256813/In-Sweden-we-treat-our-prisoners-like-human-beings-not-like-criminals.html.