Research Prospectus

Lack of Rehabilitation Practices in Prison Results in High Recidivism Rate: Implementing Norwegian Changes to Lower Recidivism Rate

Olivia Burd

Professional Writing, New York University

PWRT1-GC3035: Writing and Social Science Research

Professor David Beauzil

December 1, 2024

Introduction

In the United States the topic of prison reform has been at the forefront for many years. One of the main concerns is the prisons in America are focusing more on the punishment of their inmates rather than rehabilitation efforts. In relation to that concern, are the additional concerns surrounding the high recidivism rates in the United States. Numerous studies have shown that there is a direct relationship between rehabilitation efforts and rate of recidivism.

When considering how to best implement rehabilitation efforts in prisons and therefore lower the recidivism rate, we have to look outside the U.S. and take a closer look at Norwegian prison systems. In recent years, Norway has amended their prison system to achieve one of the lowest recidivism rates in the world. The way they have done this is to focus on rehabilitation, maintaining relationships outside of prison, and teaching work ethic. Norway’s once high recidivism rate has been turned around after these changes were made.

In order for the United States to make progress like Norway has, it is necessary to implement changes to the current system. Those changes should have a significant focus on ensuring that when inmates are released, they are able to reintegrate themselves into society. If inmates are able to successfully become a member of society again, the likelihood of them returning to prison is significantly lower.

This literature review will focus on the current state of the United States prison systems in terms of rehabilitation and recidivism, take a deeper look at Norway’s reformed prisons and how they rehabilitate inmates, and give an overview of how the U.S. can implement rehabilitation and what that would mean for recidivism.

Problem Statement and Project Goals

For years, Americans have been aware that our prison system focuses heavily on punishment rather than rehabilitation. Americans are also aware that it is nearly impossible for a former inmate to easily become reintegrated into society. Although this is all known, there is still very little being done to make sure inmates are getting prepared to reenter society. This unpreparedness is what causes high rates of recidivism. According to the National Institute of Justice (NIJ), recidivism is defined as “a person’s relapse into criminal behavior, often after the person receives sanctions or undergoes intervention for a previous crime” (NIJ).

To decrease the rate of recidivism, prison systems need to begin integrating more rehabilitation practices. Rehabilitation practices can be a wide range of things, but all rehabilitation within the prison system would help prepare inmates to become members of society once again. For example, “research shows that inmates who participate in correctional education programs have a 43 percent lower odds of returning to prison than those who don’t” (Justice.gov, 2017). Though there is evidence of this working, many prisons don’t have the opportunity for education and not every inmate is given that chance. These rehabilitation practices only work at lowering recidivism rates if everyone is given equal opportunities and if every prison has these opportunities.

The United States needs to look at Norway for rehabilitation practices that work towards lowering the rate of recidivism. First and foremost, it’s important to understand that these are “two countries that are very different with respect to how correctional officers interact with inmates are the United States and Norway” (Abdel-Salam, 2018). They are different not only in terms of how officers interact with inmates, and through the rehabilitation practices, but the recidivism rates are also much different. “Only 20% of Norway’s formerly incarcerated population commit another crime within two years of release. Even after five years the recidivism rate is only 25%” (2022). On the other hand, in the United States, “82 percent of individuals released from state prisons were arrested at least once during the 10 years following release” (BJA, 2023) and as of 2019 there is a 70% recidivism rate within 5 years (Hayden, 2023). This is about 4 times higher than that of Norway.

Many rehabilitation programs focus on work and school, both of which are crucial aspects of being a successful member of society. Norwegian prisons have also created a way to ensure that inmates are able to maintain relationships with their loved ones outside of the prison; this also allows for an easier transition back into society. These programs and practices are what help Norwegian criminals stay out of prison once they are released. If the United States could consistently help prisoners with their education, work qualifications, and relationship maintenance the U.S. would be able to lower their recidivism rate, much like Norway.

Literature Review

Recidivism and Rehabilitation in the United States Prisons

The current state of the United States prison system in terms of rehabilitation practices varies from state to state, however, overall, there is an immense lack of rehabilitation within prisons. It is much more common for U.S. prisons to focus on punishment instead. All of these factors combined are simply adding to the high recidivism rate across the United States. In fact, according to a study that generally represents all Americans, “85% of respondents favor rehabilitation over punishment as the goal of our criminal justice system” (Rollins, 2023).

The lack of rehabilitation in prisons begins with the fact that there is no centralized governance of prisons. Decisions made across the U.S. prisons are made by federal, state, and local government officials. This means that rehabilitation isn’t consistent between states and even more varied across federal prisons, state prisons, and county jails. These inconsistencies result in some states having higher (or lower) rates of recidivism and therefore affecting the overall U.S. recidivism rate. If officials were more consistent across states and prisons in general, it is likely that the recidivism rate would decrease.

The levels of punishment used within the United States prison system are mostly carried out through the correctional officers whose main responsibility is to ensure that the prison is safe and rules are being followed. Outside of maintaining order, correctional officers have little to no role in making sure that inmates are rehabilitated. In fact, “with respect to their involvement in rehabilitation, correctional officers are found to be resistant to participation” (Abdel-Salam, 2018). In the U.S. the correctional officers don’t receive training on how to appropriately interact with inmates and build rapport with the inmates. This results in little interaction between officers and inmates, and therefore their sole duty becomes to enforce the rules rather than support the inmates in any way.

Another downfall of the U.S. prison systems is that they have been “caught up in the idea that mass incarceration and longer sentences will lead to rehabilitation” (Cox, 2023). This thought process has been proven to be wrong time and time again through other countries and how they handle prison sentences. In fact, shorter prison sentences make reintegrating into society easier for inmates, however, the United States still insists on locking inmates up for as long as the law allows. There have been numerous laws passed that ensure inmates are in prison for a long time, including the 1994 Crime Bill. This bill established that “85 percent of all sentences must be served in prison—including sentences given to youth” (Cox, 2023). This bill shows how the United States prison system is designed to keep inmates in prison longer, leading to mass incarceration. Again, keeping inmates in prison for a longer time than what is really necessary only makes reentering society harder. The harder it is to function in society, the more likely an individual is to return to prison.

Education plays a large role in success outside of prison and in society. Being properly educated is how individuals get good paying jobs, money for food and housing, and therefore active and productive members of society. Some inmates within the United States prison systems have gained access to proper education but unfortunately “the amendment to the 1992 Higher Education Act denied individuals serving life sentences with parole or those sentenced to death access to education” and “the 1994 Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement bill denied access to anyone incarcerated from receiving the Pell Grant” (Cox, 2023). Denying inmates the ability to become educated sets them up to struggle once released from prison. Without the necessary education to get a good job, there is a greater likelihood that the individual will end up returning to prison because they can’t reintegrate into society. Situations like this are only increasing the recidivism rate in the United States.

Recidivism and Rehabilitation in Norwegian Prisons

In more recent years, the prison systems in Norway have undergone some major transformations, mostly those focussed on rehabilitating inmates and preparing them to integrate back into society upon their release. Much like the United States, Norway had a high recidivism rate; “in the 1980’s, Norway had recidivism rates that were upwards of 70%” (Hayden, 2023). After a complete amendment to the Norwegian prison systems and the implementation of rehabilitation practices, the recidivism rate has dropped to 20%.

It’s important to understand that unlike in the United States, the “prisons in Norway are administered by the central government, through the Directorate of Correctional Services and under the Ministry of Justice and Public Security” (Abdel-Salam, 2018). This means that the entire country of Norway has the same prison regulations and the ultimate goal of rehabilitating inmates so they can reenter society and stay out of prison, thus lowering the recidivism rate. The rules, treatment of inmates, and rehabilitation practices are universal across all 43 Norwegian prisons.

To start from the basics of what Norway has done to lower their recidivism rate; the rehabilitation process begins with the correctional officers. “Norwegian correctional officers are expected to view prisons as serving a dual purpose – to both control and rehabilitate inmates” (Abdel-Salam, 2018). The correctional officers learn this as part of their training, this ensures that the officers are aware that they play a role in making sure that the inmates are ready and prepared to reenter society. Based on their training, it is required that officers are able to be a rehabilitating social worker and a prison guard (Abdel-Salam, 2018). A challenge not many can manage, which is why the Norwegian correctional officer training is so thorough and intense.

One of the many ways that Norway has successfully rehabilitated inmates is through education. Education helps people to find employment, which is one of the most difficult things for an individual trying to reintegrate themselves into society. After the individual secures a job and is able to earn money, it will be easier to live outside of the prison walls, thus lowering the recidivism rate. In Norway, “education in prison is meant to be equivalent to education outside of prison” (Tonesth, 2019). This allows for inmates to have a comparable educational background to those who have never been incarcerated. Having this strong educational background will heighten their chances of securing a good job and becoming a functioning member of society.

Another way that Norway has lowered recidivism rates is by eliminating life sentences and lowering prison sentences in general; this may sound contradictory, but it has worked. The longer an inmate is incarcerated the harder it is for them to reintegrate into society. Being unable to function in society is one of the biggest causes of recidivism. The less time these inmates are locked up, the easier it is for them to jump back into society and therefore helping to decrease the recidivism rate. This is all possible, in part, because violent crimes are rather rare in Norway. Also, because most of the crimes are non-violent, prison officials focus much less on punishment. According to survey respondents, “the main form of punishment in these prisons is the loss of freedom” (Denny, 2016). This respondents account represents the fact that Norwegian prisons don’t use things like solitary confinement, rather these inmates just simply aren’t as free as they were before they were incarcerated.

United States Rehabilitation Reforms to Reduce Recidivism

Over the years, crime and recidivism have been decreasing, but not quickly enough. After examining the United States prison systems in comparison to the Norwegian prison systems it’s clear that there are steps that need to be taken to ensure that inmates are rehabilitated. Norway has proven that a high recidivism rate can be addressed by implementing rehabilitation practices into the prison system.

Norway should be used as a blueprint for successful ways to implement rehabilitation within prisons and therefore lower recidivism rates. Over recent years, there are some states that have been using some of the Norwegian strategies in their prisons, however, this is still not standard for most of the United States. Many researchers have investigated how the U.S. and Norwegian prison systems differ, and where the United States can easily improve their tactics.

Amending the U.S. prison system can begin with the education and training of correctional officers. There are clear, substantial differences between the United States and Norway in terms of what officers are trained to do and the role that they play in inmates rehabilitation. Rather than officers being employed just to maintain prison order, they could “receive training of mental health, culture awareness, and radicalism” like many other countries do (Cox, 2023). Correctional officers will then have the opportunity to build rapport with inmates and create relationships that will help the inmates once they are released. Relationship maintenance and building are huge factors in reintegrating into society, so this can help to lower recidivism. The active role of correctional officers in Norway have shown that officers building a relationship with inmates has been beneficial for the inmates.

Another reasonable change for the U.S. to implement is eliminating unnecessarily long prison sentences and mass incarceration. Sentencing needs to be amended because “the length of sentences has been connected to resettlement problems as discussed in terms of returning to the normalcy of everyday life” (Denny, 2016). This means that keeping inmates in prison for a long time just makes it harder for them to get back into normal everyday life. The challenges that come with getting back into a normal life are one of the biggest reasons for recidivism. Keeping inmates locked up for less time, makes this process easier, thus lowering recidivism.

General Research Plan

Data for this research was collected through content analysis and from an angle similar to that of an ethnographic study. Ethnographic research is focused on learning about a certain culture, and for this study that culture is prison. The focus is on both the United States prison culture as well as the Norwegian prison culture. There is also a separate cultural aspect in terms of former inmates trying to reintegrate into society. In the outside world ex-cons tend to gravitate towards one another so gathering information on this leads to knowledge on recidivism.

The data being used for analysis ranges from peer-reviewed research to government documents, and first-hand accounts and interviews. Ideally information would come directly from inmates themselves, but since that is difficult to achieve, this information will come from past interviews and surveys. Data will prove the science behind rehabilitation in prisons and also how rehabilitation practices can be implemented. Peer-reviewed research will also work to prove the connection between rehabilitation and recidivism. The data sourced from interviews and surveys will address what the prison system currently is like in both countries of focus, and what it’s like to be released from prison and have to reenter society. The survey results describe the struggles of life in prison and after which will prove the necessity of rehabilitation inside prison.

There is a focus on having an event amount of information from the United States and Norway prisons. The participants in this research study are those who have agreed to be part of other research, surveys and interviews. The most important participants will be inmates who have been released and then ended up back in prison and what their experiences were like inside and outside of prison.

All data is divided into sections based on the research questions. Organizing information in this way ensures that there are no unanswered questions remaining but also ensures that there isn’t a host of irrelevant information. The research questions being answered are what is the current state of rehabilitation in U.S. prison systems, what has Norway done in terms of rehabilitation and how that has lowered recidivism rate, and lastly what the United States can do to implement rehabilitation in prison.

People and researchers alike all have their own opinions on criminals and how the criminal justice system works. Bias can easily slip into topics involving the justice system. Through this research, it’s important to be aware of bias within sources. Selecting documents that discuss facts rather than opinion is crucial in ensuring that bias does not interfere with the research findings. Sources that discuss both the good and bad as well as provide more than one perspective are usually the sources that are unbiased. Bias sources work to find a “right and wrong” about a topic whereas unbiased sources are working to create a scientific explanation for how recidivism rate is affected by rehabilitation inside prisons.

Conclusion

Through research efforts, it’s clear that there isn't enough research being done and shared on the importance of rehabilitation within the prison system and how implementing these practices would in turn lower the recidivism rate. Rehabilitation has worked in other countries but it seems that there is a lack of a plan to implement these practices in U.S. prisons. It’s important that we address the issues in the United States prison system and find ways to improve, quickly. The rate of recidivism continues to be high, and there is little to no chance that it will become lower if there aren’t any changes. Norway was able to significantly lower their recidivism rate, now the United States just needs to work to implement rehabilitation practices country wide.

The prison systems in the United States have failed to successfully rehabilitate their inmates, instead focussing too much on punishment. Because of the failure to rehabilitate, the rate of recidivism has reached over 70 percent. In comparison to the Norwegian prisons, which only have a recidivism rate of 20 percent, the U.S. lacks in education for inmates, thorough training for correctional officers, and fair sentencing. As research has shown, based on Norway’s dramatic decrease in recidivism, educating inmates, making sure they have good relationships with the correctional officers, and ensuring they aren’t in prison longer than necessary. Implementing these changes into the United States prison systems will allow the U.S. to decrease the overall recidivism rate.

References

Abdel-Salam, S., & Myhre Sunde, H. (2018). Enhancing the Role of Correctional Officers in American Prisons: Lessons Learned from Norway. Federal Sentencing Reporter, 31(Issue 1), 67-74.

Cox, M. (2023). The U.S. Prison System: Pseudoscience in an Empirical World. LOGOS: A Journal of Undergraduate Research, 16, 9-38.

Dawson, J. (n.d.). Recidivism. National Institute of Justice. https://nij.ojp.gov/topics/corrections/recidivism

Denny, Meagan (2016) Norway's Prison System: Investigating Recidivism and Reintegration, Bridges: A Journal of Student Research: Vol. 10: Iss. 10, Article 2.

From the desk of Bja - November 2023: Justice matters. Bureau of Justice Assistance. (2023, November 27). https://bja.ojp.gov/news/justice-matters/desk-bja-november-2023

Hayden, Madalyn, "Recidivism Rates in the United States versus Europe: How and Why are they Different?" (2023). Honors Theses. 3665. https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/honors_theses/3665

Rollins, D. (2023). Prions in Need of Rehabilitation. Criminal Justice Research Review, 25(1), 2-6.

Tønseth, C., Bergsland, R., & Hui, S. K. F. (2019). Prison education in Norway – The importance for work and life after release. Cogent Education, 6(1). https://doi.org/10.1080/2331186X.2019.1628408