Science1 publisherNot yet confirmed elsewhere2 min readPublished
Criminologist faults Norway for shrinking the open prisons that run at almost half the cost
Norway is putting money into large high-security prisons while scaling back open ones that cost almost half as much to run, according to criminologist Pernille Nyvoll. Her health case comes from fieldwork with prisoners and staff, and the people sent to open prisons are a selected group.
The Scientist · Science desk
What happened
- Norway's open low-security prisons are internationally known, but Nyvoll's research finds they hold only a small number of the country's prisoners.
- In several of the new prisons, Nyvoll says, it is harder to maintain a good relationship between prisoners and staff.
- Her examples of health-promoting settings are small open prisons such as Bastøy, where prisoners can swim in the sea, and Leira, where they can walk dogs.
- The article says a prison's design, natural surroundings and social setting directly affect prisoners' mental, physical and social health.
- Norway has no life sentences, so every prisoner returns to society, and Nyvoll wants them released in better mental health.
Compiled by The ScientistSomething wrong?How this is made
Why it matters
- cost By the correctional service's own figures, each prisoner held in high security instead of an open prison costs the state roughly twice as much to run.
- constraint Because the health and rehabilitation case rests on observation of a selected population, it can argue the direction of policy but cannot yet price the benefit given up.
- exposure Women, severely disabled prisoners and foreign nationals, already short of open places, stand to gain least if new money goes to high-security units.
The cost comparison is the firmest number in Nyvoll's case, because it comes from the Norwegian Correctional Service's own annual report for 2024 [2]. The article does not give the gap in kroner, the unit it is counted in, or reoffending figures behind its statement that open prisons provide "a significantly better foundation for rehabilitation" [15].
The health evidence is fieldwork, a design suited to explaining why a regime helps people and less suited to measuring how much it helps. Nyvoll spent a great deal of time with prisoners and staff, observing how prisons function in practice [3]. "I've looked at everything that influences whether you have a good or a bad day in prison. I've spoken to both prisoners and staff," she said [4].
Her explanation centres on staff. "In smaller settings, it is easier to preserve the prisoners' identity and autonomy, while building close, trust-based relationships between prisoners and staff," she said [6]. In her account, size matters mainly because it makes those relationships easier to keep. "It is not the absence of control and security that makes the low-security prisons successful, but the presence of trust, responsibility and humanity," she said [7].
Comparing the two regimes also runs into a selection problem. If open prisons hold people judged lower risk, part of their lower cost and better results comes from who is sent there. Moving a high-security population into an open setting would not automatically bring either with it. Her own account of who is left out shows placement shaped by facilities and by presumed risk. "Women lack access to open low-security prisons equivalent to those for men; people with severe disabilities lack universal design features such as elevators; and foreign nationals are often placed in high-security facilities due to a presumed risk of escape," she said [9].
I think the cost half of her argument is the stronger one, since it rests on the state's own accounts [2]. The health half is plausible and closely observed, but nobody has measured how large the effect is. She also makes a case that needs no effect size. "Prisoners also have the right to good health," she said [11].
What to watch
- Correctional Service figures splitting running costs and reoffending by security level for comparable prisoners would test both halves of Nyvoll's case.
- Publication of the study behind the article, with the prisons visited and the number of prisoners and staff interviewed, would show how far its findings extend.
- Whether any new investment adds open places for women, who Nyvoll says lack open prisons equivalent to those for men.
Clarity's read
What the record supports and how the coverage leans. The claims behind it follow.
Reality
- Evidence38
- Adoption
- Insufficient
- Hype gap+30
- Incentives
- Insufficient
- Confidence45
Claim ledger
Ranked by verification strength, evidence, and original report placement.
- [1]
According to criminologist Pernille Nyvoll, Norwegian authorities are investing in large, modular high-security prisons while small low-security prisons are being scaled back.
- [2]
Low-security prisons cost almost half as much to run as high-security prisons, according to the Norwegian Correctional Service's annual report for 2024.
ReportedSupportedSource: Norwegian Correctional Service annual report 2024, as reported by phys.orgView cited source - [3]
Nyvoll spent a great deal of time with both prisoners and staff to observe how the prison functions in practice.
- [4]
"I've looked at everything that influences whether you have a good or a bad day in prison. I've spoken to both prisoners and staff."
- [5]
Nyvoll says that in several of the new prisons it is more difficult to maintain a good prisoner-staff relationship.
- [6]
"In smaller settings, it is easier to preserve the prisoners' identity and autonomy, while building close, trust-based relationships between prisoners and staff."
- [7]
"It is not the absence of control and security that makes the low-security prisons successful, but the presence of trust, responsibility and humanity."
- [8]
Norway is internationally recognised for its open low-security prisons, but Nyvoll's research shows this applies to only a small number of prisoners.
- [9]
"Women lack access to open low-security prisons equivalent to those for men; people with severe disabilities lack universal design features such as elevators; and foreign nationals are often placed in high-security facilities due to a presumed risk of escape."
- [10]
Nyvoll: "Since we don't have life sentences in Norway, they will inevitably return to society after serving their sentences." She said the aim is for people to be released in better health, particularly mental health.
- [11]
"Prisoners also have the right to good health."
- [12]
High-security prisons cost roughly twice as much to run as low-security prisons.
- [13]
Small open low-security prisons such as Leira and Bastøy are better placed to promote health; Nyvoll: "Not all prisons can offer swimming lessons in the sea, but they can at Bastøy. At Leira, it's possible to go for walks with dogs."
ReportedInsufficientSource: phys.org and Pernille Nyvoll2 sources— create a free account to open themView cited source - [14]
The prison's design, natural surroundings and social setting have a direct impact on prisoners' mental, physical and social health, the article says.
- [15]
The article states that low-security prisons provide a significantly better foundation for rehabilitation.
Sources
1 independent publisher whose own reporting we read for this story.
- phys.orgHealth-promoting imprisonment is being deprioritized, researcher claims
1 article · October 8, 2026
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