Prioritizing rehabilitation over punishment to lower recidivism rates, Norway shifted to this model in the 1990s, creating small, community-based prisons close to inmates’ families and allowing regular visits, which saw the number of repeat offenders drop from 70% to around 20%.
The new facility, designed to house approximately 200 female inmates, includes living quarters, an alcohol rehabilitation center, a production hall and a transition unit for supporting prisoners’ reintegration into society.
It is also energy-autonomous and equipped with wastewater recycling systems as well as a photovoltaic system, making it fully energy self-sufficient.
"The women, who would carry out their sentences in the new prison facility modeled on Scandinavian prisons of this type, will be subjected to specialized rehabilitation and therapeutical measures," a spokesman for the Regional Director of Prison Service in Rzeszów told Poland’s state news agency PAP.
Polish prison staff have received training from Norwegian counterparts and will employ “dynamic security” principles that blend security with rehabilitation efforts, the spokesman added.
"Training courses were attended by a group of selected Polish officers, who now share their knowledge with their colleagues around the country,” he said.
In addition to secure living quarters, the €21.4 million prison includes a transition house located outside the main grounds, designed to resemble daily life outside prison and facilitate reintegration.
Before completing their sentences, inmates will spend six months in the facility preparing for life outside of prison as part of their social reintegration process.
