Locked up!

#6: Prison
As a Criminology major, one of the things that attracted me to DIS was the fact that they offered some Criminal Justice type classes, like War Crimes & Human Rights and Gang Crime in Scandinavia.  I knew nothing about the criminal justice system in Denmark before coming here, and I have learned so much over the course of the semester, especially about the prison system.  I know this probably sounds weird...  usually the reaction I get when I tell people that I'm interested in the prison system is "OH MY GOSH, that's so creepy."  Which I suppose it is, to a degree, especially looking at it from an American perspective where the prison system is a little worse-for-wear.  In my classes back at Stonehill, I had learned about the different approaches to corrections, such as deterrence, retribution, incapacitation, and rehabilitation.  In the US, the focus in prisons is very much on deterrence- punishing offenders for their crimes in a way that ideally will make them less likely to commit further crime, and at the same time deter others in society from committing crime so that they don't end up in prison as well.  In Scandinavia, the focus is much more on rehabilitation and treating the offenders in a humane way so that when they re-enter society, they haven't been hardened by their experience and have a chance to reintegrate successfully.

For my Gang Crime in Scandinavia class, we got to visit two prisons- one open, and one closed.  These field studies were two field studies were among the highlights of my semester!

"Open prison" is a much different concept than anything we have in the US- basically, it is a system where offenders can come and go.  There is very little security, sometimes there aren't even fences or gates.  When there are, they are mostly to keep people from trespassing on prison property rather than to lock the offenders inside.  The goal in Denmark is to send all offenders to open prison, unless they have a sentence over five years or have previously misbehaved while in open prison.  It sounds crazy, and it kind of is, but in Denmark, it works!  On our visit to open prison, we were given a tour by a guard who was accompanied by an inmate.  We walked all around the prison, around the yards, and even inside and down a hallway to see where the inmates lived.  It looked just like a college dorm- the "cells" had solid wood doors- not the bars I was expecting.  Inside the rooms, the inmates had TVs, tables, chairs, and computers.  Each wing also had a kitchen facility, equipped with all sorts of cooking equipment, including knives.  And not dull butter knives- they had legit kitchen knives.  This was the craziest thing to me, because in other prisons you would imagine that within 5 seconds, someone would grab the knife and use it as a weapon.  Everyone we talked to said they never had a problem with this at the prison.  For one thing, if the inmates where ever to do this, they would be sent to a closed prison, and they also want to make the prison a place where their families feel comfortable coming to visit.  The prison has a playground where children can come and see their parents, which really helps to maintain the family relationships which are so important in Danish society.  As we continued our tour, we saw the gym facilities which were even equipped with a tanning bed.  It definitely seemed like a weird thing for the prison to have, but our tour guides explained that it was a luxury from the outside which made the prisoners feel like they were being treated humanely.  It was also great to see the relationship that the guard had with the inmate who was leading our tour.  I expected there to be a very adversarial relationship between the two, but they respected one another.  It was also interesting because many of the guards were female- the idea behind this in Scandinavia is that interacting with female guards in prison makes the prisoners calmer and feel less like they have to be aggressive and prove themselves.  While in open prison, prisoners can leave every third weekend, and also for jobs or educational reasons.  It seems like a great place to be with many of the comforts of home, but the inmate we talked to stressed that having this freedom almost made it harder- knowing he could easily walk out of the prison took great self-restraint on his part.  Also, curfews were imposed on the inmates requiring them to be back in their rooms by 9pm.  While they have many opportunities to better themselves while in prison, it is the loss of freedom that is the main source of punishment.

"Closed prison" is a little different...  Inmates there don't have the ability to go on leaves as they do in open prison, and many in closed prison have longer, more serious sentences.  Also, gang members are almost always sent to closed prison.  On our visit, we had to pass through much more security to get inside.  Still, I noticed many similarities to open prison- lots of female guards, and many inmates who were able to walk about the prison without restraints.  Again, we saw the kitchen and spoke with an inmate whose job it was to clean the whole hall.  They too had a large selection of kitchen knives, but this time they were chained to the wall.  When we asked about this, the inmate said it still was never a problem, and no one would ever think to do anything, as this closed prison was one of the best to be at and they did not want to be sent away.  The hallway also had a pool table where the inmates could hang out and socialize.  We also got to see the rehab wing and walk through solitary confinement, which is rarely used- most commonly in the case of someone who requests isolation.  In isolation, they are still able to have TVs and other things to make it more comfortable and not as lonely as you would expect.  Being so alone takes a toll on a person, and since the focus of prison in Denmark is heavy on rehabilitation, they want to make it as humane as possible.  We then walked around the yard, saw the chapel, and finally got to talk to an inmate who has a life sentence about what life is really like inside prison.

I really wish I could explain my visits in more detail and that I had pictures, but unfortunately we obviously weren't allowed to have cameras.  It's a really different concept, but its something that I've learned so much about since being in Denmark.  When I talk about it with other people, they are usually pretty shocked with how the system works.  For my final presentation in Danish class, I talked a little bit about how the prison system supports family relationships in Denmark, and many of my classmates weren't familiar with the system at all.  I was so glad that I got to explain a little bit about it, and we all had such a great discussion afterwards.  There are of course many many many reasons why this system probably couldn't be implemented in the US right away, but I think with some tweaking and over a gradual period of time, it's something we should really consider.  The truth is that prison hardens offenders so that they are often worse when they come out than when they went in.  I personally think Scandinavia has it right by considering the humanity of individuals and helping them to reintegrate rather than become marginalized.  In my future studies of the correctional system in the US, I hope I can find a way to integrate some of these ideas into programs that are more focused on rehabilitation rather than deterrence and play a small role in easing some of the problems with the prison system today.