With the conditions which have been
reported about the Bastoy Low Security Prison on a small picturesque island in
Norway, it is a wonder that prisoners try to escape. The prison is well known
for the organic farming which is carried out by inmates, who have a relaxed
regime which includes watching movies, going cycling, using the local beaches,
the prison has no fences and is held up as an example of Norway’s emphasis on
humane incarceration policies.
However it would seem that the
relaxed regime was not to the liking of one inmate who was in his middle
twenties. The man, convicted of a sex offence, is no to be considered a danger
to the public which is just as well as he used a surf board and a shovel to
paddle his way to the mainland, which is about 3 kilometres away from the
island. The prison chief Tom Eberhardt said that although it may sound
spectacular, he could easily have found something else to float his way from
the island.
The island prison is used to prepare
prisoners for eventual release and has serial killers, rapists and drug
traffickers typically among the criminals serving their time there. Whilst on
the island the prisoners do farm work, cooking and any other practical tasks to
ensure they are ready to lead a normal life when finally released.
The island is connected to the
mainland by a number of ferry crossings which occur about a dozen times a day,
These sailings are by and large for employees and visitors, it is hardly
surprising that few prisoners try to escape, but one thing is certain, if they
do and are caught, they will never be allowed to the island prison again, as
the prison chief pointed out, there is no return ticket if you do manage to run
away.
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