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David Cameron Prison Reform Hints At Greater Rehabilitation, Mirroring These European Countries

5 Countries Proving Prisons Can Work To Benefit Everyone
George Bowden
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David Cameron has committed to reform Britain's prison system by the end of the year.

In an address on Monday, the first by a prime minister to focus on incarceration in more than two decades, the Tory leader signaled an increased role for rehabilitation.

He said: "For those trying hard to turn themselves around, we should offer hope... we should help those who've made mistakes."

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Cameron spoke of prison reforms in central London on Monday

Countries in the Nordics and Scandinavia have a reputation for minimising the number of inmates, allied to low recidivism rates thanks to a focus on extensive rehabilitation and resocialisation.

In fact, the rates of incarcerated people per 100,000 citizens show that some European countries are vastly outperforming the UK, in some cases by more than half. Below is a snapshot of European imprisonment rates.

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Click here for a zoomable version of this infographic made for HuffPost UK by Statista

In particular, countries like Norway, Denmark, Germany, Sweden and the Netherlands have significantly fewer people imprisoned - as a proportion of their general populations - than the UK.

Here are 5 countries proving prisons can work for the benefit of both prisoners and wider society...

5 Countries Proving Prisons Can Work For The Benefit Of Everyone
Norway(01 of05)
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Norway has one of the lowest re-conviction rates in Europe, at 20%, and 71 prisoners for each 100,000 population, roughly half the UK total.

Dubbed the "world's most human prison system" it operates on the principle that custodial sentences restrict the freedom of movement only - and not prisoners' other rights.

And there's an intense focus on rehabilitation. "Progression through a sentence should be aimed as much as possible at returning to the community," the government says.

One prison, Halgen in the north of the country, has attracted international media attention due to its design - likened to university halls by some media - as well as its ability to serve the prison system's priorities.

At Halgen Prison, prisoners:
  • are able to cook meals for themselves
  • have access to ensuite facilities
  • can work in retail stores and other jobs
  • earn points to spend on site
  • have access to scenic running routes within landscaped, secure grounds
  • have large windows with plenty of natural light


However, Norway's system became so overcrowded last year it sent 300 prisoners to the Netherlands. (credit:Junge, Heiko/AFP/Getty Images)
Netherlands(02 of05)
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The Netherlands has just 69 prisoners per 100,000 population and has enough capacity in its prisons to accommodate criminals from other countries.

Routines exist to rehabilitate "persistent offenders", and those who are motivated can develop skills related to:
  • self care and hygiene;
  • labour;
  • education;
  • spending of leisure time;
  • financial administration;
  • unsupervised settling; and
  • social attitude


However, while it pursues many policies aimed at rehabilitation of inmates, some of these have been severely curtailed in recent years.

Single-use cells are no longer mandatory, while the amount of hours devoted to activities each week reduced still further.

Nonetheless in 2013, it was reported that declining crime rates in the Netherlands meant that although the country has the capacity for 14,000 prisoners, there were only 12,000 detainees. (credit:© Catchlight Visual Services / Alamy)
Denmark(03 of05)
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Denmark has a reconviction rate of 29% -- as opposed to England & Wales' 49% -- and it has 61 prisoners per 100,000 citizens - far fewer than the UK.

The number of women guards in Danish prisons has been noted as having a calming effect on majority male inmates. Women are more likely to reduce tensions, and prisoners are more likely to make an effort to talk to them - more so than with their male counterparts.

Annette Esdorf, deputy director general of the prison and probation service in Denmark, explained the philosophy to the BBC:

"We make an effort to keep crime down by treating the prisoners in the best way. We have a rather humane regime, not because of the prisoners, but because we think it works better this way.

"Our prison regime is based on normalisation, a principle of openness and responsibility, because we think it's the best way of avoiding reconviction." (credit:Gitte13 via Getty Images)
Sweden(04 of05)
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Sweden has a remarkably low prison population rate at just 55 per 100,000 citizens.

"Sweden's remarkable prison system has done what the U.S. won't even consider," Mic.com reported last year, stating, "prisons in Nordic countries are designed to treat (prisoners) as people with psychosocial needs that are to be carefully attended to."

It is this philosophy which guides Sweden's correctional system.

Director-general Nils Öberg told the Guardian: "It has to do with whether you decide to use prison as your first option or as a last resort, and what you want your probation system to achieve.

"Some people have to be incarcerated, but it has to be a goal to get them back out into society in better shape than they were when they came in."

Rather than "static security" roles, guards in Swedish prisons adopt "dynamic security" - fostering interrelationships between staff and inmates for the benefit of rehabilitation and safety. (credit:JONATHAN NACKSTRAND via Getty Images)
Germany(05 of05)
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Unlike many prisons across the world, Germany has placed an emphasis on pleasing decoration and home comforts - even those as simple as ceramic toilets and wash basins, opposed to the expected stainless steel.

It has roughly half the prison population of the UK, at 76 inmates per 100,000 citizens.

On a visit to a German prison alongside US justice officials, Vice News found: "Most prisoners have knives and forks in their cells. Though the prisoners cannot access the internet, they have telephones in their rooms, and they can call anyone—even the media."

While reconviction rates are around 48%, special efforts are made to reintroduce offenders into society - aided by German culture. (credit:© imagebroker / Alamy)

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