| Prison Name: | Halden Prison |
| Location: | Halden, Norway |
| Status: | Operational |
| Classification: | Maximum |
| Capacity: | 248–252 |
| Population: | 251 |
| Populationdate: | 2015 |
| Managed By: | Norwegian Correctional Service |
| Governor: | Are Høidal |
| Website: | www.haldenfengsel.no |
Halden Prison (Norwegian: Halden fengsel) is a maximum-security prison in Halden, Norway. It has three main units and has no conventional security devices. The third-largest prison in Norway, it was established in 2010 with a focus on rehabilitation; its design simulates life outside the prison. Among other activities, sports and music are available to the prisoners, who interact with the unarmed staff to create a sense of community. Praised for its humane conditions, Halden Prison has received the Arnstein Arneberg Award for its interior design in 2010 and been the subject of a documentary, but has also received criticism for being too liberal.
Located in Halden, Østfold, Norway, Halden Prison was built for over 10 years at a cost of 1.5 billion Norwegian kroner ($252 million/£138 million/€150 million). The prison received its first inmates on March 1, 2010[1] and was officially opened on April 8 by the Norwegian King Harald V.[2] It is Norway's second-largest prison with a capacity of 248–252 prisoners and a site of .[3]
As a maximum-security prison,[4] it hosts both dangerous and highly dangerous criminals,[5] such as rapists, murderers, and drug dealers.[6] They compose half of the population, while a third of the residents are drug offenders. Sex offenders, who may face violence from other inmates, and prisoners who require close psychiatric or medical supervision, are located in Unit A, a restrictive and separated area.[6] There is also a special unit (C8) focused on addiction recovery. Most inmates live in Units B and C, which are freer and have mixed cell blocks. Halden Prison receives both domestic and international criminals; as only around three-fifths of the prisoners are Norwegians (as of 2015), both Norwegian and English are used, and the prison has English teachers.[6] However, fluency in Norwegian is a requirement to live in C8, because group and individual counseling is conducted in Norwegian.
There are no conventional security devices, such as barbed tape, electric fences, towers, or snipers.[7] However, there is safety glass,[8] a concrete and steel wall,[4] [8] and a system of tunnels which guards use to walk through the prison.[4] Although there are surveillance cameras on the prison grounds, they are not present in the cells, the cell hallways, the common rooms, the classrooms, and most of the workshops.[7] While there is little violence reported, almost exclusively in Unit A, officers try to prevent it.[7] If two inmates have a dispute, they engage in a mediation session under staff supervision.[7] If mediation fails, repeated misbehavior or rule violations are punished with cell confinement or prison transference.[7] [9]
The prison was designed by the Danish group Erik Møller Architects and the Norwegian HLM Arkitektur AS,[10] [11] selected in a competition held by the Department of Justice and the Norwegian Directorate of Public Construction and Property to determine the designers of the building.[7] [12]
With a focus on rehabilitation, it was designed to simulate a village so that the prisoners can consider themselves part of society.[4] The government believes that "the smaller the difference between life inside and outside the prison, the easier the transition from prison to freedom."[4] Interiors are painted and designed to demarcate the differences between home, school, and the workplace.[13] In designing the prison's interiors, the architects tried to separate the internal buildings to have prisoners walking, to strengthen their bond with the outside world.[7] The hallways are tiled with Moroccan tiles or have large-scale photographs, such as daffodils or Parisian streets.[6]
Exteriors are composed of bricks, galvanized steel, and larch wood, instead of concrete.[4] The black and red kiln-fired bricks were inspired by the trees, mosses, and bedrock of the surroundings.[7] Natural life, including birch, blueberry, and pine trees, also contribute to rehabilitation.[7] [9] The steel, a "hard" material, symbolizes detention, while the larch, a "soft" material, stands for rehabilitation and growth.[7] The yard walls and toilet doors are decorated by a graffiti painting by the Norwegian artist Dolk,[12] which was ordered by the prison from its 6 million kroner ($1 million/£640,000) art budget.[6] [4]
All aspects of the prison's design aim to avoid psychological pressures, conflicts, and interpersonal friction.[7] Despite this, the prison wall was designed for security.[7] As the wall is visible everywhere, it was seen as a "symbol and an instrument" of "[the prisoners'] punishment, taking away their freedom", according to Gudrun Molden, one of its architects.[7]
Each prison cell is and has a flat-screen television, desk, mini-fridge, toilet with shower, and unbarred vertical window that lets in more light.[3] [6] [9] Every 10–12 cells share a common area with a kitchen and a living room;[3] [14] the kitchen has stainless steel silverware, porcelain plates, and a dining table, and the living room has a modular couch and a video game system.[7] [14] [15] While the prison provides food, the prisoners can also buy ingredients at its grocery shop and cook their own meals.[7] [6] Inmates are locked in their cells twelve hours a day, but they are encouraged to maximize their time outside.[4] [9] Prisoners have an incentive of 53 kroner ($9/£5.60) a day to leave their cells.[6] [16] Are Høidal, the prison's governor, stated that the fewer activities the prisoners have, the more aggressive they become.[6] There is an "Activities House",[8] and from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m, there are practices on jogging trails and a football field, while wood working, cooking, and music classes are also offered.[3] [4] At the mixing studio, the inmates may record music and a monthly program broadcast by the local radio station.[6] A library with books, magazines, CDs and DVDs; a gym with a rock-climbing wall; and a chapel are also available.[9] [15] [17] Prisoners even receive questionnaires asking how their prison experience can be improved.[3]
Inmates are allowed to receive their families, partners, or friends privately twice a week for two hours.[18] Individual rooms containing a sofa, sink, and cupboard with sheets, towels, and condoms are available for single-person visits.[18] For those with families, a larger room with toys and baby-changing facilities is available.[18] Inmates are checked after visits, and if illegal items are found, prisoners can lose their rights to private visits.[18] This right is denied to high risk criminals and visitors with histories of drug offenses.[18] There is also a separated, chalet-style house where prisoners can receive visits from family members and stay with them for 24 hours.[3] [6] [18] The house has a small kitchen, two bedrooms, a bathroom, a living room with a dining table, a sofa, and a television, as well as an outdoor play area with toys.[18] Foreigners are not allowed in and inmates have to complete a child-development education program to have 24-hour-long visits.[18] During visits, staff make regular checks on the prisoners and their families.[18]
As of 2012, Halden had 340 staff members, including teachers, healthcare workers, personal trainers, and guards (who also work as social workers due to their 2 year course that they have to take before becoming a guard).[6] [19] The philosophy of "dynamic security", which encourages the staff and the inmates to develop interpersonal relationships, helps prevent potential aggression and guarantees safety.[7] Guards eat meals and play sports with the inmates, and are typically unarmed because guns can produce intimidation and social distance.[3] The interaction between prisoners and the staff is designed "to create a sense of family," according to architect Per Hojgaard Nielsen,[4] and because the staff can be role models to help the inmates to recreate their sense of daily routine, for application outside of prison walls once their sentence is over.[8] Half the guards are women, as Høidal thinks it minimizes aggression.[3] The guard stations were also designed to be tiny and cramped, to encourage officers to interact more with the inmates.[7]
Halden city's inhabitants view the prison as a chance to find employment rather than a bad thing.[4] Nina Margareta Høie of the web magazine The Nordic Page stated that the prison is "known for having the most humanly conditions in Europe,"[20] while William Lee James of Time and Amelia Gentleman from The Guardian called it the world's "most humane prison."[3] [6] The BBC reported that the design of Scottish prison HMP Grampian was inspired by Halden.[21] Architect group Bryden Wood, which are the team responsible for the redesign of HMP Wellingborough, looked after Halden as they considered it one of "world-leading examples" of how a rehabilitation-focused prison should be.[22]
In 2010, Halden Prison was shortlisted for the World Architecture Festival Awards,[23] and its interior design earned the Arnstein Arneberg Award.[24] [25] In 2014, as part of Wim Wenders' 3D documentary series Cathedrals of Culture, Michael Madsen directed a short film exploring how the prison's design and architecture influence the re-socialization process.[26] [27] That same year, another film on Halden Prison was produced: The Norden, a television film produced by the Finnish Broadcasting Company, explored the reactions of James Conway, a former superintendent at New York's Attica Correctional Facility, during a prison tour.[28] [29] Conway affirmed: "This is prison utopia. I don't think you can go any more liberal — other than giving the inmates the keys."[29] In his 2015 documentary Where to Invade Next, filmmaker Michael Moore presented Halden Prison as an example of how the USA should manage its prison system.[30]
However, the conservative, right-wing populist Progress Party has criticized Halden Prison.[4] [5] When foreigners in Norwegian prisons increased from 8.6 percent in 2000 to 34.2 percent in 2014,[31] Per Sandberg, former deputy leader of the party, attributed this to "Halden's high standard", arguing that Halden's facilities should be reserved for Norwegian citizens.[4] The party also contended that Halden's quality of life is "better than in many nursing and retirement homes".[5] British Channel 5 broadcast a 45-minute documentary about Halden titled World's Most Luxurious Prison in November 2020. It was presented by conservative politician Ann Widdecombe, who mostly criticized it and said a prison should not be like "normal life".[32]