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Originally Posted by Hemi-Cuda
Browsing through this thread it appears that there are 2 sides, one wants violent criminals locked up for longer sentences (which I agree with), and the other points out that in doing so we make the offender more violent due to our current prison system (which I also agree with). So it seems the main thing we should focus on in a criminal justice reform is to completely overhaul our prisons. Norway did this and now their recidivism rate is less than half of Canada's, their prisons look more like dormitories than any of our prisons
My favorite point in that video is the woman pointing out that taking people away from their families and communities is the punishment, not the prison. Their living quarters should be as normal as possible so that they can learn to function as a normal human being, not simply learning to survive inside. Put that system in place and then start looking at longer sentencing guidelines for repeat violent offenders
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There's a show on Netflix called (I think) "The World's Toughest Prisons" where the host goes around the world and basically spends time as a prisoner in some of the worst prisons in the world. He also spent time in a prison in Norway and the difference was staggering, not only in the prisons themselves, but levels of recidivism in the respective cultures and violence within the prisons. The prison system in the West, and particularly in the US, seems to be more about punishment than anything. It's a concept that hasn't really changed much for hundreds of years and needs an update. The primary role of prison should be:
1- Protect larger society from dangerous individuals
2- Try to rehabilitate the offender, if possible
In places like Norway the level of recidivism is lower than in Canada, at least partially because they focus on rehabilitation. Ultimately, this is better for society as a whole as you have less crime, lower incarceration costs, less negative impact on society. From a cultural perspective, when part of the DNA of a society is revenge (which plays a large part in our current penal system) it becomes a feedback loop which ultimately leads to more violent crime. The whole "tough on crime" shtick quite likely leads to more violent crime.
That said, there are some people who are so broken that they need to be kept away from larger society probably for their entire lives.