Bastoy prison, Norway

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TgujwijPwxo Bastoy prison   LUXURY PRISON in NORWAY - Serving Time with AmenitiesThe first clue that things are done very differently on Bastoy prison island, which lies a couple of miles off the coast in the Oslo fjord, 46 miles south-east of Norway's capital, comes shortly after I board the prison ferry. I'm taken aback slightly when the ferry operative who welcomed me aboard just minutes earlier, and with whom I'm exchanging small talk about the weather, suddenly reveals he is a serving prisoner -- doing 14 years for drug smuggling. He notes my surprise, smiles, and takes off a thick glove before offering me his hand. "I'm Petter," he says.Before he transferred to Bastoy, Petter was in a high-security prison for nearly eight years. "Here, they give us trust and responsibility," he says. "They treat us like grownups." I haven't come here particularly to draw comparisons, but it's impossible not to consider how politicians and the popular media would react to a similar scenario in Britain.There are big differences between the two countries, of course. Norway has a population of slightly less than five million, a 12th of the UK's. It has fewer than 4,000 prisoners; there are around 84,000 in the UK. But what really sets us apart is the Norwegian attitude towards prisoners. Four years ago I was invited into Skien maximum security prison, 20 miles north of Oslo. I had heard stories about Norway's liberal attitude. In fact, Skien is a concrete fortress as daunting as any prison I have ever experienced and houses some of the most serious law-breakers in the country. Recently it was the temporary residence of Anders Breivik, the man who massacred 77 people in July 2011.Despite the seriousness of their crimes, however, I found that the loss of liberty was all the punishment they suffered. Cells had televisions, computers, integral showers and sanitation. Some prisoners were segregated for various reasons, but as the majority served their time -- anything up to the 21-year maximum sentence (Norway has no death penalty or life sentence) -- they were offered education, training and skill-building programmes. Instead of wings and landings they lived in small "pod" communities within the prison, limiting the spread of the corrosive criminal prison subculture that dominates traditionally designed prisons. The teacher explained that all prisons in Norway worked on the same principle, which he believed was the reason the country had, at less than 30%, the lowest reoffending figures in Europe and less than half the rate in the UK.As the ferry powers through the freezing early-morning fog, Petter tells me he is appealing against his conviction. If it fails he will be on Bastoy until his release date in two years' time. I ask him what life is like on the island. "You'll see," he says. "It's like living in a village, a community. Everybody has to work. But we have free time so we can do some fishing, or in summer we can swim off the beach. We know we are prisoners but here we feel like people."I wasn't sure what to expect on Bastoy. A number of wide-eyed commentators before me have variously described conditions under which the island's 115 prisoners live as "cushy", "luxurious" and, the old chestnut, "like a holiday camp". I'm sceptical of such media reports.As a life prisoner, I spent the first eight years of the 20 I served in a cell with a bed, a chair, a table and a bucket for my toilet. In that time I was caught up in a major riot, trapped in a siege and witnessed regular acts of serious violence. Across the prison estate, several hundred prisoners took their own lives, half a dozen of whom I knew personally -- and a number were murdered. Yet the constant refrain from the popular press was that I, too, was living in a "holiday camp". When in-cell toilets were installed, and a few years later we were given small televisions, the "luxury prison" headlines intensified and for the rest of the time I was in prison, it never really abated.     "forbes rich list" "London luxury shopping" billionaire millionaire Monaco "super rich" "private jet" yacht entertainment "luxs report" us usa America uk London "Donald trump" Dubai elite executive arab ceo forbes Europe vip money lil wayne travel "5 star hotel "super car" bugatti Lamborghini Ferrari Porsche private jet 2014 2015 monaco luxury "get rich" gambling investment Beverly Hills Malibu Miami "positive thinking" "super yacht" "mega yacht" "playboy mansion" "luxury lifestyle"   mansion prison penal system Norway "Norway prison" It always seemed to me while I was in jail that the real prison scandal was the horrendous rate of reoffending among released prisoners. In 2007, 14 prisons in England and Wales had reconvictions rates of more than 70%. At an average cost of £40,000 a year for each prisoner, this amounts to a huge investment in failure -- and a total lack of consideration for potential future victims of released prisoners.카테고리엔터테인먼트라이선스표준 YouTube 라이선스 Bastøy Prison (Norwegian: Bastøy fengsel) is a minimum-security prison on Bastøy Island, Norway, located in the Horten municipality about 75 kilometres (46 mi) south of Oslo. The prison is on a 2.6 square kilometre (1 sq mi) island and hosts 115 inmates. Arne Kvernvik-Nilsen,[1] governor of the prison, leads a staff of 69 prison employees. Of this staff, only five employees remain on the island overnight.[2] The prison is about one hour commuting distance from Oslo.[3]   Once a prison colony for young boys, the facility is trying to become "the first ecological prison in the world".[2] Reoffending rates have been reported at 16%, compared to a European average of around 70%.[4] Inmates are housed in wooden cottages and work the prison farm.[5] During their free time, inmates have access to horseback riding, fishing, tennis, and cross-country skiing.[2][6] The only access to the prison is from a ferry that departs from Horten.[7]   Contents [hide] 1 Bastøy Boys' Home Insurrection2 Prison3 In popular culture4 See also5 References6 External linksBastøy Boys' Home Insurrection[edit]Before the current prison, the island was occupied by a juvenile detention centre, Bastøy Boys' Home. The Norwegian government purchased the island in 1898 for 95,000 kroner, and the reformatory opened in 1900. In 1915, it was the site of an insurrection by the boys which was suppressed by the Norwegian military; this event was later dramatised in the 2010 film, King of Devil's Island. The Boys' Home was taken over by the Norwegian government in 1953 and shut down in 1970.[8]   The rebellion occurred on 20 May 1915, when between 30 and 40 boys rallied around four youths who had escaped and been recaptured. The group refused to work, armed themselves with farming tools and stones, cut the telephone lines and then burned down the barn with stolen matches and cigars. The same barn had been burned down two years before.   When instructors and guards failed to quell the riot, the military was called in. Over a hundred troops stormed the island. Also on scene were two seaplanes, two submarines, and the armored ship "Norway" from the naval base Karljohansvern in Horten. Several of the boys escaped into the forest but were later recaptured. Officials identified the ringleader of the rioters as a newly arrived 18-year-old "gypsy boy" plumbing apprentice from Christiania. Three others were identified as his accomplices.   The 1915 uprising did not end the school's strict disciplinarian methods which continued until 1953 when the Ministry of Social Affairs took over operations. The school was shut down on 1 October 1970. Bastøy Island, once infamous for its brutal reformatory, is now famous for the progressive Bastøy Prison founded in 1982 where inmates live in cottages, dine on food cooked by a chef, and enjoy a sauna, tennis courts and horseback riding.[9]   Prison[edit]In 2014, the prison was awarded the 2014 Blanche Major Reconciliation Prize for "promoting human values and tolerance".[10]   In popular culture[edit]The prison colony was featured in the DVD extras for Michael Moore's 2007 documentary Sicko. In 2010, both a documentary about the island by Michel Kapteijns was released[11] and King of Devil's Island, a Norwegian film directed by Marius Holst.[12] In 2015, the prison was featured in an episode of Good Mythical Morning. In 2015, the prison was again featured in Michael Moore's documentary Where to Invade Next.   See also[edit] Norway portal Criminal justice portalHalden PrisonReferences[edit]Jump up ^ Henley, Paul (2012-05-18). "Crime and punishment, Norwegian style". BBC News Online. Retrieved 2013-03-07.^ Jump up to: a b c Kilner, James (2006-03-28). "Break the law and live by a beach". Environmental News Network. Reuters. Retrieved 2013-03-07.Jump up ^ Vice staff (2011-08-03). "Inside Norway's progressive prison system". CNN. Retrieved 2013-03-07. Rehabilitation is key in Norway prisonsJump up ^ James, Erwin (4 September 2013). "Bastoy: the Norwegian prison that works". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 6 September 2013.Jump up ^ Shishkin, Philip (June 8, 2003). "Norway's convicts take a number, line up for prison". Chicago Sun-Times.Jump up ^ Hundley, Tom (October 19, 2003). "Norwegian Jails Break Concept Of Hard Time". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2012-05-20.Jump up ^ Degen, Guy. "Norwegian Prison Prepares Inmates For The Outside World." Deutsche Welle. 25 March 2009. Retrieved on 24 May 2012.Jump up ^ O'Sullivan, Michael (2011-12-16). "King of Devil's Island (Kongen av Bastoy)". Washington Post. Retrieved 2012-06-19. Nordic gloom at boys' colonyJump up ^ CNN – Welcome to the world's nicest prison Retrieved 27 July 2012Jump up ^ Schau, Mette Stensholt; Bjerkeseth, Anders Wam (30 October 2014). "Pris til Bastøy fengsel". NRK (in Norwegian). Retrieved 1 November 2014.Jump up ^ Bastoy the Movie — documentary by Michel Kapteijns Retrieved 2 February 2010Jump up ^ Kongen av Bastøy (King of Devil's Island) — film by Marius Holst Retrieved 2 February 2010External links[edit]Official site (english) http://www.bastoyfengsel.no/English/straffegjennomforing-Eng.htmlBastoy movie website http://www.bastoythemovie.comBastoy Prison Photos https://web.archive.org/web/20080204215610/http://www.jus.uio.no:80/ikrs/ekskursjon/fengslet/talking_about_pictures.htmlSutter, John D. "Welcome to the world's nicest prison." CNN. 24 May 2012.Norway's controversial 'cushy prison' experiment - could it catch on in the UK?Adams, William Lee. "Sentenced to Serving the Good Life in Norway." "TIME". 12 July 2010.Categories: Buildings and structures in VestfoldPrisons in Norw