47 lines
2.2 KiB
Markdown
47 lines
2.2 KiB
Markdown
**Bastøy Prison** is a [minimum-security prison](Prison "wikilink") on
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Bastøy Island, Horten, [Norway](Norway "wikilink"), located
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75 kilometres south of Oslo. The prison hosts 115 prisoners and has 70
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workers, with only 5 remaining overnight. It is known for being one of
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the most humane prisons in the world. The facility can only be accessed
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by a ferry.
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## History
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The Norwegian government bought the island in 1898 and built a juvenile
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detention centre in 1900. In 1915, the boys briefly took over the
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facility when 40 boys rallied around four youths who had escaped and
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been recaptured. The group refused to work, armed themselves with
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farming tools and stones, cut the telephone lines and then burned down
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the barn with stolen matches and cigars.
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When instructors and guards failed to quell the riot, the military was
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called in. Over a hundred troops stormed the island. Also on scene were
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two seaplanes, two submarines, and the armored ship "Norway". Several of
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the boys escaped into the forest but were later recaptured. Eventually,
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the centre was shut down in 1970 and reopened as a prison in 1982.\[1\]
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## Prison
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Now striving to be the "the first ecological prison in the world" and
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one of the most humane. Inmates live in wooden cottages and work at the
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prison farm, and in their free time can dine on food cooked by a chef,
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and enjoy a sauna, tennis courts, cross-country skiing and horseback
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riding. Reoffending rates have been reported at 16%, compared to a
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European average of around 70%.\[2\]
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Only a handful of cars are used by prison staff on the island and along
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with the ferry, their engines will be converted to biofuel. The prison's
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six horses do most of the work, pulling carts driven by the prisoners,
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waste from the prison is used to generate power while oil heaters are
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being converted to wood.\[3\]
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## References
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<references />
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1. [Wikipedia](Wikipedia "wikilink") -
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<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bastøy_Prison>
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2. \~ The Guardian (2013) - [Bastoy: the Norwegian prison that
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works](https://www.theguardian.com/society/2013/sep/04/bastoy-norwegian-prison-works)
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3. \~ Environmental News Network (2006) - [In Norway, Break the Law and
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Live by a Beach](https://www.enn.com/articles/3950) |