Exceptional prison conditions and the quality of prison life: Prison size and prison culture in Norwegian closed prisons

Abstract

This paper discusses the quality of prison life and prison size in relation to the notion of 'Scandinavian exceptionalism'. Using the questionnaires 'Measuring the Quality of Prison Life' (MQPL) for prisoners and 'Staff Measuring the Quality of Prison Life' (SQL) for staff, data were collected from all 32 closed prisons in Norway. Based on the assumption that prison officers' working lives, their perspectives and values influence prisoners' quality of life, the main focus in the paper is on the officers. Small prisons (fewer than 50 prisoners) obtain more positive results than medium-sized (50-100) and large (more than 100) prisons, on several dimensions measured. The relationship between officers and prisoners seems to be of better quality in small prisons than in medium-sized and large prisons. Officers in small prisons also report more positive relationships with senior management than their colleagues in medium-sized and large prisons. The results are discussed in light of previous studies on officers and prison working life dynamics.

“A prison with extra flavours”: experiences of immigrants in Swedish immigration detention centres

“…Staff behaviour can make the experience of confinement either bearable or unbearable (Stevens, 1998;Dirkzwager and Kruttschnitt, 2012;Johnsen et al, 2011). Similar to the experiences of prisoners (Kruttschnitt et al, 2000;Stevens, 1998;Venters et al, 2009;David Scott, 2008;Steel et al, 2004;Goodstein et al, 1984), a lack of response and false promises from the staff reinforced the detainees' conviction that seeking help is futile, which led to a feeling of lack of control and passivity.…”

“…Deprivation of liberty in immigration detention is similar to that in prison; this is the main reason why detainees compared detention centres to prison and considered it as a punishment (David Scott, 2008;Khosravi, 2009;Klein and Williams, 2012;Leerkes and Broeders, 2010;Coffey et al, 2010). Confinement, combined with the irregular sleeping patterns and constant stress found in prisons (Dirkzwager and Kruttschnitt, 2012;Johnsen et al, 2011;Kruttschnitt et al, 2000), echoes with the experiences described by the participants in this study and may have contributed to their reasons to compare detention centres to prisons (Silove et al, 2007). At times, detention can be an experience worse than prison as detainees are deported to countries from which they were forced to flee, whereas prisoners are released back to their home community (Klein and Williams, 2012).…”

“…A less restrictive environment within the centres had a positive impact on the detainees by granting them more freedom and control. Correctional officers' understanding and willingness to stretch some relatively insignificant rules, such as the hours allotted for being in the courtyard, had a positive impact on the prisoners' quality of life and well-being (Dirkzwager and Kruttschnitt, 2012;Kruttschnitt et al, 2000;Johnsen et al, 2011).…”

Applications of Location Analysis

“…These sizes also make rehabilitation more likely, as show some studies (Hall et al 2013;Johnsen 2011). Regarding facility size, although large facilities can take advantage of economies of scale in staffing, supplies and services, from the point of view of overcrowding it seems better to open facilities with small opening sizes (150-400 inmates), since large facilities require waiting until overcrowding in existing prisons justifies their opening; otherwise they would be operating with a few inmates for some time, which is not an efficient use of resources.…”

A More Nordic Norway? Examining Prisons in 21st Century Iceland

“…To be sure, small prisons offer advantages. Quality of prison life tends to correlate with prison size (for example, Johnsen, Grahnheim and Helgesen ). Problems tend to be more visible and more quickly resolved, a ‘personal touch’ is more likely to be in place, and very small prisons are far less likely to face major disorder.…”