The Humaneness of the American and Norwegian Prison Systems: An Analysis of Mental Health and Recidivism

Abstract

Distinct studies of the Norwegian and United States’ prison systems continue to provide a review of the policies and procedures in each country. While this body of research is growing, many questions remain regarding the impact of certain policies and procedures in managing crime. By relying on existing literature and observational data collected from site visits in both countries, the present study examines how prison architecture, solitary confinement, and prison culture influence adverse mental health effects and recidivism rates among individuals incarcerated in the United States and Norway. This study examines the two facilities that constituted the site visits for this research: Garden State Youth Correctional Facility in New Jersey, and Halden Prison in southern Norway. Moreover, this thesis includes information from twelve interviews. The research demonstrates that the facilities analyzed are comparable. Findings reveal that the Norwegian prison system consistently exhibits more humane practices in each research category⁠—prison architecture, solitary confinement, and prison culture⁠—and that those incarcerated in the Norwegian prison system are correspondingly less likely to recidivate than offenders incarcerated in the United States. Psychological effects of each system’s policies and procedures have a significant influence on recidivism in both countries, and findings demonstrate that the United States’ prison system is more likely than its counterpart to produce or exacerbate adverse mental health effects in its incarcerated population. Information gleaned from existing literature studies supports an in-depth look at these adverse mental health effects using empirical data. Figures and tables are appended.