Sami Abdel-Salam, a criminal justice professor at West Chester University, is looking to reduce the growing prison levels in America by studying the practices at Norway’s Halden Prison, according to a report in West Chester University Magazine.

Abdel-Salam has been studying one of the most innovative maximum-security prisons in the world for the last three years. The concept of the Halden Prison is based on Norway’s Normality Principle, which practices a humanistic approach to punishment.

“Unlike American prisons, where individuals are essentially stripped of personal autonomy and decision-making, the idea within the Norwegian correctional system is to do the opposite,” said Abdel-Salam.

[uam_ad id=”58459″]

Advertisement

Within the campus-like Halden facility, inmates have to do things expected of any other person during the course of the day. This includes going to work, paying bills, and learning life skills. The facility also has attractive public spaces and comfortable living spaces.

The approach appears to be working for the Scandinavian country, as the prison has a very low recidivism rate, 20 percent, for repeat offenders.

Read more about Sami Abdel-Salam’s work in West Chester University Magazine here, and check out previous VISTA Today coverage of WCU here.

[uam_ad id=”69645″]