< Previous20 PERSPECTIVESVOLUME 48, NUMBER 4 WINTER 2024-2025 and only 113 of these are incarcerated in Tribal facilities, with the rest being detained in non-Tribal facilities (Puzzanchera et al., 2023). A longstanding problem with this population is the communication gap between state and local criminal justice systems and Tribal authorities. Tribes often do not receive notice when their youth are detained in local or state facilities. This lack of awareness prevents AI/AN youth from accessing Tribal support, cultural interventions, and coordination of services between their Tribe and state and local criminal justice systems. The Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) contains provisions requiring state and local agencies to notify Tribes when there is an involuntary foster-care placement and when there are proceedings for termination of parental rights involving an Indian child. However, there are no provisions in the ICWA that require such notice when there are proceedings regarding a criminal act committed by a minor Tribal youth in a non-Tribal court. The APPA, in partnership with the National Criminal Justice Training Center, is working to close the gap in communication between Tribes and state and local criminal justice systems through the cultivation of state, local, and Tribal partnerships that will improve communication and support positive outcomes. The goal of APPA’s Tribal Youth Notification Systems (TYNS) Project is to develop a system for notifying Tribes when their youth enter non-Tribal juvenile justice systems using the ICWA notification process as a guide. APPA will also incorporate the 10 Core Principles of Juvenile Probation into the TYNS training curriculum that will be used during regional training sessions held in 2025 through 2027. The youth of American are the greatest hope for continued growth of the American society, and the Tribal youth of this country are the greatest hope for the continued survival of every Tribal community in the United States. As APPA moves forward in its efforts to strengthen Tribal communities, we will continue to seek input from those communities to identify and address the most pressing issues pertaining to community corrections, reentry, juvenile justice, and relevant cultural programming. Stay tuned for upcoming announcements on future Tribal training sessions and for a way for you to join our pool of Tribal community corrections consultants. We look forward to working with all participants to optimize programs that create strong, vibrant communities. AUTHOR BIO Mark Dyea is an enrolled member of the Pueblo of Laguna and a Disabled Veteran. Mark is the Tribal Grants Manager for the American Probation and Parole Association where he collaborates with Tribes to secure training and technical assistance in program planning, implementation, and enhancement. Mark has 20 years of Community Supervision and Treatment Court experience. During this time, he worked for the Pueblo of Laguna’s Probation & Parole Services for over ten years as a Probation Officer, Wellness Court Coordinator, Program Manager, co-founded the Pueblo’s Community Wellness Court program and served as its Co-Coordinator for seven years. Mark has also worked as a Case Manager for the Bernalillo County Metropolitan Court Specialty Courts and Coordinator for the Pueblo of San Felipe Healing to Wellness Court. Mark served as a Sr. Consultant for the NADCP Tribal Healing to Wellness Court Planning Initiative and as faculty for TLPI. As a consultant Mark has worked with numerous jurisdictions across the country to develop and enhance Community Supervision programs and Treatment Courts. Over the course of his career Mark as collaborated with multiple jurisdictions, including State, Federal, and Tribal entities, to improve community supervision outcomes and intergovernmental relationships.Connecting Top Employers with Premiere Professionals! Employers https://careers.appa-net.org Professionals The APPA Career Center provides all the functionality and reach of contemporary job boards while specifically focusing on the Community Corrections industry. *To receive these member benefits, login with your company’s primary APPA contact email. PLACE your job in front of qualified professionals. SEARCH our Resume Bank using robust filters to narrow your candidate search. UTILIZE our job posting and Job FlashTM email packages to earn greater visibility. Bonus for those with Agency or Corporate APPA Membership!* RECEIVE discounted rates on job posting packages! STAND-OUT as your job is tagged “Member Company”! *To receive these member benefits, login with your APPA email. UPLOAD your resume and lead employers to you. SEARCH and apply to top industry jobs that value you. RECEIVE Job Alerts whenever a job matches your criteria. ACCESS career resources, job searching tips, and tools. Bonus for those with Individual APPA Membership!* ENJOY early access to Job Postings and Email Listings! STAND-OUT as your resume is tagged “APPA Member”! Make us a regular step in your hiring process! CAREER CENTER23 AMERICAN PROBATION AND PAROLE ASSOCIATION THE FALL OF NORWAY’S PRISON PARADISE: A ROLE MODEL IN DECLINE by Stian Estenstad and Nina Hanssen F or decades, Norway has been known for its humane and progressive prison system, often referred to as “the best in the world”. But if you visit a Norwegian prison today, you will get a slightly different story. The Norwegian Correctional Care System has inspired many countries. It is built around principles such as normality, dynamic safety and rehabilitation. Conditions in Norwegian and Nordic prisons has also been characterized as more humane than the condition in other countries. Professor of Criminology at Victoria University of Wellington John Pratt has since 2008 used the term ”Nordic exceptionalism” in which he includes low rate of imprisonment and human prison conditions. 1 In Norway punishment has been defined by law professor Johs. Andenæs as follows:” Punishment is a harm that the state inflicts on an offender for the purpose for making it feels like an harm”.2 The supreme court has since endorsed this view. In Norway prisoners retain the same welfare and social rights as other citizens as part of the normality principle that means that life in prison should, as far as possible, resemble the life outside. Another important principle is dynamic security which is about balancing control and care, where staff are active participants in creating a safe and rehabilitative environment. Now these principles are under severe pressure, and employees are fleeing the agency in great numbers. DECLINE After visiting prisons in the USA that have taken inspiration from Norwegian correctional facilities, we decided to look in the mirror ourselves and see how the current situation is in the Norwegian correctional facilities today. It was a sad story. All research reports in recent years point in the same negative direction, highlighting serious challenges within Norwegian correctional care, particularly related to resource shortages. While not an irreversible situation, steps must be taken soon to reverse this decline. KEY FINDINGS Too many hours locked in a cell Lack of officers due to reduced budgets and staff turnover Increased sick leave Recruitment problems, where the number of departures exceeds new hires Challenging work environment with high employee turnover Reduction in activities Increased number of violent and threatening incidents Frustrated and insecure employees Increasing number of inmates with substance abuse problems and mental disorders who do not receive help STAFF EXODUS In Norway, around 3,000 people serve prison sentences at any given time spread across the country’s five correctional regions. There are about 2000 prison officers. This may seem like a good staffing norm in other countries, but for Norwegian correctional services it is critical. It is a downsizing that affects both staff and convicts negatively. With less time for follow-up and activity offers which have been important building blocks in the Norwegian correctional system the aims to rehabilitate prisoners might fail. The program activities Norway’s model are known for are largely taken from Canadian, British and Swedish correctional services from the 1990s onwards. UNSUSTAINABLE In 2022, 197 officers quit their jobs, which was about 10 percent of the workforce. From October 2023 to October 2024, 303 people left which means 15 percent of the staff. 3 These are unsustainable numbers for a system that prides itself on its dedication to providing the most societally beneficial incarceration infrastructure. Many prison officers apply for other professions where they are more valued and receive higher wages.24 PERSPECTIVESVOLUME 48, NUMBER 4 WINTER 2024-2025 HOURLY PAID Tommy Fredriksen4, deputy chairman of the largest union for prison employees says that because there is a shortage of employees, the use of overtime is increasing. According to him, the proportion of overtime from 2022-2023 increased by 50 per cent. Frediksen says that the burden on the employees is enormous and in Norway, there is twice as much violence and threats against officers as in Denmark and four times as much as in Finland. And fewer are applying for positions in prisons. Many officers feel that they are not valued highly and that their salary is low. It seems like the officers are valued more highly by other businesses outside the correctional service, he says. He also says there are many new graduates who quit. According to Fredriksen, dynamic security hardly exists anymore. The officers no longer have time to build relationships, because there are fewer officers, and those who remain have other administrative duties. This goes beyond relations with the prisoners. PRISON POPULATION HAS CHANGED At the same time, the prison population has changed because more people are serving their sentences in their homes with electronic ankle monitors, and other community-based penalties, so that the prisoners who were previously a stabilizing factor are now serving alternative sentences in society. Less dynamic security, which means less interaction and dialogue between prisoners and staff, leads to increased violence in prisons. More use of static security, which is about the purely technical control mechanisms such as locking, camera surveillance, etc. creates a negative culture. We have seen several reports that tell of more violence between prisoners and against staff. 5 POLICE, COURTS AND CORRECTIONAL FACILITIES In Norway, it is the police who arrest and the courts who judge, while the correctional service has the task of facilitating change for a crime-free existence. The Norwegian correctional system has received less attention and resources compared to the police and the courts. Tight budgets and high prices have led to staffing being at a minimum today, both in prisons and in probation service which is to ensure the safe and appropriate execution of punishments such as community punishment, sentencing with electronic ankle monitoring and parole. COMPLEX DISORDERS AMONG PRISONERS Randi Rosenqvist6, a specialist in psychiatry, is one of those who has worked for a long time with problems surrounding prisoners’ mental disorders, and who was responsible for risk assessment of those sentenced to custody. She has seen an extreme change in treatment and care (or lack of care) for people with various mental health conditions. “My experience is that the worst functioning, those who are unable to live an autonomous life due to severe mental disability, have had a relatively worse welfare development than other Norwegians”, she says. After the government closed down psychiatric hospitals there is a great lack of follow-up services for this group. Among other things, she believes it is necessary to double the number of beds in mental health care. WORSE WITH ISOLATION Increased use of isolation and lack of meaningful activities today lead to worsening mental health problems. Despite many inspections by the Civil Ombudsman, the development of isolation is negative in most Norwegian prisons. There is a need for an improvement in correctional services where the rights perspective must be leading for competence, staffing and high professional content. Randi Rosenqvist questions whether correctional facilities have become psychiatry’s dustbin. She says that research shows that the development of the number of prison places is inversely proportional to the number of beds in psychiatry. She believes this can substantiate her claims that the correctional service is psychiatry’s dustbin, as psychiatry has been subjected to dramatic cuts over the past 30 years. She believes that society will benefit from more rehabilitative correctional care where the offenders can get a better connection to society, get better health, friends, work and housing. In the group of remand prisoners, there are few who manage this in the current system. 7 PRISON OFFICERS ESCAPE In recent years, many prison officers have either lost their jobs due to cuts or left for other reasons. Newly trained prison officers face a completely different reality than the one they are trained for. The reports show that WINTER 2024-2025 7.20-26 2025 they are unable to utilize their professional expertise because daily life is marked by staff shortages and crisis management. Half of the new graduates leave within the first five years. GAP BETWEEN THEORY AND PRACTICE Prison officer Ingeborg Kivle 8does not think that the has not caught on to what has happened in the prisons and the gap between theory and practice is large. The aspirants have signaled this, as they experience locking prisoners out and in instead of working more on rehabilitation. Many aspirants leave after the compulsory year. “I don’t know anyone who changes by being locked in a cell. People need people, and that also applies to the prisoners in Norwegian prisons,” says Ingeborg Kivle. 9 Confirms critical situation. Recent reports from the Civil Ombudsman in 2024 have also revealed serious problems in Norwegian prisons. In Halden prison, once a beacon for humane prisoner treatment, prisoners now experience extensive confinement and inadequate health follow-up. Similar problems have been reported from other prisons, including Oslo Prison, where prisoners without activities can be locked up for over 20 hours a day. WORSE LIVING CONDITIONSAND MENTAL ILLNESS That there is a high incidence of drug and mental disorders among those who have been in prison is stated in the Report “Living conditions, drug addiction and mental health among people who have been imprisoned or served a sentence in society” - from SERAF (Center for Drug - and addiction research) 10 . Among people who have been imprisoned, 64% had a mental disorder, 46% a drug disorder, 29% a serious mental disorder and 33% an ROP disorder (combination of drug and mental disorder). Women generally had a higher incidence of both drug and mental disorders compared to men. There was also a high incidence of other mental disorders and substance abuse among people with mental retardation. Researcher Anne Bukten 11 in SERAF says the proportion of people living with a mental conditions is five times higher for people in prison, or people serving sentences in the community, 26 PERSPECTIVESVOLUME 48, NUMBER 4 WINTER 2024-2025 compared to the general population. 12Among people who are imprisoned, the proportion who have been in the specialist health service for an active drug or mental disorder in the year before imprisonment has increased by nine percent throughout the period. PRISON AS A WINDOW OF OPPORTUNITY Bukten believes that prison can be a “window of opportunity” to offer adequate treatment for drug and mental disorders to a group that is otherwise difficult to reach outside prison.Other measures are electronic control, drug court program, which is execution of the sentence in society and an alternative to serving time in prison. The scheme is for drug addicts who have been convicted of a crime. SERAF recommends increased availability of specialist healthcare services in prisons. As well as sufficient staffing and resources. OLD BUILDINGS ARE NOT SUITABLE Many prisons are old buildings and have a large maintenance backlog. This is revealed in the report “Capacity - future needs” from April 202413. Among other things, it shows that many prisons are old and not suitable for modern correctional care, even with significant investments for rehabilitation. There is a need for 4,000 prison places in the long term, with a shift towards more places in prisons with lower security. It is recommended to establish a larger correctional enforcement center for women and three to four smaller units in the large cities for detention and for those who are about to leave prison after serving their sentence. It is also proposed to increase the proportion of places in lower security, with a focus on qualifying employment and rehabilitation. New buildings must also be prioritized to create better working conditions and sentencing environment. HALDEN PRISON – NO LONGER A SHOWCASE Halden Prison, opened in 2010, became an international icon with its architecture designed to promote rehabilitation and an environment similar to life outside the walls. Time Magazine was present at the ceremonial opening of the prison and so was the Norwegian king. Titles such as “Norway Builds the World’s Most Humane Prison” and “Sentenced to Serving the Good Life in Norway” as well as a photo report called “Inside the World’s Most Humane Prison”, made the prison known far beyond Norway’s borders. Media from all over the world, the filmmaker Michael Moore, the BBC, CNN, Netflix and others came to Halden prison to learn about the values, principles and methods used by the Norwegian penitentiary. The visitors were particularly impressed by the low recidivism rate of 20-25 percent. The relapse has remained stable for the past 10 years, despite major economic cuts. Part of the explanation is probably the increased use of alternative punishments in society. The prison officer role, and how we carry out the dynamic security and environmental work, also arouses interest from visitors around the world. The focus on a high level of activity and a targeted sentencing content that provides a good return to Norwegian society is what is unique about the Norwegian correctional care model. But Halden prison is also affected by expensive times. From 2020 to 2023, the number of employees in Halden prison fell from 318 to 236 that means an reduction of staff of more than 25 percent. LOCKED UP IN MORE THAN 19 HOURS The result is, among other things, extensive use of isolation and strict restrictions on contact with friends and family, the Civil Ombudsman states in a recent report14. In the report, it is said that prisoners are locked in the cell for more than 19 hours a day without a decision on isolation, and in some cases more than 22 hours. Prisoners were moved to restrictive wards without court decision, and some sat for several weeks in reinforced cells isolated from others. In addition, there is a lack of activity offers and health follow-up for the prisoners, including mapping of suicide risk and documentation of physical injuries. The civil ombudsman states that low staffing is one of the reasons for extensive lock-ins, fewer activities on offer and reduced contact with others. He asks the prison to ease restrictions on contact with friends and family to improve prisoners’ mental health. It shows that Halden prison is no longer the flagship it used to be and with 84 fewer full-time employees, it is difficult to find time to deal with dynamic security and proper contact officer work. In the National Audit Office’s document 3:4 (2022-2023) – Health, training and welfare services for prisoners in prison15, there is a lot of criticism of the work in prison and the work on release. Cooperation with other agencies is also criticized. OVERCROWING AND CAPACITY PROBLEMS The Auditor General’s report on the Norwegian Correctional16 Service highlights overcrowding and capacity problems in many prisons negatively impact both inmates’ rights and prison staff’s working conditions. The report also points out insufficient rehabilitation measures, including a lack of educational and work opportunities for inmates, which hampers their reintegration into society. Additionally, underfunding and staffing problems limit the Correctional Service’s ability to fulfill its duties, affecting both security and rehabilitation efforts. The extensive use of isolation and prolonged imprisonment without adequate measures to prevent psychological harm to inmates is also a significant concern. The Auditor General’s report also highlights the lack of support and follow-up after release, which contributes to high recidivism rates. There are few effective measures to reduce the risk of reoffending, and practices vary widely across prisons and probation offices, leading to inconsistent treatment of inmates. And criticizes the lack of coordination between the Correctional Service and other agencies, such as healthcare, social services, and municipalities. This poor collaboration often results in inmates and released individuals falling through the cracks regarding rehabilitation, housing, employment, and healthcare services. THE LEGAL CONCEPT IN NORWAY So what do the Norwegian people think is the right level of punishment and how we punish? From the 1990s to now, people’s perception shows a positive attitude towards humane correctional services. A recent survey from the Welfare Research Institute NOVA at OsloMet17 tells a little about attitudes towards crime, punishment and the execution of punishment in the Norwegian population today. 43% of the participants think the penalties in Norway are too lenient, while 49% think they are appropriate. When it comes to prison sentences, 38% are in favor of longer prison sentences, while 40% disagree that prisoners in Norwegian prisons are too good. More than half believe that more people should be allowed to serve their prison sentences at home with electronic ankle chains, and 80 percent support the use of community punishment. As many as 64 percent believe that rehabilitation is the most important purpose of punishment, while 19 percent believe that deterrence is most important.WINTER 2024-2025 REHABILITATION PAYS OFF A report from Oslo Economics for the Red Cross in December 202318 shows that there are major socio- economic gains from reduced relapse into crime and drug addiction after serving time. Network after imprisonment is an initiative from Red Cross that helps to increase coping skills among convicts and help them to establish a life free of crime and substance abuse. The report shows that there are big savings to be made if the prisoner has a transition to work or social security. The report shows that if a convicted people is removed from a life of crime and substance abuse and is able to get a job, this has a socio economic benefit of 90.0000 US dollar per year. If the same person does not get a job, but instead has to receive social benefit, there is still a saving of 35.000 US dollar. LITTLE SCANDINAVIA We know that the principles work as we have recently seen in The Little Scandinavia project inside SCI Chester prison’. It represents a significant step towards humanizing the American prison system, demonstrating that innovative approaches can lead to positive outcomes for both staff and prisoners.While findings are still preliminary, the project “Little Scandinavia” 19has shown promising results in improving prison conditions and outcomes.Assessments indicate more positive relationships between staff and prisoners, as well as among prisoners themselves.Few violent incidents have been reported and correctional officers report higher levels of job satisfaction. THE WORKING ENVIRONMENT FOR EMPLOYEES IS TOUGHER The demanding economic situation has also affected the working environment for the employees. Asle Aase in the largest national union 20the NFF points out that a recent report has pointed to disturbing figures related to PTSD among employees in Norwegian prisons. Employees say that the working environment has become tougher over the years, and that they are not allowed to work with what they were originally trained for and motivated to do, namely rehabilitative and rehabilitative work with the convicted. The days are largely spent locking in and out of the cells, static security work rather than direct work with the people. It is important that prison education continues to provide training based on the type of punishment we want, as described in the purpose clause of the correctional service and in our legislation. Through this article, we have tried to show how the correctional system in Norway has changed in recent years. A lot of good work is being done despite a tight economy. Despite many positive aspects, Norwegian correctional services have also received criticism for the use of isolation, which can be harmful to prisoners’ mental health.However we believe Norwegian correctional services still have a solid foundation to continue to improve and contribute to a safer society. But then employees must also be guaranteed good wages and working conditions. More resources are needed, but also better cooperation between correctional services, the health service and other NGOs and public agencies to meet more complex challenges in the prison population. AT A CROSSROAD We believe that the Norwegian prison system is at a crossroad. And it is fundamentally about priorities. The correctional care model’s basic values of humanity and rehabilitation are strong, and a lot of good work is still being done by the staff, but greater attention and resources are required to survive.This cause of the significant decline is clearly due to a lack of political understanding, will, and prioritization ability within the national assembly, government, and individual political parties. The question then becomes not whether Norway has the world’s best correctional services, but how the country and the agency can restore and further develop a system that was once a model for the whole world."HumaneDogEncounters:EnhancingOfficerSafetyandCommunityTrust"presentedby ShalimarOliverfromtheHumaneSociety KeynoteSpeaker TheArtofWellness KevinHines Seefirst-handhowAPPAworkstohelpjustice-involvedindividualsgainaccesstoessential servicesandemployment.Employersandserviceproviderswillbeonsitetohelpclients makethetransitionfromunemployedtoemployed. Justice-InvolvedIndividualsCareerFair WED, 8/27, 9:00 AM – 1:00 PM ET Forregistration questions,pleaseemail KimberlyMills kimberly.mills@csg.org APPAwillcontinuetoofferpresentationsthatfocuson theuniqueneedsofourmembers.Anticipateengaging inactivitiesdesignedtoexpandyourunderstandingof yourprofessionalandpersonalhealth. DuringtheTrainingInstitute Planned programming includes: Accredited Presentations Women Symposium Walking Challenge, Yoga and Meditation AmericanProbationandParoleAssociation In-personandvirtualattendeeswillbeabletowatchmainstagesessions liveoron-demand.Thisincludes: 4PlenarySessions 8MainStageworkshops,featuring: "GoodbyeStress.HelloLife!LearnHowtoPrioritizeyourWellnessandStartLivingforYOU!" presentedbyAllanKehler" "PsychologicalSafetyforAll:TheIntegrationofAutonomyandBelongingintheWorkplace" presentedbyAlexandraWalker,GlennTapia,andJohannaLeal Personalities2:TheArtofOfficeWar"presentedbyJudeDavid MarriottMarquis 1535Broadway NewYork,NY10036 Takeawalkdownmemorylane frompasttopresentbyviewing aspecialshowcasehighlighting APPA’smanysignificant momentsinits50-yearhistory. TheJohnAugustus HistoryExhibit: Watchtheanimatedcompanion seriesdetailingAPPA’s10Core PrinciplesofJuvenileJustice. 10CorePrinciples ofJuvenileJustice: ParticipateinAPPA’sversionof TheAmazingRace.Joininon thecompetitivefunandexplore NewYorkCitywhilelearning aboutlocalcommunity correctionsprogramming. Community CorrectionsChase (C3): TUE, 8/26, 1:30 – 4:30 PM ET 3ACJISkill-based Pop-upsoccurring: FirstTimeAttendees NetworkingEvent ExtensiveExpoHall: FeaturingOver 50Exhibitors SUN, 8/24, 3:30 – 4:00 PM ET MON, 8/25, 12:45 – 1:15 PM ET TUE, 8/26, 12:45 – 1:15 PM ET SUN, 8/24, 6:00 – 8:00 PM ET MON, 8/25, 8:00 – 9:00 AM ET TUE, 8/26, 9:30 – 11:00 AM ET MON, 8/25, 4:15 – 6:00 PM ET SUN, 8/24, 2:00 – 3:00 PM ET HybridTraining Opportunities 50thAnnualTrainingInstitute-ASpecialAnniversaryCelebration SAT, 8/23, 8:00 AM – 4:00 PM ET SUN, 8/24, 8:00 AM – 7:30 PM ET TUE, 8/26, 7:00 AM – 2:00 PM ET MON, 8/25, 7:00 AM – 6:00 PM ET SUN, 8/24, 1:00 – 1:45 PM ET MON, 8/25, 12:45 – 1:30 PM ETNext >