Roundtable: Empirical Observations from The Scandinavian Prison Project - Little Scandinavia and Beyond

Session Submission Type: Roundtable Sessions

Abstract/Description

The Scandinavian Prison Project (SPP) is an ongoing research project that focuses on a Scandinavian-inspired prison reform in Pennsylvania (PA). The reform effort is based on a collaboration between the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections (PADOC) and the prison and probation services in Sweden (Kriminalvården) and Norway (Kriminalomsorgen). The SPP aims to empirically examine the transferability and adaptability of Scandinavian correctional principles and practices to an American prison context, focusing on an officer-led development of a housing unit known as “Little Scandinavia” (LS). The unit opened in May of 2022, and includes single cells, a commercial-level kitchen, a dedicated green space, and, importantly, specially trained staff. The DOC recently announced that they plan to expand the LS pilot to three more sites across the state. This panel presents some of the ongoing data collections efforts of SPP and discusses potential opportunities and challenges for the upcoming expansion.

Sub Unit

• Area XIV. Roundtables

Individual Presentations

• Examining the Lived Experience of Prison using the Prison Climate Questionnaire - Emily Greberman, Rutgers University School of Criminal Justice; Synøve Andersen, University of Oslo; Jordan Hyatt, Drexel University

• Fresh Starts: Culinary Agency and Community Little Scandinavia - Veronica L. Horowitz, University at Buffalo, SUNY

• PTSD and Mental Health Among Correctional Officers: Recent Findings and Future Research - Gabrielle Crain, University of Pennsylvania; Jordan Hyatt, Drexel University; Synøve Andersen, University of Oslo

• Preliminary Findings on the Prisonization of Street-Level Bureaucrats: The Case of the Scandinavian Prison Project in SCI-Chester - Hannah Nario-Lopez, University of the Philippines Diliman / University at Buffalo

Chair

• Christopher Uggen, University of Minnesota