The harm reduction potential of open prisons: A qualitative and longitudinal study of men and women released from prison in Norway.

• In Event: PWG - Rethinking punishment: Alternatives to traditional incarceration models

Abstract

Prisons harm. Yet the degree of harm that prisons cause varies between prison systems and types of prisons. The comparative research exploring the relationship between prison systems and harm is limited, but there is growing evidence that some countries – such as those in the Nordic region – punish its citizens in ways that seem to prevent, or at least limit, some of the harms caused by imprisonment. Similarly, some research finds that low-security prisons, the so-called open prisons, are types of penal institutions that can reduce some of the harmful effects of imprisonment. In this paper, I seek to contribute to this literature, by reporting findings from a study exploring the experiences of men and women who served shorter sentences in Norwegian prisons. Data are drawn from a longitudinal interview study with 45 men and women in Norway, who were interviewed at least once while imprisoned and then re-interviewed 3-4 months post-release. While interviewees in general described their experiences of imprisonment as frustrating, painful and undesirable, many of the interviewees who had served shorter sentences in open prisons seemed to move through the carceral process in ways that caused relatively little disruption and damage to their ‘ground projects’. These findings suggest that the use of open prisons for people serving shorter sentences have harm-reduction potential. Implications for comparative research on prisons and harm, as well as for policy and practice, are discussed.

Author

• Kristian Mjåland, University of Agder