The Most Luxurious Prison In The World - Utlendings Reaksjon | 🇳🇴 Norway REACTION

[@NordicReactions]

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[@Mobraks]

A father of one of Anders Brevik victims said it best when asked if he would see his sons killer get the death penalty. His answer was No with reason if he wanted death of another human his mindset would not be any better than his sons killer.

[@Henoik]

As a Norwegian, I'd like to address some misconceptions about our prison system, specifically about Bastøy Prison. It's easy to look at images and assume that our prisons are too luxurious and that people might commit crimes just to experience them. However, this couldn't be further from the truth. Despite the seemingly comfortable conditions, becoming an inmate in Norway means losing your freedom and becoming property of the state. You must adhere to the prison's strict regime and lose many freedoms that Norwegians deeply value. Importantly, if someone in Norway is homeless or unemployed, the state provides housing, financial aid for food, insurance, and transportation. There’s no need to commit crimes to secure basic needs. In Norway, receiving a prison sentence is not easy. It’s not a matter of petty theft; typically, serious or violent crimes lead to incarceration. The idea that people would commit heinous crimes for the sake of experiencing prison life is a gross misunderstanding. We believe that people refrain from committing crimes not out of fear of prison, but because it is fundamentally wrong. Our prison system focuses on rehabilitation rather than retribution, and it works. Norway has one of the lowest reoffending rates globally, because our system helps inmates reintegrate into society as law-abiding citizens. Inmates are taught valuable skills and given responsibilities that prepare them for life after release. The maximum sentence for most crimes in Norway is 21 years, with 30 years for extremely serious offenses like terrorism. Additionally, preventive detention can extend incarceration if an inmate is deemed a continued threat to society. This approach might seem lenient, but it is designed to balance justice and rehabilitation, ensuring long-term societal safety. Our system is not perfect, but it is built on the belief that everyone deserves a chance to reform and that harsh punishment without rehabilitation benefits no one. While the conditions might seem luxurious, the ultimate loss of freedom is a significant deterrent, and our low reoffending rates speak to the success of this approach.

[@Henoik]

And no, there's no outrage in Norway (that I've seen at least) to our prison system. If anything, there's outrage that we're too harsh on drug crimes. This is indeed a very proud moment for us Norwegians. Of course, I doubt there's 100% support for this system in Norway, but there's an absolute majority of people who support it.

[@bertil3887]

as a swede im kinda jealous of your prison system and i wish sweden eventually will introduce it even if it seems far away right now

[@Henoik]

@@bertil3887 You guys look to us, we look to Finland :D

[@bertil3887]

@@Henoik Finland? You seems to be more progressive than Finland afaik

[@Henoik]

@@bertil3887 We just hear news of how Finland has like truly open prisons. I don't really understand much of their system though

[@mangemuligheter]

Anders Breivik is not at Open prison. A snip from Google: The July case was sentenced to custody. Custody is the most severe punishment we have in Norway, and it is indefinite, that is, it can be extended. Today, Breivik is serving his custodial sentence in prison, specifically in a ward with a particularly high level of security. In such a department, the control measures are very strict.

[@Henoik]

Preventive detention er nok ordet du leter etter, for forvaring :) "Custody" betyr bare enhver anholdelse.

[@mangemuligheter]

@@Henoik custodial sentence = forvaringsstraff; Custody sentence = Forvaringsdom; Custody = Varetekt. Nei, jeg leter ikke etter noe annet ord.

[@ahkkariq7406]

The video you are reacting to was not created to explain, but obviously by a person who has never lived in Norway, who does not understand the philosophy behind it and who is looking for high viewing figures more than creating understanding. First some comments about some of what you reacted to; Norway is a country with a long coast. Fish is not a luxury, nor is salmon. It's weekday dinner. Because the country is so far north, there are poor growing conditions for fruit and vegetables. Only 3% of the land is arable, while a much larger proportion is suitable as animal fodder. For survival we must therefore eat meat or fish. For us, fruit and vegetables (apart from the most common ones, such as apples, pears, potatoes, carrots, cabbage, rutabaga, onions etc.) are almost considered luxury because of the price (including transportation). It is also a country with long, cold winters, so a sauna is not a luxury either. Many people have a sauna at home, not for luxury, but for pain relief. Anyone who has lived in a country with winter knows that the cold causes pain, especially as you get older. Bastøy is a prison for people nearing the end of their sentence. By serving the end of their sentence there, they gradually become accustomed to life outside prison, and are better equipped for a life in freedom. Many countries send the inmates out the door without any preparation. The recently released has no idea how to deal with life, and chooses to commit crime to get back to prison, because it's the only life he knows. Before Norway introduced the prison reform, we had a very high recidivism rate. Now we have the world's lowest. When the inmates are changed from criminals to taxpayers, it is economically profitable. At the same time, you reduce the crime rate in the country, which saves society money and people suffering. Even if it costs double or triple to run a prison for pr. inmate, as in other countries, the cost will be kept down because you avoid creating repeat criminals. As a teacher, you have probably experienced children who never got a chance in life, and you understand that they will end up as criminals. I am a former teacher myself, and know that you meet these tragic fates. Many of the inmates have never experienced proper care from loving parents. Some are broken people before the age of adulthood. The task of society in a civilized country is not to lock them up and throw away the key - it is to try to help them. More countries should do as Norway does. It is a win-win project in every way. I recommend that you react to either Michael Moore's documentaries from Norwegian prisons, Ann Widdecomb's or the short but concise "How Norway's Prisons Are Different From America's | NowThis"

[@lillm6874]

Well said👍 This video was not correct lol

[@ellenduebrynjulfsen3394]

Jeg har ikke penger til å spise fisk ofte. Det er drit dyrt. Fengslene har bedre mat enn aldershjemmene. En skam!

[@SuperPsycho74]

​@@ellenduebrynjulfsen3394fengslene får maten fra samme kjøkken som sykehuset som oftest.

[@john-toregundersen2655]

No, we dont really think that Bering Brevik will go free ever...

[@Henoik]

He will likely be released from prison when he gets old, but that would either be to a medical institution or to some place he could call "home" but the government would likely need to restrict his movement a lot for his own safety. So, will he be released? Probably. Will he go free? Unlikely.

[@john-toregundersen2655]

@@Henoik Yes, possible.

[@miafranlund6982]

A big part of Europe and most certainly the Nordic countries sees imprisonment the same way. Prison is not the punishment, it's the sentense and removal from family. Prison should be used for rehabilitation, for growth. Our prisongards has to be highly educated in psychology, economy and law. If on treat a prisoner as an animal, he will never change. We all must treat prisoners with respect and emphaty even though we dont agree with his/hers lifechoices. Especially since we dont have lifesenteces, so that prisoner will be released some day and might choose to be your neighbour.

[@Henoik]

Shrimp is a delicacy? O.o Come to Norway, you can buy them for like 2 bucks :D Ironically, Norwegian media just posted an article of "prices on shrimp will be lower than ever this summer"

[@NordicReactions]

🫣 In Brazil, Salmon and Shrimp are only for the upper middle classes. Even rice is not affordable nowadays due to the recent flood in the South

[@Henoik]

@@NordicReactions I guess we are truly privileged in Norway, and it makes me sad to see that most people in the world have a much worse quality of life than even our low-class citizens.

[@IstadR]

​​@@NordicReactions But then the salmon in Brazil is probably sendt from Norway. Just like most of the bacalhau. Last year we exported 19 000 metric ton bacalhau to Brazil. Correction: We don't export salmon to Brazil, Chile have 100%, of the marked. Learn something New every day. 😉

[@norseman3693]

The video was pretty old, and there are now a few video's about "Halden Fengsel" on youtube. This video here, was not so accurate, with inserted footage from USA. And a few seconds of clips from other prisons in Norway. The whole tone of this video was to make it more luxurious that it really is. Every inmate must either work or study, to recive a small "wage". Those few who don't work or study will not get a good time behind bars, because they will get less time outside out of their cell, and they will not be sent from a regular prison to an open prison. And they will not get a small "wage" to buy "stuff" from the prison-shop. To have an inmate in prison is expensive. But open prisons like "Bastøy Fengsel" are among the least expensive, per inmate, per day. To incarcerate inmates in a maximum security prison like "Halden Fengsel" is way more expensive. I recomend to watch the segment showing Bastøy and Halden Fengsel in Michael Moore's film "Where to invade next", 1 hour and 10 minutes into the film: kzbin.info/www/bejne/nZjZq6qPYtSsjs0

[@einha19]

Its not a joke. The rest of the world is

[@lkgh1966]

Capital punishment in Norway was abolished 1979, in peacetime 1905.

[@Henoik]

Fun fact, one of the last guys to be executed in Norway was the guy who brought capital punishment back during WWII.

[@jostein1195]

The claim that the prisons are luxurious is a bit of an overstatements. In general, the standard of prisons in Norway are well bellow what you'd expect for ordinary people, including those in the lower income groups. I don't think you'd find many college students in Norway that would swap their current accommodation for a prison cell.

[@neinei5558]

Your right, they do not have free access to internet or phone.

[@Gazer75]

Bastøy is an end of sentence place basically. They can be transferred there if they have been deemed safe and are being released in the near future.

[@philliperichsen2138]

Bastøy is an open prison. To get there you have to have shown good behaviour for x amount of time. If you break the rules of the island you`ll get sent back to a "normal"prison. Norway has the lowest recidivism rate in the world. The max sentence is 21 years, yes, however one can get 21 years "hold" meaning that after those 21 years a team of shrinks and doctors will decide if one is released or wait 1 more year. Next year the same and so on. So in reality one can be in for life, although that dont happen. And if a criminal is to be released sometime and move in next door to you would you want an ex-con from a Norwegian prison or a Barzilian prison? ;) "Treat a human like an animal and the human will become animal in behaviour. Treat a human with animalistic tendencies like a human and with time the human will become human again" _Some wise dude somewhere sometime said

[@Henoik]

Technically you can get 30 years prison sentence for aggregated terrorism (unsure how terrorism can be "aggregated") or crimes against the humanity. However, those sentences are not meant for normal people. They're more targeted towards state officials that really fuck up, or if some foreign country lose a war to us or something.

[@user-torbjorn]

Well, the "prison" inn the beginning of this video are the Emirates Palace Abu Dhabi Luxury Hotel

[@Luredreier]

That thumbnail isn't from Norway at all. 3:34 That's not from Norway either. We don't have prison suits like that at all. 5:50 Yes, we're *not* trying to punish people. Our justice system and government acts like nordic parents, we don't punish people, but give privileges as people sjow that they can be trusted with them. Lots of support, people to talk with focusing on how to make you a well functioning member of society etc. 7:24 The families are just fine, thank you. Unlike Americans we don't believe in an eye for an eye. Indeed we believe that it'll make the whole world blind. Preferring turning the other cheek, and learning from the saying about who should throw the first rock, that we're *all* siners. Prisoners in Norway does not lose *any* human rights, we still consider them people, neighbors. They'll vote while in prison, run radio shows on Norwegian radio, make music etc... 16:28 Enough people are against the death penalty for us not only to have banned it in every single case, including treason, we've recently banned the death penalty in our constitution. Meaning that enough of the 10 political parties in our parliament where in support of banning it to get 75% of the representatives in our parliament to vote to make the death penalty literally unconstitutional. It's just as difficult to implement now as it is to end our democracy.

[@Luredreier]

There's a lecture on KZbin that you might find interesting: "The humane prison system of Norway presented to staff at Attica Prison" Look it up perhaps?

[@TomKirkemo-l5c]

ABB is locked up in the basement of Ila prison. He is never getting out, never. I still remember waking up that saturday morning in 2011. I was watching a dog for a friend of mine. And it wasn't "some of them were children". MOST of them were at a youth camp for the Norwegian labour party at Utøya. But Breivik is never going anywhere.

[@Telruin]

Important note about those 21 years. (It was increased recently, but not relevant to what I'm adding now) As you get close to the end of your sentence, you'll be evaluated again. Considering if you are ready to return to society, or you can get another 21 years. There are some who'll probably never get to leave prison... 21 years at a time. Bastøy is (as far as I know) mostly a place you end your sentence at. I imagine it as a soft release... a trial run. Edit: I googled it quickly. It's adding 5 years at a time after the first 21.

[@jeschinstad]

In Norway, there are no benefits of going to prison, like there is in USA. In Norway, we have rights, so you cannot get homeless, you cannot be poor, you cannot be without healthcare and university education is free and you receive financial support for up to eight years of study. Why would you want to go to prison?

[@Henoik]

You can surely be poor, but you won't lose your home from it.

[@jeschinstad]

@@Henoik No. Even the bare minimum of what you're entitled to, brings you far above poverty. At the absolute bottom, you would be in the AROPE group, but since that's the lowest you can get, it's not actually a risk. Further, long-term AROPE gives you extra rights.

[@Henoik]

@@jeschinstad Poverty is maybe the most relative term in the world. The UN and OECD classifies poverty as 50% less than the median income in the country. Statistics Norway and the EU classifies poverty as 60% less than the median income in Norway - and 10.9% of all Norwegians live in poverty, according to Statistics Norway. 8% of Norwegians report to have living conditions where they consider themselves to live in poverty. You may be privileged enough to not know anyone who lives under these conditions, but saying poverty doesn't exist in Norway is extremely ignorant to the reality. Absolute poverty is also a term used, which is a defined line everywhere in the world, regardless of the society around you. And the number of people living in absolute poverty in Norway is likely close to zero.

[@jeschinstad]

@@HenoikYes, if I give you a million dollars every year as a gift so you don't have to work, then you are living in extreme poverty. Because poverty is only defined by income. No sane person would call that poverty. In Norway, if your income is too low, then you get extra money. That money is not counted as income, thus you are still living in poverty although you receive more money than someone who's poor. But this is just a technicality used to prevent the underlying problem from becoming invisible. We don't count it as income and it is not taxed, because that way it remains an expense and local government is incentivized to help you increase your income. The opposite is true for people living on long-term disability. That money is counted as income and is taxed, because that should not be seen as an expense and a problem to be solved by local governments. Using taxable income as a measurement of poverty is just plain stupid.

[@Henoik]

@@jeschinstad Statistics Norway say they adjust for those outliers, such as people with a high net worth but no income, and also students are mostly excluded from the statistics. And either way, they publish statistics for those people as well, separately, and they're a negligible percentage of the Norwegian population. You can argue this all you want, but I think the guys at Statistics Norway, the EU, UN and OECD know what they're doing.

[@terjemullerkarlsen3028]

Man. AS a Norwegian I find this video you react to as filled with predjudice and preconcied view. As an earlier commenter said, u have to know a bit about the Norwegian culture and the country as a whole. The main goal here here in Norway is ro focus on rehabilitation with the idea that when prisoners are let out they wil become someones neighbour. Who would u prefer having as a neighbour? Someone who has been treated as an animal all its time in prison or someone who has been treated with respect and given aportunities to turn it`s life around, prepared with skills to get a job and become a citizen contributing to society? We do not have death penalty and a maximum centens of 21 year. Although, people like the massmurderer who killed 77 people did get 21 years will most likely never get out. after 21 years he will be examined and if not deemed fit to go back in society he will be held in prisen. This goes on every fifth year and can be going on until he dies. Recidivism Rates in Norway ar at 20% while in USA it is 55%. Although we spend double ammount on each prisoner when in jail compared to USA, it pace of for the society in total. We focus more on rehabilitation than revenge. Just saying.

[@lillm6874]

This was really not the video to watch if you want to learn about Norwegian prisons🫣🫣 The thumbnail is NOT in Norway, we don’t have palm trees here😅

[@ShadowTani]

To underline what was implied: these "luxurious" prisons like Bastøya are prisons exclusive for prisoners at the end of their sentence to prepare them for the real society. You will normally NOT get to come to any such facility at the beginning of your sentence or if you have a shorter sentence. The more traditional Norwegian prisons are obviously still a lot more reasonable than American prisons though and with a greater focus on rehabilitation, but they are both stricter and much less "luxurious". The more "luxurious" end-of-term prisons do act as a decent carrot for good behavior in the traditional prisons though, so there's that. Note that "luxury" is a relative word here, these "luxurious" end-of-term prisons are not even offering middle-class accommodations by Norwegian standards (I dunno about the UK, but living in a dorm or cabin for months on end are not middle-class here!) and you still have some restricted freedoms as well as obligations (delegated jobs). As much as it may look like it it's not a vacation resort, so part of the conditions for an inmate being there is to take on some responsibilities. And skiing and hiking is culturally important Norwegian activities, so when the goal is to normalize the inmates in regards to the real society then an annual skiing trip is actually meaningful. With that said, revenge based punishment won't make for a better society. A society that treats their criminals like the way criminals treated others will fail to teach the criminals to behave differently, only affirm their behavior. Neither will it undo what happened to the victim so being considerate of the victim will not achieve anything. A prison sentence should inspire change and aim to make sure the criminal understand they could handled their original situation differently and help them become a functional neighbor for the future. As for relatives, we dabbled in a revenge based society back in the viking times that entitled relatives to carry out justice on their own, it did not make for a good foundation in society when murder could go on in circles as relatives felt obliged to murder whoever murdered their relative or servant. A prison that seeks revenge on behalf of relatives is only a step up from that kinda barbarism, and doesn't take into consideration the relatives of the criminal who also often become secondary victims - a civilized society can and should do better than that.

[@audunholme7273]

I recommend someone who are interested in how it was in Bastøy prison a hundret years ago, to watch the movie "Kongen av Bastøy" (King of Bastøy)

[@TomKirkemo-l5c]

And Bastøy is generally speaking housing inmates for the last couple of years to get them being integrated into society. Long senteses. AND we now have 31 years. And we have this thing called "forvaring" that means the sentence can be "renewed" forever. Lifetime in prison.

[@martinc9944]

No, they can't say no to work. You work from 7- 15. You should watch "Michael Moore Goes to Norway".

[@sooh6299]

This video you reacted to was really dumb. Basically created to mock the system and with a foregone conclusion in mind.

[@FrankShortt]

Lowest re-offender rate in the world in Norway

[@martinc9944]

This is not considered a luxury in Norway. We have high living standards in Norway.

[@ellenduebrynjulfsen3394]

In the prisons in Norway have better food than the old people in oldhomes. I hate this. And I am a Norwegian lives in Norway

[@martinc9944]

Do you think you wanna go to prison in Norway?? You'll not be sent to this prison, that's for sure. By the way, You can't run away by swimming across the ocean. It's harder and further away than it seems to be.

[@betongbarn81]

I live in sweden, and we have the same prisons here, my father was butaly murdered by girlfriend, she got free because she was sick, but i was hoping she got prison with the need of mental help so she dont reafend because she already killd 3 of her men. They need to rehabilitation before freedom, she didint get that so she will do it agen and agen.

[@martinc9944]

That first photo is NOT of Norway. Didn't you notice the palm trees? Palm trees don't grow in Norway . 75% of Norway is wood. Not a single palm tree in them. Show me a Canadian palm tree, please.

[@annkarin5732]

I don' t think prisoners who are killers get to go to Bastøy. Ann

[@TomWestersund]

The reoffending rate in norway i s very low. These are mostly prisoners that have been in prison for a long time, before they get here. Prison in norway is not punishment as in the rest of the world. It is loss of fredom. The punishment is that you cant go where you want.

[@TomKirkemo-l5c]

After 29 secounds, NO that is not a Norwegian prison. It's click bait. And I know what is comming, Halden and Bastøy are not the typical Norwegian prison either. I worked 6 years in the Norwegian prison education system. These are not the typical Norwegian prison. I have worked in four, one of them built in 1864. And there are several more of those. I have visited a lot of them. Just saying...

[@janhaheim1348]

ohh and if you gonna react to this maby you should watch the full episode.

[@martinc9944]

CRAZY?? No. You are crazy for not understanding this. No contraband. You're subjected to drug testing. If you are "caught", you'll be sent to another "not so nice" prison. People do want to stay here, so they stay away from drugs. Usually, you can't get here until the last part of your sentencing. Rehabilitation is key. Some day they might be your neighbor, and we all want good neighbors, don't we?

[@janhaheim1348]

ha ha ha ha ha ha if you wanna rob a bank in norway i say good luck too you hahah haha haha haha we cant even get in to the bank to witdraw without an appointment.. every body use digital money in norway, we are but one step away from becoming a cashless country.. all the shops have cash guard, that is basicly an advanced safe/atm/register when u pay cash go in change come out. it is impossible to rob

[@AudunWangen]

Since you're a teacher, I'm inclined to give you some homework for this one, because I think your world view is wrong. To me, this very reasonable. I don't believe in free will, because I haven't found any evidence for it. Watch some videos with Robert Sapolsky, Alex O'Connor and other free will doubters, and try to find any evidence for free will that hold merit. I'd love to hear your findings. If you don't believe in free will, it logically follows that people are not accountable for their actions. Punishment (and praise) for actions in the past don't really make sense then, does it, except to deter (or encourage) future behavior. People usually laugh at me when I say this, but that is because they have been indoctrinated by their parents, religion and society's twisted sense of justice. If you dig into it, the evidence for free will is extremely weak, if not completely absent. Prisons still make sense, but just as a kind of quarantine to prevent convicts from harming other people. It's undeniable that the closer to "normal life" your time is, the more likely you are to succeed when you are released. Norway realized this in the 1990s, when the recidivism rate had jumped to 70%, and they were forced to adjust. Now, after possibly the most successful prison reform in the world, the recidivism rate is one of the lowest at 20%. We also have one of the lowest incarceration rates in the world, so the narrator here is completely wrong about the notion that people WANT to be in prison, because it's so nice 🙄 So even if you manage to delude yourself and think people have free will, the Norwegian model still makes sense.

[@Captain.Birger]

20 prosent

[@mariannered52]

BANKROBBERS IN NORWAY? NO WAY! THERE IS NO MONEY IN BANKS, IN NORWAY, ORE ANY OTHER WORKPLACE. WE USE PLASTIC, AND ATM.