Ever since we were little, we've always been told not to do anything bad because that could land us in jail. "Don't break the law so you don't have to eat prison food and accidentally drop some soap." But why are we so afraid to go to jail and why do these things happen in jail? I think it's because of how our prison system is ran and how much is going wrong with it. What I mean by this is simple; would you believe me if I told you that there is a place where the top criminal in the country is actually only serving 21 years? Meanwhile, here in the United States, there are people serving 21 years just for marijuana - but that's a whole other story.
I watched a documentary called, "Where to Invade Next," and it may be a comedic documentary, but it is in fact very real. It talks about different parts of the world and how they are currently doing better than us in different aspects of politics, eduction, health, and even how we treat our criminals. It talked about how Norway's prison system is focused on repairing the person that caused the harm rather than punishing him/her. They have the lowest recidivism, prisoners who return back to prison, rates in the world - only at 20%!. Meanwhile, US is at 76.6%. Obviously, they're doing something right and better than us. They treat their prisoners like people and not like animals. In the article, "Why Norway's prison system is so successful", they say, "If we treat people like animals when they are in prison they are likely to behave like animals. Here we pay attention to you as human beings." Which means they don't have window bars or uniforms. And they do have a kitchen fully quipped with sharp objects; all while on a 75-acre open facility.
I think acknowledging this system would be a good way to start a change in our own prison system. It might take a while because change like this doesn't happen over night, but I hope one day we can work towards something like this. I believe this would be better for our country and for our people.
On my colleague, Mariahlyne's post, she talks about a need for the prison system to change. I agree one hundred percent. Up until I realized there was a difference in how prisoner's in our country are treated compared to other counties, like Norway as mentioned in her post, I didn't really pay much attention to the prison issue. But the information she gives in her argument is just enough to show a difference; linking the article which has more information is even better because you can read up on personal accounts and the ideology behind why the Norwegian prison system is effective. They work around the idea that, despite housing prisoners, they are still human beings. It also helps that most of the crime they experience are smaller crimes and not as much the bigger more violent crimes. Another good point she brings up is trying to start up a want to actually change it. She acknowledges that it could take some time, but that it's something she believes in. I believe in it too. The change definitely can't happen over night, especially due to how many prisoners we have. Looking at it from a birds eye view makes it seem almost impossible. There's a power dynamic that happens in prison--it's the guards vs. the prisoners, usually, and that needs to change. This may not always be the case, but making prison in the U.S. more about guiding and not punishing might actually help more. There's already some places who have prisons where the prisoners can have a little bit of privilege in how they are treated. I remember hearing about one place who lets criminals in prison train dogs in order to try and help them stray away from the criminal life. It may even be happening under our eyes, we just have to bring it to the spotlight, and voices like Mariahlyne's could be the driving force to start it.
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