ministry of justice and the police dept. of corrections norway’s “reintegration guarantee”...
TRANSCRIPT
Ministry of Justice and the Police
Dept. of Corrections
Norway’s “Reintegration Guarantee”
Gerhard Ploeg, senior adviser
Barcelona, DOMICE-seminar 29.9.2011
Norway: some relevant characteristics
Bizarre geography:N–S: 2,500 kmE–W: between 700 and 6 km
Low population density:
• 4,9 million - 14 per km2
• In 430 municipalitiesHigh income:• per capita GDP $
57,500• 2 % unemployed
Welfare-based:• Roughly 1 million
publicly employed (= ca. 30 %)
3
Sanctions
Organisation
Central level
Six regional offices
50 prisons and 17 probation main offices
Oslo: 392 Mosjøen: 12 Average: ca. 70
Staff training
Prison officers: two-year education for• Social sciences and law• Ethics and human rights• Post-training coursesSalary during education
Probation workers: academic level
Extensive discretionary powers
White Paper on Corrections
”Punishment that works”
(September 2008)
Outline for penal policy fora period of 5 – 10 years
Principle of normality = no stricter than necessary
The punishment is the deprivation of liberty
Security: enough is enough
A life as normal as possible
Import model
Medical, educational, employment, clerical and library services are provided from outside
• Continuity
• Involvement
• Budget
• Addiction
• Low education
• Unemployment
• Homeless
• Below povertyline
Inmate’s living conditions
60 %
40 %
80 %
65 %
40 %
Source: FAFO, 2004
Reintegration guarantee
• A place to live • Some form of
income• Identity papers
If relevant an offer of:• Education• Employment• Health services• Addiction treatment• Debt counsellingThe whole government!
”Guarantee”
• Political guarantee• No new legal rights• Exercising the rights of every citizen• It requires the co-operation of the
offender
Four myths around the guarantee
No!
The Government owns it
Myth #1
The Ministry of Justice “owns”
the Reintegration Guarantee
No!
The Municipalities own the offenders
coming from a community –
going to a community
Myth #2
The Correctional Services “own” the offenders
No!
All you need isCoordination
Attention GoodwillMoney
Myth #3
“The Others” are to blame!
No!
The guarantee applies to all forms of sentence -
Probation role is central
Myth #4
The Probation service has no role in the reintegration guarantee
Key Figure
The Reintegration Coordinator
(25 ultimate case managers)
• What type of competence?• Which location?• What about current
functions?- Social consultants?- Contact officers?- Job centre-supervisors?- Work operation staff?
• For offenders• For correctional services• For case-managers• For service providers• For social network
Predictability
Source: ”Retur”, Nordic Research Group, 2010
• All prisoners released and all community sentences started in 2005
• Follow-up period of two years• Recidivism = new conviction to prison
or community sentence
Recidivism
Denmark Finland Norway Sweden0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
Releasees Probation clients Total
%
The right direction??
www.kriminalomsorgen.nowww.cepprobation.orgwww.euro-vista.org
tel. +47 99 246 276
Thank you for your attention!
Follow me on Twitter: @gerhardploeg