The World’s nicest prison is located in Bastoy

May 25th, 2012 - 7:33 pm ICT by Aishwarya Bhatt  

Bastoy, May 25 (THAINDIAN NEWS) Opened in 1982, Bastoy prison, a summer-camp-like jail situated in the South of Norway.

More similar to tourist destination than a detention centre, in Bastoy prison there is no armed surveillance nor fences. The prison is located in a beautiful island of pine trees, a sauna, a gorgeous beach where the 115 convicts can sunbathe and enjoy fantastic views of the ocean.

The prisoners are also allowed to fish and play tennis in the jail’s sports facilities. Most the prison’s convicts are rapists, murderers, and drug dealers. They can have television on their cells and wear any clothes they want. Prison guards do not wear any kind of uniform.

Governments of a number of Nordic countries have estimated that 20% of Norway’s convicts reoffend within two years of being released from prison. This rate is lower at Bastoy Prison: approximately 16%.

These figures are much lower that those of US prisons, where the Pew Centre estimated in 2011 that 43% of all US prisoners reoffend within three years after they have been released.

All inmates work in the prison facilities, as gardeners, farmers, taking care of horses, cooking in the prison’s kitchen. All convicts receive a wage of 59 Norwegian kroner per day, approximately $10, which they can save or spend it the local store.

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