Trond Johannesen
2004-06-21 23:06:14 UTC
Care and confinement (By Trond Johannesen)
http://www.straffet.com/eng/index.htm
Prison Officer since I left Norwegian Correctional Service Staff Academy in
1988. I work in Bergen Prison the Osterøy unit. Total prison capacity in
Norway is less than 3000 and all prisons are financed and administered by
the State.
Norwegian Correctional Service Staff Academy (www.krus.no) has some 200
officers under training at any given time. The training lasts for two years,
consisting both periods of lectures and studies as well as of practical
working experience at establishments in the Correctional Service. I guess
this is the longest education for prison officers in the world. Both males
and females are encouraged to apply. The Academy gives training in
professional conduct, and development of character and personality is
emphasized.
Bergen Prison (www.bergenfengsel.no) is a high security prison (closed
prison). It has 227 inmates in every category of security; included are 62
in low security. It is a modern, dynamic, interactive prison regarding
treatment of prisoners and use of methods. Material conditions are of high
standard and the majority of the inmates can participate in a range of
activities.
The inmates have a diversity of different personal resources and
qualification. Bergen Prison is build for differentiation and progression in
serving a sentence. This structure can give the inmate a possibility to
serve in up to fem steps. From the A unit were inmates mostly are remanded
in custody, to the B unit were inmates are serving their sentence, and than
proceeded to the C unit. The C unit is a contract section. Serving on
contract is a "Mutual Agreement Programming", and an alternative way of
serving a sentence. The inmates agree with the prison management to stay
away from drugs while they are serving their sentence. The aim of contract
serving is to keep the inmates drug-free while they are serving their
sentence. From the C unit further to the Osterøy Unit a low security unit.
And at the end the inmates are serving in the day-release unit, the D unit,
the day-release unit is a low security unit where inmates work or go to
school outside the prison during the day. In the afternoon and evening they
must be in the unit. Our goal is to have the right inmate in the right unit
at the right time.
I work in a low security unit in the Prison, where the threshold to society
are very low. Bergen Prison Osterøy unit is an open institution, with
minimum security. A prison without-bars. In the unit we have 27 male and 4
female inmates. Inmates, who want to serve their sentence in The Osterøy
unit, have to apply. Application for transfer to The Osterøy unit is done
from the prison, where the inmate has started serving his or her sentence.
Inmates with long sentences are given priority. Today the average length of
sentence of our inmates are 4,5 years. The unit is located on an island,
Ulvsnesøy in one of Norway's many fjords. Ulvsnesøy has been a closed
society ever since the government established a center for delinquents here
in 1882. To relieve the prison system, it was converted into a gaol in 1980,
and since it's been largely inaccessible to most right-minded citizens. The
only way you can see the natural splendour of the Island in its entirety is
if you've broken the law.
Inmates move about freely and live in wooden houses. Only the animals ever
spend time behind bars at Ulvsnesøy. Instead they move about in the open
from 7 AM till 11 PM, tending to their chores. The inmates are obligated to
work or get an education. On the island there are many old buildings, where
the inmates are doing the maintenance. We also have a small farm with sheep,
pigs, fowl and one horse. Inmates who are not working are getting an
education. Division Osterøy offers primary and lower secondary school
education. Some are also taking general subjects. My experience is that the
more education received, the less likely an individual is to be re-arrested
or re-imprisoned.
They live in small wooden houses equipped with 4 - 6 bedrooms, a bathroom, a
kitchen and a living room. Each place is a home where doors are never
locked. Inmate at our unit is better behaved and less likely to engage in
violence.
Unlike a closed prison an open prison like The Osterøy unit is designed
primarily to reward good behaviour with greater trust and meaningful work.
Here inmates have signed a contract to stay away from drugs and they've
agreed to random urine tests and breathalysers or alcohol tests any time of
day, and if the test should show positive, they're back in the high security
unit. In return they receive more generous visiting rights, longer leave and
greater personal freedom.
Osterøy unit give the inmate a possibility to serve in an environment free
from narcotics. Meaningful serving of the sentence in an active, positive
and drug-free environment is emphasised as one of the most important
advantages of this form of serving. Inmates also have an obligation to
contribute to a good environment in the unit and a clear obligation for good
behaviour. Many inmates find these obligations to be advantages rather than
"duties". Our aim is to increase the inmate's ability to manage a life
without drugs and crime after they have been released. We want to give the
inmates an education and give them a more positive view on life and society.
To resist and not succumb to drugs is very difficult. Still it is clear that
we have achieved an exemplary model of prisoner confinement. The whole
system in the unit is aimed at the possibility of rehabilitation, of
returning to normal life. And here we involuntarily believe that it truly is
rehabilitation, and not punishment. Inmates need the maximum adjustment to
normal life before leaving prison, I believe, and this is not at all easy
after a long term. That is why the Osterøy unit have such a free regime. It
is in society's interest to get back a full-fledged citizen. It's better to
have that kind of neighbour than someone who spent many years in a cellar
and wants revenge on society.
Many of the inmates also participate in the "Program activity" were the aim
are crime prevention. Osterøy unit offers tree courses, "New Start", which
is based on "Cognitive Skills Training Program" after a Canadian model. The
program includes 36 sessions, each 2 hours. The purpose is to teach every
single participant to show a more conscious attitude regarding his own
future, through focus on what shapes life, namely the decisions we make. We
also have a Canadian substance drug program and an English Anger management
program. These courses are the prison officer's responsibility.
The unit have 28 employees. A principal officer is the leader of the
division. Osterøy unit also has a welfare officer, a leader of leisure
activities, working foreman and Prison officers. An essential part of the
job of a Prison officer is to support and motivate inmates to use their
period of incarceration constructively. This includes positive use of the
period in prison and post-release plans, which the inmate and the prison
will actively follow up. I believe that the only rehabilitation that could
work properly would be individual treatment. Inmates do respond to
rehabilitative efforts aimed at personal and individual correction or
behaviour modification. I supervise inmates and do a lot of environmental
work. Like all Prison Officers, I carry no sidearm, baton or other
accoutrements of power. The only thing I have in my belt is a key and a
cell-phone. I do not ware uniform. To work close together with other people
are demanding, but also rewarding. I believe that prisons are a reflection
of the society.
The ethical foundation says that penal reactions are to be humanely enforced
in ways that ensure both the well-being and the safety of society. The
inmates are to be protected against unfair and arbitrary reactions. The
enforcement of sentence or order is to be based on the needs and the total
life situation of the inmate and is aimed at giving full support to his or
her efforts to live a law-abiding life and based on humanity, legal
protection and equality before the law.
Trond Johannesen http://www.straffet.com
http://www.straffet.com/eng/index.htm
Prison Officer since I left Norwegian Correctional Service Staff Academy in
1988. I work in Bergen Prison the Osterøy unit. Total prison capacity in
Norway is less than 3000 and all prisons are financed and administered by
the State.
Norwegian Correctional Service Staff Academy (www.krus.no) has some 200
officers under training at any given time. The training lasts for two years,
consisting both periods of lectures and studies as well as of practical
working experience at establishments in the Correctional Service. I guess
this is the longest education for prison officers in the world. Both males
and females are encouraged to apply. The Academy gives training in
professional conduct, and development of character and personality is
emphasized.
Bergen Prison (www.bergenfengsel.no) is a high security prison (closed
prison). It has 227 inmates in every category of security; included are 62
in low security. It is a modern, dynamic, interactive prison regarding
treatment of prisoners and use of methods. Material conditions are of high
standard and the majority of the inmates can participate in a range of
activities.
The inmates have a diversity of different personal resources and
qualification. Bergen Prison is build for differentiation and progression in
serving a sentence. This structure can give the inmate a possibility to
serve in up to fem steps. From the A unit were inmates mostly are remanded
in custody, to the B unit were inmates are serving their sentence, and than
proceeded to the C unit. The C unit is a contract section. Serving on
contract is a "Mutual Agreement Programming", and an alternative way of
serving a sentence. The inmates agree with the prison management to stay
away from drugs while they are serving their sentence. The aim of contract
serving is to keep the inmates drug-free while they are serving their
sentence. From the C unit further to the Osterøy Unit a low security unit.
And at the end the inmates are serving in the day-release unit, the D unit,
the day-release unit is a low security unit where inmates work or go to
school outside the prison during the day. In the afternoon and evening they
must be in the unit. Our goal is to have the right inmate in the right unit
at the right time.
I work in a low security unit in the Prison, where the threshold to society
are very low. Bergen Prison Osterøy unit is an open institution, with
minimum security. A prison without-bars. In the unit we have 27 male and 4
female inmates. Inmates, who want to serve their sentence in The Osterøy
unit, have to apply. Application for transfer to The Osterøy unit is done
from the prison, where the inmate has started serving his or her sentence.
Inmates with long sentences are given priority. Today the average length of
sentence of our inmates are 4,5 years. The unit is located on an island,
Ulvsnesøy in one of Norway's many fjords. Ulvsnesøy has been a closed
society ever since the government established a center for delinquents here
in 1882. To relieve the prison system, it was converted into a gaol in 1980,
and since it's been largely inaccessible to most right-minded citizens. The
only way you can see the natural splendour of the Island in its entirety is
if you've broken the law.
Inmates move about freely and live in wooden houses. Only the animals ever
spend time behind bars at Ulvsnesøy. Instead they move about in the open
from 7 AM till 11 PM, tending to their chores. The inmates are obligated to
work or get an education. On the island there are many old buildings, where
the inmates are doing the maintenance. We also have a small farm with sheep,
pigs, fowl and one horse. Inmates who are not working are getting an
education. Division Osterøy offers primary and lower secondary school
education. Some are also taking general subjects. My experience is that the
more education received, the less likely an individual is to be re-arrested
or re-imprisoned.
They live in small wooden houses equipped with 4 - 6 bedrooms, a bathroom, a
kitchen and a living room. Each place is a home where doors are never
locked. Inmate at our unit is better behaved and less likely to engage in
violence.
Unlike a closed prison an open prison like The Osterøy unit is designed
primarily to reward good behaviour with greater trust and meaningful work.
Here inmates have signed a contract to stay away from drugs and they've
agreed to random urine tests and breathalysers or alcohol tests any time of
day, and if the test should show positive, they're back in the high security
unit. In return they receive more generous visiting rights, longer leave and
greater personal freedom.
Osterøy unit give the inmate a possibility to serve in an environment free
from narcotics. Meaningful serving of the sentence in an active, positive
and drug-free environment is emphasised as one of the most important
advantages of this form of serving. Inmates also have an obligation to
contribute to a good environment in the unit and a clear obligation for good
behaviour. Many inmates find these obligations to be advantages rather than
"duties". Our aim is to increase the inmate's ability to manage a life
without drugs and crime after they have been released. We want to give the
inmates an education and give them a more positive view on life and society.
To resist and not succumb to drugs is very difficult. Still it is clear that
we have achieved an exemplary model of prisoner confinement. The whole
system in the unit is aimed at the possibility of rehabilitation, of
returning to normal life. And here we involuntarily believe that it truly is
rehabilitation, and not punishment. Inmates need the maximum adjustment to
normal life before leaving prison, I believe, and this is not at all easy
after a long term. That is why the Osterøy unit have such a free regime. It
is in society's interest to get back a full-fledged citizen. It's better to
have that kind of neighbour than someone who spent many years in a cellar
and wants revenge on society.
Many of the inmates also participate in the "Program activity" were the aim
are crime prevention. Osterøy unit offers tree courses, "New Start", which
is based on "Cognitive Skills Training Program" after a Canadian model. The
program includes 36 sessions, each 2 hours. The purpose is to teach every
single participant to show a more conscious attitude regarding his own
future, through focus on what shapes life, namely the decisions we make. We
also have a Canadian substance drug program and an English Anger management
program. These courses are the prison officer's responsibility.
The unit have 28 employees. A principal officer is the leader of the
division. Osterøy unit also has a welfare officer, a leader of leisure
activities, working foreman and Prison officers. An essential part of the
job of a Prison officer is to support and motivate inmates to use their
period of incarceration constructively. This includes positive use of the
period in prison and post-release plans, which the inmate and the prison
will actively follow up. I believe that the only rehabilitation that could
work properly would be individual treatment. Inmates do respond to
rehabilitative efforts aimed at personal and individual correction or
behaviour modification. I supervise inmates and do a lot of environmental
work. Like all Prison Officers, I carry no sidearm, baton or other
accoutrements of power. The only thing I have in my belt is a key and a
cell-phone. I do not ware uniform. To work close together with other people
are demanding, but also rewarding. I believe that prisons are a reflection
of the society.
The ethical foundation says that penal reactions are to be humanely enforced
in ways that ensure both the well-being and the safety of society. The
inmates are to be protected against unfair and arbitrary reactions. The
enforcement of sentence or order is to be based on the needs and the total
life situation of the inmate and is aimed at giving full support to his or
her efforts to live a law-abiding life and based on humanity, legal
protection and equality before the law.
Trond Johannesen http://www.straffet.com