14 DAY TRIAL // A couple of days ago, authorities in Norway announced that an inmate had escaped from the Bastøy island prison in the country’s Horten municipality. So far, nothing remarkable. After all, prison breakouts had happened before.
Except this inmate in Norway didn’t dig his way to freedom or anything of the kind. Instead, he simply stole a surfboard and a toy shovel from a shed, and paddled about 3 kilometers (less than 2 miles) to the nearest shore.
Once on land, the 23-year-old, whose identity has not been disclosed, abandoned his makeshift escape ship and vanished without a trace. The police are out looking for him, but at least for now, they have no idea where he might be.
The prison he escaped from is the world’s nicest
At this point, some of you might be wondering how on earth the inmate broke free from his cell only to steal a surfboard and paddle to freedom with the help of a run-of-the-mill toy shovel.
Well, the thing about Norway’s Bastøy island prison is that it is among the nicest - if not the absolute nicest - in the world. In fact, it’s more like a resort than a prison.
For starters, the inmates don’t live in cells. They live in wooden cottages and they are each entrusted with the keys to their own quarters so that they may come and go as they please.
Before you ask, no, these cottages are not exactly austere. They are actually quite nice, what with their walls painted in warm colors and the rooms complete with cozy beds.
There are also tennis courts, fishing spots, and even a sauna. The inmates get to grow their own crops and a chef cooks their meals for them, with salmon and chicken quite often on the menu.
Those who don’t take pleasure in farming can pick some other past-time activity, just as long as they help manage the prison and play their part in making sure things run smoothly.
There are no fences and just a handful of guards are left on the island to watch the prisoners overnight, so freedom is well within reach. All it takes is a boat or good swimming skills.
How inmates-friendly do we want prisons to be?
This prison in Norway caters for murderers, rapists, drug dealers and the like. Still, as noted, it’s more like a resort. Being imprisoned there sounds a whole lot like being on vacation, there’s no going about it.
And yet, perhaps the world needs more such establishments. It all depends on whether we want to see prisons as places designed to punish criminals for their wrongdoings or places intended to reform them.
As nice as it might be, Norway’s Bastøy prison nonetheless deprives inmates of their freedom. Sure, they can grow crops, play tennis, go horseback riding and whatnot, but they are not free, which is why most are happy to leave once they are done serving their sentence.
The thing is that, while serving their sentence, those imprisoned on this island in Norway are not simply forced to put their criminal career on standby but are instead given a choice to reform. This explains why Bastøy has a recidivism rate of less than 20%.
By comparison, a recent study put the recidivism rate for prisons in the US at about 50%. So, as surprising as it might be, the fact of the matter is this quaint way of treating inmates seems to actually help make them better people. So why not at least give it a try?
