This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies. Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: For several decades, Norwegian prison research has focused on the pains of imprisonment, isolation and the harm that prison does. But what is needed for a prison to actually promote health, personal growth and hope?
Research shows that what is needed is something quite different from the developments currently underway in Norway. According to criminologist Pernille Nyvoll, the Norwegian authorities are currently investing in large, modular high-security prisons. Small low-security prisons are being scaled back.
Yet it is these that work best for prisoner health and well-being. "In smaller settings, it is easier to preserve the prisoners' identity and autonomy, while building close, trust-based relationships between prisoners and staff," says Nyvoll. Low-security prisons also offer a clear socioeconomic benefit.
They cost almost half as much to run as high-security prisons, according to the Norwegian Correctional Service's annual report for 2024, while also providing a significantly better foundation for rehabilitation. If we are to focus on health and rehabilitation during imprisonment, it is not enough simply to treat illness when it arises. Health in a prison context is about much more than just the health services provided in the prison.
It is about creating a safe and secure environment where prisoners are treated as human beings, where they are gradually given more responsibility and experience stability in their daily lives. It is very much about how you feel you are treated as a human being. To understand these mechanisms, Nyvoll has spent a great deal of time with both prisoners and staff to observe how the prison functions in practice.
"I've looked at everything that influences whether you have a good or a bad day in prison. I've spoken to both prisoners and staff." Nyvoll explains that in several of the new prisons, it is more difficult to maintain a good prisoner-staff relationship. "It is not the absence of control and security that makes the low-security prisons successful, but the presence of trust, responsibility and humanity," she explains.
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