SOC220 Socials Problems

Week 2 Discussion (GCU SOC220 All Weeks Discussions – SOC220 Socials Problems)

DQ1 Read the journal articles about various inequalities that exist in America. Pick one of the areas (such as wage inequality, gender pay, racial gaps, etc.). What are some historical solutions to the area of inequality that you selected? Explain if modern day solutions have been more effective in alleviating the problem or not.

DQ2 Compare and contrast the American and Norwegian incarceration systems.  Distinguish at least three characteristics that are similar as well as distinct.  Identify what is being done in each system to minimize the negative impacts on individuals lives, the community, and the larger issue of incarceration and its impact on society. Which characteristics seem to be the most effective.

 

MORE INFO 

American and Norwegian incarceration systems

Introduction

The United States has spent billions of dollars locking up more than 2 million people over the past several decades. But compared to other countries, our incarceration rate is not just high—it’s also a relic of a bygone era in which crime was seen as an epidemic. In fact, Norway’s system has proven to be so successful at rehabilitating criminals that it has been adopted by other countries around the world.

The US has the highest incarceration rate in the world.

The US has the highest rate of incarceration in the world, with 706 people per 100,000 living behind bars. That’s more than three times as many as Canada and almost six times more than Russia (the only other country that comes close to us).

The U.S.’s incarceration rate has gone up over time; from 1986 until today, it’s increased by more than 300%.

Norway’s system focuses on rehabilitating prisoners.

Norway’s system is focused on rehabilitating prisoners. The country has a lower incarceration rate than the United States and its prisons are underfunded and overcrowded, too—but they’re also far less violent than those in America.

Norway’s justice system is different from ours in that it focuses on preventing prisons from becoming warehouses for inmates, unlike America’s. Inmates spend most of their time working or studying instead of sitting in cells doing nothing. If you’re caught doing something wrong during your sentence, you’ll get sent back to prison for another couple months but this time with more education opportunities available to you through programs like vocational training or job placement assistance

Norway’s recidivism rate is 20%, compared to a 70% recidivism rate in American prisons.

Norway’s recidivism rate is 20%, compared to a 70% recidivism rate in American prisons.

In 2015, Norway had the lowest incarceration rate among all countries analyzed (1), with only 300 people incarcerated per 100,000 citizens—or about one-fourth of the U.S.’s number (2).

Norway’s prisons are underfunded and overcrowded, too.

Norway’s prisons are also overcrowded and underfunded. That’s because the country uses a lot of its prison space for pretrial detainees—people who have been arrested but not yet convicted of a crime. This can happen when police arrest someone for an offense that doesn’t warrant incarceration (like possession of marijuana), and then release him or her pending trial. The person may be charged with another crime once his or her case goes to court, so he or she ends up back in jail before being convicted on the new charge; this happens even though he or she would have been released from jail if he hadn’t been arrested in the first place!

In addition to being overcrowded, Norwegian prisons are understaffed as well: there aren’t enough guards at each facility to do their jobs properly (and some facilities don’t have any guards at all). This has led some experts like Human Rights Watch director Kenneth Roth argue that Norway’s system “falls short” compared with other countries’ systems like those found in North America.”

Norway’s justice system is focused on preventing prisons from becoming warehouses for inmates, unlike America’s.

In Norway, the justice system is focused on rehabilitating prisoners and reducing the number of people who end up in prison. The country has a high rate of incarceration (especially compared to America), but its prisons are underfunded and overcrowded. It’s an expensive proposition: each inmate costs nearly $100,000 per year to maintain while they’re incarcerated—a cost that doesn’t include the expenses incurred by their families or society at large.

In contrast to this American approach, which focuses on warehousing inmates until their sentences are complete, Norway’s laws mandate that anyone convicted of a crime should be released after serving half their sentence (with exceptions for violent crimes). And while Americans may think they know what kind of person would benefit from being locked up for such long periods of time (and why), it’s important not only for criminals but also for victims who might otherwise never get closure about what happened during their traumatic experiences with violence or crime against them

Norway does have solitary confinement, but it only allows for a maximum of four weeks.

Norway does have solitary confinement, but it only allows for a maximum of four weeks. The Norwegian prison system is underfunded and overcrowded, too; in fact, the country has one of the highest incarceration rates in Europe (the U.S., meanwhile, incarcerates more than any other country). The justice system is focused on preventing prisons from becoming warehouses for inmates—Norway relies heavily on probation instead of prison terms—and it’s also much less violent than many American prisons can be. In addition to this difference between Norwegian and American systems, there are several other differences:

• Norway uses community service as an alternative to incarceration much more often than we do here at home; we use prison terms instead because our society values punishment over rehabilitation.

• If an inmate spends time serving their sentence outside of jail walls (community service), they’re released early!

The United States puts juveniles in adult prisons far more often than Norway does.

The United States puts juveniles in adult prisons far more often than Norway does. Norway has separate juvenile prisons, where children are kept separate from adults and do not receive the same treatment. This means that Norwegian children are less likely to be imprisoned as adults and can be treated like adults when they go there (though some countries have found that it is still better to keep them separate).

Norway also has a lower rate of juvenile crime than the United States: while there are still some problems with youth gangs, they’re nowhere near as prevalent or violent as those seen in other countries around Europe like Spain or Italy.*

Norway relies heavily on probation, while the U.S. uses prison terms to punish nonviolent crimes.

Norway has a very low recidivism rate, and its prisons are underfunded and overcrowded. While America relies on prison terms to punish nonviolent crimes, Norway’s justice system is focused on preventing prisons from becoming warehouses for inmates. As such, Norwegian authorities have found it more cost-effective to keep prisoners in community supervision rather than locking them up.

The United States’ approach to incarceration may seem counterintuitive if you’ve ever been locked up yourself or know someone who has been—but it’s not necessarily bad for society as a whole. In fact, it could be argued that our approach actually makes things worse by encouraging criminals to commit more crimes because they won’t be punished as severely if they do so again (or even if they don’t).

American justice systems should look to Oslo for guidance in changing the way the country deals with criminals who are not a threat to society.

If you haven’t noticed, Norway has a very different approach to incarceration than America does. While our prisons are filled with violent offenders and drug users, Norway has a higher rate of rehabilitation than we do and releases many inmates after just one year behind bars.

While American prisons may seem like they’re doing a great job by keeping dangerous criminals off the street (a glance at the most recent statistics shows that they are), they need to look beyond this paradigm if they want more people to benefit from their services. The Norwegian prison system should be studied by American officials as an example of how not only can this country develop better ways for dealing with criminals but also how it could improve its own criminal justice system overall.

Conclusion

As you can see, there are many differences between America’s justice system and Norway’s. One of the most important things to understand is that while America’s incarceration rate is high, it has a lot to do with a lack of rehabilitation programs in place. This can be seen through the actions of officials who believe that locking people up will solve the problem at hand when really it just makes things worse down the road for everyone involved in this type of situation.