Bastøy Prison ( no, Bastøy fengsel) is a minimum-security

prison A prison, also known as a jail, gaol (dated, standard English, Australian, and historically in Canada), penitentiary (American English and Canadian English), detention center (or detention centre outside the US), correction center, correc ...

on Bastøy Island,

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

, located in the

Horten is a town and municipality in Vestfold in Vestfold og Telemark county, Norway—located along the Oslofjord. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Horten. The municipality also includes the town of Åsgårdstrand an ...

municipality about 75 km south of

Oslo Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of ...

. The prison is on a 2.6 km² island and hosts 115 inmates. Arne Kvernvik-Nilsen, governor of the prison, leads a staff of 69 prison employees. Of this staff, only 5 employees remain on the island overnight. The prison is about one hour commuting distance from Oslo. Once a prison colony for young boys, the facility is trying to become "the first ecological prison in the world".

Recidivism Recidivism (; from ''recidive'' and ''ism'', from Latin ''recidīvus'' "recurring", from ''re-'' "back" and ''cadō'' "I fall") is the act of a person repeating an undesirable behavior after they have experienced negative consequences of th ...

has been reported at 16%, compared to the European average of around 70%. Inmates are housed in wooden cottages and work the

prison farm A prison farm (also known as a penal farm) is a large correctional facility where penal labor convicts are forced to work on a farm legally and illegally (in the wide sense of a productive unit), usually for manual labor, largely in the open air ...

. During their free time, inmates have access to

horseback riding Equestrianism (from Latin , , , 'horseman', 'horse'), commonly known as horse riding (Commonwealth English) or horseback riding (American English), includes the disciplines of riding, driving, and vaulting. This broad description includes the ...

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment, but may also be caught from stocked bodies of water such as ponds, canals, park wetlands and reservoirs. Fishing techniques inclu ...

tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...

, and

cross-country skiing Cross-country skiing is a form of skiing where skiers rely on their own locomotion to move across snow-covered terrain, rather than using ski lifts or other forms of assistance. Cross-country skiing is widely practiced as a sport and recreation ...

. The only access to the prison is from a

ferry A ferry is a ship, watercraft or amphibious vehicle used to carry passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A passenger ferry with many stops, such as in Venice, Italy, is sometimes called a water bus or water taxi ...

that departs from

Bastøy Boys' Home Insurrection

Before the current prison, the island was occupied by a juvenile detention centre, Bastøy Boys' Home. The Norwegian government purchased the island in 1898 for 95,000 kroner, and the reformatory opened in 1900. In 1915, it was the site of an insurrection by the boys which was suppressed by the Norwegian military; this event was later dramatised in the 2010 film, ''

King of Devil's Island ''King of Devil's Island'' (french: Les Révoltés de l'île du Diable), ( no, Kongen av Bastøy) is a 2010 French-Norwegian action drama film directed by Marius Holst. The rebellion occurred on 20 May 1915, when between 30 and 40 boys rallied around four youths who had escaped and been recaptured. The group refused to work, armed themselves with farming tools and stones, cut the telephone lines and then burned down the barn with stolen matches and cigars. The same barn had been burned down two years before. When instructors and guards failed to quell the riot, the military was called in. Over a hundred troops stormed the island. Also on scene were two seaplanes, two submarines, and the armored ship "Norway" from the naval base

Karljohansvern Karjohansvern (''Karljohansvern Orlogsstasjon, KJV'') at Horten was the main base for the Royal Norwegian Navy from 1850 to 1963. Background In 1818, it was decided to establish a naval base in Horten. It was first called ''Hortens verft'', an ...

in Horten. Several of the boys escaped into the forest but were later recaptured. Officials identified the ringleader of the rioters as a newly arrived 18-year-old "gypsy boy" plumbing apprentice from Christiania. Three others were identified as his accomplices. The 1915 uprising did not end the school's strict disciplinarian methods which continued until 1953 when the

Ministry of Social Affairs A Ministry of Social Affairs or Department of Social Affairs is the common name for a government department found in Sovereign state, states where the government is divided into Ministry (government department), ministries or departments. While th ...

took over operations. The school was shut down on 1 October 1970.

Prison

Bastøy Island, once infamous for its brutal reformatory, is now the site of the progressive Bastøy Prison, founded in 1982. Inmates must apply to serve their time on the island. Applications are denied if officials believe the prisoner poses a threat. In the 38 years the prison has been operating there has only been one attempted escape. The inmates know how easy they have it and fear the consequences of escaping. If caught escaping, the inmate is sent to one of the most strict prisons. At the prison, inmates live in cottages, dine on food cooked by a chef, and enjoy a

sauna A sauna (, ), or sudatory, is a small room or building designed as a place to experience dry or wet heat sessions, or an establishment with one or more of these facilities. The steam and high heat make the bathers perspire. A thermometer in a ...

, tennis courts and horseback riding.CNN – Welcome to the world's nicest prison
Retrieved 27 July 2012 The prison aims to rehabilitate the inmates currently residing there. The inmates live peacefully together, work well together and depend on each other for resources. In 2014, the prison was awarded the 2014 Blanche Major Reconciliation Prize for "promoting human values and tolerance". Bastøy Prison has been called one of the most liberal prisons. Unlike most prisons throughout the world, the guards and inmates get along. At night, only 5 guards are left on the grounds to monitor the one hundred plus inmates. Inmates can experience a rough transition. Life for inmates in normal prisons is dictated for them every second of the day; however, at Bastøy, the prisoners have to learn how to fill their days with activities.

In popular culture

The prison colony was featured in the DVD extras for

Michael Moore Michael Francis Moore (born April 23, 1954) is an American filmmaker, author and left-wing activist. His works frequently address the topics of globalization and capitalism. Moore won the 2002 Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature for ' ...

's 2007 documentary ''

Sicko ''Sicko'' is a 2007 American political documentary film by filmmaker Michael Moore. Investigating health care in the United States, it focuses on the country's health insurance and the pharmaceutical industry. The film compares the for-profit ...

''. In 2010, both a documentary about the island by Michel Kapteijns was releasedBastoy the Movie — documentary by Michel Kapteijns
Retrieved 2 February 2010 and ''

King of Devil's Island ''King of Devil's Island'' (french: Les Révoltés de l'île du Diable), ( no, Kongen av Bastøy) is a 2010 French-Norwegian action drama film directed by Marius Holst.Marius Holst Marius Holst (born 15 January 1965) is a Norwegian filmmaker, a producer and a screenwriter. Life Film school student Marius Holst studied at the London International Film School. In 1990, his diploma film was nominated for the Amanda Award for ...

.Kongen av Bastøy (King of Devil's Island) — film by Marius Holst
Retrieved 2 February 2010 In 2015, the prison was featured in an episode of ''

Good Mythical Morning ''Good Mythical Morning'' (abbreviated as ''GMM'') is an American comedy, talk and variety YouTube series created by Rhett McLaughlin and Link Neal. The show first aired on YouTube on January 9, 2012, and continues to be uploaded every weekda ...

''. In 2015, the prison was again featured in

's documentary ''

Where to Invade Next ''Where to Invade Next'' is a 2015 American documentary film written and directed by Michael Moore. The film, in the style of a travelogue, has Moore spending time in countries such as Italy, France, Finland, Tunisia, Slovenia, Germany, and Portu ...

''.

References

External links

* Official site (English) http://www.bastoyfengsel.no/English/straffegjennomforing-Eng.html * Bastøy movie website https://web.archive.org/web/20110202161227/http://bastoythemovie.com/ * Bastøy Prison Photos https://web.archive.org/web/20080204215610/http://www.jus.uio.no/ikrs/ekskursjon/fengslet/talking_about_pictures.html *Sutter, John D.
Welcome to the world's nicest prison
" ''

CNN CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by the M ...

''. 24 May 2012. * Adams, William Lee.
Sentenced to Serving the Good Life in Norway
" "

TIME Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to ...

". 12 July 2010. {{DEFAULTSORT:Bastoy Prison Buildings and structures in Vestfold og Telemark Prisons in Norway Year of establishment missing Horten Prison islands

Bastøy Boys' Home Insurrection

Prison

In popular culture

See also

References

External links