Pros And Cons Of Incarceration

Incarceration:
Is the U.S. Taking It Too Far? The American penal system has been a topic of discussion amongst American lawmakers for many years. The discussion heated up when American lawmakers started the war on crime in which they attempted to decrease crime rates by significantly increasing the incarceration rate of criminals. In this attempt to look tough on crime many American prosecutors may have lost track of the goal of reintegration into society by throwing too many people in prisons with no hope of rehabilitation. When American reformers look to better the American prison system, many look to Norway as a model. The Norwegian penal system is largely more effective in decreasing the crime rates in their country without harsh conditions …show more content…
Norway’s Halden Prison relies more on “dynamic security” while U.S. prisons rely on “static security” (Benko). Benko explains that “dynamic security” is built on the principle of preventing any bad intentions from ever forming through good relationships between guards and inmates. She says that “static security”, on the other hand, is built on the principle of preventing inmates with bad intentions from being able to carry these intentions out. Static security uses equipment designed to prevent violence as well as armed guards that have very little contact with the prisoners, high barbed wire fences, and cameras covering every inch of the prison while dynamic security uses almost no special equipment and unarmed guards that are encouraged to converse with the prisoners (Benko). This different type of security could be the cited as the reason for lower violence rates in Norwegian prisons because the prisoners feel more human and are treated less like caged animals. The treatment of prisoners in American prisons may be the cause of the high rates of violence due to hateful relationships between guards and