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Date: November 25, 2024 Mon
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norway
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209 total results foundAuthor: June, Raymond Title: A User's Guide to Measuring Corruption Summary: This book is targeted at national stakeholders, donors and international actors involved in corruption measurement and anti-corruption programming. It explains the strengths and limitations of different measurement approaches, and provides practical guidance on how to use the indicators and data generated by corruption measurement tools to identify entry points for anti-corruption programming. Details: Oslo, Norway: United Nations Development Programme, Oslo Governance Centre, 2008 Source: Global Integrity Year: 2008 Country: Norway Keywords: Corruption Shelf Number: 114393 |
Author: Halvorsen, Kate Title: Shady Traffic. Part Three: Review of the Portefolio Supported by the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Combating Trafficking in Human Beings Summary: This report is part three of a series of reports commissioned as a review of the Norwegian project portfolio on human trafficking. Part Three deals with an external review of a sample of projects/partners with a main focus on results and lessons learned. Details: Oslo, Norway: Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation, 2009 Source: Norad Report 2c/2009 Year: 2009 Country: Norway Keywords: Human Trafficking Shelf Number: 115357 |
Author: Skilbrei, May-Len Title: Facing Return: Perceptions of Repatriation among Nigerian Women in Prostitution in Norway Summary: This report explores the prospects and needs of Nigerian women in prostitution in Norway with regard to voluntary return or deportation to Nigeria. Details: Oslo: Fafo Institute for Applied International Studies, 2007. 89p. Source: Fafo-report 555 Year: 2007 Country: Norway Keywords: Prostitutes Shelf Number: 116513 |
Author: Jennings, Kathleen Title: Protecting Whom?: Approaches to sexual exploitation and abuse in UN peacekeeping operations Summary: This policy report critically examines the preliminary impact and implications of the zero-tolerance policy towards sexual exploitation and abuse in two UN peacekeeping missions - the UN stablization Mission in Haiti and the UN Mission in Liberia - using the organizing principle of protection. It argues that the missions have taken different approaches to implementing the zero-tolerance policy according to different primary referents of protection: in Haiti, the UN image implementation of the zero-tolerance policy; while in Liberia, the local population was the primary referent, resulting in a more maximalist approach. This report also lays out findings of particular relevance for policymakers and practitioners Details: Oslo: Fafo, 2008, 76p. Source: Internet Source Year: 2008 Country: Norway Keywords: Sexual Exploitation, Sexual Abuse, Peacekeeping, U Shelf Number: 116508 |
Author: Tyldum, Guri Title: Someone Who Cares: A Study of Vulnerability and Risk of Marriage Migration from Russia and Thailand to Norway Summary: This report describes opportunities and challenges for women who come to Norway from Thailand and Russia through marriage. The main emphasis is on ways into, as well as ways out of, transnational marriage. The report takes up topics such as motivation and expectations among those seeking transnational marriage, opportunities for marriage migration through networks and tourism, the role of international marriage agencies, consequences of divorce, the (lack of) willingness to return to country of origin and the women’s opportunities for starting a life on their own in Norway. The report describes the economic, legal and discursive frameworks that the women have to relate to, and how this in combination with the women’s personal resources for some can combine to create particular vulnerabilities and room for exploitation. In light of this the authors also discuss how exploitation of marriage migrants could raise the need for prosecution and protection within the human trafficking framework. Details: Oslo: Fafo, 2008. 142p. Source: Internet Resource: Fafo-report 2008:26; Accessed September 2, 2010 at: http://www.fafo.no/pub/rapp/20068/20068.pdf Year: 2008 Country: Norway Keywords: Human Trafficking Shelf Number: 119733 |
Author: Skardhamar, Torbjorn Title: Modelling 'Crime-Proneness': A Comparison of Models for Repeated Count Outcomes Summary: In the criminal career literature, the individual-level age-crime relationship is commonly modelled using generalized linear mixed models, where between-individual heterogeneity is then handled through specifying random effect(s) with some distribution. It is common to specify either a normal or discrete distribution for the random effects. However, there are also other options, and the choice of specification might have substantial effect on the results. In this article, we compare how various methods perform on Norwegian longitudinal data on registered crimes. We also present an approach that might be new to criminologists: the Poisson-gamma regression model. This model is interpretable, parsimonious, and quick to compute. For our data, the distributional assumptions have not dramatic effect on substantive interpretation. In criminology, the mixture distribution is also of theoretical interest by its own right, and we conclude that a gamma distribution is reasonable. We emphasize the importance of comparing multiple methods in any setting where the distributional assumptions are uncertain. Details: Oslo, Norway: Statistics Norway, Research Department, 2010. 29p. Source: Internet Resource: Discussion Papers No. 611: Accessed October 21, 2010 at: http://www.ssb.no/publikasjoner/DP/pdf/dp611.pdf Year: 2010 Country: Norway Keywords: Criminal Careers Shelf Number: 120037 |
Author: Solhjell, Randi Title: Sexualised Violence in War and Conflict: A Qualitative Mapping STudy of Norwegian Capacities, Potential and Challenges Summary: This report addresses the challenges and opportunities facing Norway in relation to the combat against sexualised and gender-based violence (SGBV) in war and conflict situations. In presenting a map of Norwegian actors and agencies in the field, it constitutes a critical resource that both emphasises Norway's potential to contribute and recommends proposals for improvement. The context of the report is international commitments to address, prevent and limit sexualised violence (SV) in conflict, as embodied in UN Security Council Resolutions 1325 (2000) and 1820 (2008); the efforts of relevant actors in Norway to work towards fulfilment of these goals; and the current limitations in the way of these actors achieving best practice. The content of the report is based on a qualitative mapping study conducted in Norway during spring 2010. This collates some of the work and research being done in Norway across the spectrum of issues that SGBV raises. The people interviewed represent ministries and other government institutions, the academic sector and/or civil society in various parts of Norway. The main findings are threefold: •First, research on the subject is in several important respects incomplete and unsystematic. The gaps relate to the number and type of cases analysed, and the scholarly discipline that is brought to bear in this analysis. • Second, although Norway's condition is one of peace, equality and relative prosperity, including a well-functioning police and justice apparatus, it still faces a major challenge in combat various forms of sexualised violence. In meeting this challenge, the focus of argument should perhaps shift from the smooth running of the security apparatus to questioning and affecting social attitudes. •Third, the lack of attention towards men in all areas (research, treatment, policy, empowerment projects) is alarming. In a conflict or post-conflict setting, men and boys’ disempowerment and alienation from society should be of high importance at the international agenda to combat SV. There is a real need to have men on board, in order to avoid further gender stereotyping that (for example) perceives the concerns around SV as “women's issues” and men as inherently violent. These findings are in turn the basis of three recommendations: • First, the term “gender approaches” in peace operations too often is taken to mean simply increasing the number of women in the police and army, or increased attention to women’s situation and problems. Instead, the focus should be to assess security challenges for the population under threat. If, for example, fear of rape is a daily concern, then this is a security threat with an equal status to combat wounds. • Second, there is a need to apply context-sensitive approaches, including humility and understanding towards the society in need, and asking questions about what has worked previously in the relevant setting to curb the level of SV and why these mechanisms are not currently functioning. • Third, there should be greater attention to the armed forces and their understanding of SV, amounting to a debate on the very nature of conflict-related violence and relational violence. There is vast knowledge and experience among Norwegian professionals from different sectors. In the ongoing efforts to design new projects or strive for best practice in the field, they should be consulted. At the same time, we strongly encourage better transparency, cooperation and information flow among these actors in Norway to advance the international agenda to end the scourge of sexualised violence in war and conflict situations. Details: Oslo: Norwegian Peacebuilding Centre, 2010. 19p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed November 9, 2010 at: Year: 2010 Country: Norway Keywords: Rape Shelf Number: 120264 |
Author: Norli, Av Bjorg Title: Foreign Prostitution in Oslo: Pro Sentret's Knowledge and Experiences Summary: The report presents Pro Sentret's experiences of and knowledge about women from Estern Europe and Nigeria working as prostitutes in Oslo. Details: Oslo: Pro Sentret, 2006. 66p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed December 16, 2010 at: http://www.prosenteret.no/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=218:foreign-prostitution-in-oslo-pro-sentret-v-bjrg-norli-2006&catid=17:prostitusjon&Itemid=60 Year: 2006 Country: Norway Keywords: Prostitutes (Norway) Shelf Number: 120529 |
Author: Bjorndahl, Ulla Title: Fair Game: A Survey of the Violence Experienced by Women Working as Prostitutes Summary: This is a report on the violence, threats and harassment faced by women working as prostitutes. The respondents to the survey were women who were in touch with one or more of the welfare service providers for women who have worked as prostitutes in Oslo. The main findings of the survey show that many of the respondents have experienced violence. Two thirds of the women stated that they had experienced violence, threats and harassment within or outside prostitution. Half of the respondents reported suffering prostitution-related violence, whilst half also stated that they had experienced non-prostitution-related violence. Over a third of respondents had experienced prostitution-related violence in the past year. One important finding is that the women had experienced more non-prostitution related than prostitution-related violence. The violence suffered by the women can be described as serious, and in many cases very serious. Where the violence was prostitution-related, the perpetrator was generally a new client or another stranger. In the case of respondents who had suffered non-prostitution-related violence, the perpetrator was generally their partner, but in some cases an acquaintance or stranger. The women who reported most violence were the ones who stated that they were addicted to drugs or alcohol. It is important to note that this survey shows the prevalence of violence against women who have worked as prostitutes. These women experience significantly more violent episodes than the general population. However, violent episodes are not part of their everyday experience as prostitutes. If you look at the number of client contacts (e.g. five a day, five days a week) relative to the number of violent episodes (between one and three over the time that they have worked as a prostitute), violence is very much the exception and not the rule when selling sex. Nevertheless, many women working as prostitutes are probably constantly in fear of violence. This report only presents some of the findings of the survey. In the long run, Pro Sentret would like to publish further reports based on the remaining material, which is both comprehensive and wide-ranging. Areas to look at would include the national and cultural variations in the responses. Details: Oslo: Pro Sentret, 2008. 65p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed December 16, 2010 at: http://www.prosenteret.no/images/stories/prostitusjon/Fair%20Game.pdf Year: 2008 Country: Norway Keywords: Prostitutes Shelf Number: 120531 |
Author: Bhuller, Manudeep Title: Broadband Internet: An Information Superhighway to Sex Crime? Summary: Does internet use trigger sex crime? We use unique Norwegian data on crime and internet adoption to shed light on this question. A public program with limited funding rolled out broadband access points in 2000-2008, and provides plausibly exogenous variation in internet use. Our instrumental variables and fixed effect estimates show that internet use is associated with a substantial increase in reported incidences of rape and other sex crimes. We present a theoretical framework that highlights three mechanisms for how internet use may affect reported sex crime, namely a reporting effect, a matching effect on potential offenders and victims, and a direct effect on crime propensity. Our results indicate that the direct effect is non-negligible and positive, plausibly as a result of increased consumption of pornography. Details: Bonn: Institute for the Study of Labor, 2011. 44p. Source: Internet Resource: IZA Discussion Paper No. 5675: Accessed July 21, 2011 at: http://ftp.iza.org/dp5675.pdf Year: 2011 Country: Norway Keywords: Computer Crimes Shelf Number: 122136 |
Author: Strom, Agnete Title: A Glimpse of 30 Years of Struggle Against Prostitution by the Women's Liberation Movement in Norway Summary: The Women's Front of Norway has worked against prostitution for 30 years. In 2008 a law criminalizing the purchase of a sexual act was passed in Norway. This article describes the struggle and the main actors in lobbying for the law. In the 1980s, we raised awareness of prostitution and trafficking in women in a study of the pornography industry, and targeted sex tourist agencies organizing trips to the Philippines and Thailand. In the 1990s, our members in trade unions got their unions to take a stand against prostitution and against legalizing prostitution as "work". In 2006, the Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions Congress supported a law criminalizing the buyer of a sexual act; this had a strong impact on the centre-left coalition Government. We invited leaders of the Coalition Against Trafficking in Women to Norway to meet parliamentarians and trade unionists, and kept up the pressure. From the start, the focus was on ensuring that the situation for women in prostitution was ameliorated. Our demands have been for better social services and job training. Street prostitution, especially in Oslo, has been curbed, and a growth in the indoor market has not been reported. Our next task is participating in the awareness campaign "Buying Sex is not a Sport" in connection with the Soccer World Cup, South Africa, 2010. Details: Bergen, Norway: Kvinnefronten/Women's Front of Norway, 2011. 35p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed September 2, 2011 at: http://www.wunrn.com/pdf/hele_filen.pdf Year: 2011 Country: Norway Keywords: Pornography Shelf Number: 122622 |
Author: Jahnsen, Synnove Okland Title: Women Who Cross Borders – Black Magic? A Critical Discourse Analysis of the Norwegian newspaper coverage Summary: In some of Norway’s biggest cities; Oslo, Bergen and Stavanger there has been reported an increased number of foreign women in prostitution (Pro Senteret 2006). The increase of foreign women in prostitution has led to changes within the local prostitution scene, due to the fact that women who support their drug abuse by prostitution has left the market or become less visible. It has also led to changes in the public discussion of prostitution. The media repeatedly describe the phenomenon by using words such as “explosions”, “invasions” and “floods” of “foreign prostitutes” or “foreign whores” who are controlled by “foreign criminals” and mafia-like organisations, something which escalated into a “whore-war”. It has especially been the Nigerian group of women who have received massive media attention, as media could report an increase from two Nigerian women in 2003, to approximately four hundred by 2006. Nigerian women were described as more visible, not only because of their ethnicity, but also because they behaved different than other groups of women. The public outcry especially escalated when the prostitution scene became an increasingly visible element in Oslo’s parade street Karl Johan. Nigerian women in prostitution, were in the public eye presented, in every way possible, as being a “matter out of place” (Douglas 1996), and as doing the wrong things at the wrong places. Details: Bergen, Norway: University of Bergen, Department of Sociology, 2007. 120p. Source: Internet Resource: Master's Thesis: Accessed November 15, 2011 at: https://bora.uib.no/handle/1956/2390 Year: 2007 Country: Norway Keywords: Media Shelf Number: 123355 |
Author: Monsbakken, Christian Weisæth Title: Crime and the transition to marriage: The roles of gender and partner's criminal involvement Summary: Several previous studies have argued that marriage leads to a decline in criminal propensity. Most of these studies have focused on men and have given little attention to the characteristics of their partner and events related to changes in offending. In this article, we use Norwegian registry data to study changes in the criminal propensity for all persons who married between 1995 and 2001 (117,882 women and 120,912 men). We link data on individuals to data on their marital partners and obtain information on partners’ criminal histories. We find that the changes in offending rates related to marriage are anticipatory and strongest for men. The changes in offending vary substantially by partner’s criminal history. Details: Oslo, Norway: Research Department, Statistics Norway, 2012. 27p. Source: Discussion Paper No. 678: Internet Resource: Accessed March 14, 2012 at http://www.ssb.no/publikasjoner/DP/pdf/dp678.pdf Year: 2012 Country: Norway Keywords: Crime and Marriage (Norway) Shelf Number: 124545 |
Author: Monsbakken, Christian Weisæth Title: Crime and the transition to parenthood: The role of sex and relationship context Summary: Research on desistance from crime has paid little attention to parenthood as a “turning point”. In this paper, we use Norwegian register data on a population of men and women who had their first child between 1995 and 2001 (131,167 women and 127,415 men). We provide separate estimates for sex and marital status as parenthood has different implications for men and women. Their social and economic situations will also vary by marital status, which is likely to have implications for offending. We describe the changes in offending for this sample year-by-year, comparing subjects before and after child-birth. Overall, we find that the transition to parenthood is characterized by a decrease in criminal activity. There is considerable heterogeneity between women and men. The term “turning point” applies only to men who are not living with the other parent. Details: Oslo, Norway: Research Department, Statistics Norway, 2012. 28p. Source: Discussion Paper No. 673: Internet Resource: Accessed March 14, 2012 at http://www.ssb.no/publikasjoner/DP/pdf/dp673.pdf Year: 2012 Country: Norway Keywords: Parenting and Crime (Norway) Shelf Number: 124546 |
Author: Galloway, Taryn Ann Title: Initiation into crime: An analysis of Norwegian register data on five birth cohorts Summary: We construct linked register data on five Norwegian birth cohorts, covering: criminal charges after age 15; family characteristics and history up to age 15; and (for males) IQ test scores. A longitudinal analysis of the risk of initiation into crime in early adulthood suggests an increased risk for the children of young and unmarried mothers and for those experiencing disruptive family events including divorce or maternal death during childhood. There is a relationship between continuity of parental employment and reduced risk, with no evidence of harm from mothers' employment. Cognitive ability remains strongly associated with reduced risk after allowing for family history and circumstances. Details: Oslo, Norway: Research Department, Statistics Norway, 2011. 43p. Source: Discussion Paper NO. 655: Internet Resource: Accessed March 14, 2012 at Year: 2011 Country: Norway Keywords: Family Relationships (Norway) Shelf Number: 124547 |
Author: Galloway, Taryn Ann Title: Does parental income matter for onset of offending? Summary: Although several established theories of crime often suggest an association between socio-economic background and youth criminal involvement, the empirical evidence for such claims diverges considerably. The aim of this paper is to re-investigate the relationship between family income and criminal charges by exploiting the rich register data available in Norway. The longitudinal data sources used in the study encompass the entire resident population from five birth cohorts, and allow us to identify youths charged with crimes committed from 1992 to 2004 and link information on these youths with information on family earnings for several years. In a criminal career perspective, our outcome variable is the age of first offence (onset). We find that family academic resources are more important than family income for all kinds of offences, except for serious theft. Details: Source: Discussion Papers No. 588: Internet Resource: Accessed March 17, 2012 at Year: 0 Country: Norway Keywords: Criminal Careers (Norway) Shelf Number: 124563 |
Author: Skardhamar, Torbjørn Title: Life after prison: The relationship between employment and re-incarceration Summary: We explore the relationship between formal employment and recidivism using a dataset that follows every Norwegian resident released from prison in 2003 for several years. By the end of 2006, 27 percent are re-incarcerated. Using a Cox proportional hazard model that controls for a host of individual characteristics, we find that the hazard of re-incarceration is 63 percent lower for those getting employed compared to those not getting employed. While some of the moderating association between employment and re-incarceration is accounted for by observable individual characteristics, the substantially lower hazard for those getting employed indicates a possibility of a considerable benign effect of employment on recidivism. Our analysis thus provides further indication that provision of employment opportunities can facilitate the return to society after release from prison. Details: Oslo: Research Department, Statistics Norway, 2009. 25p. Source: Discussion Papers No. 597: Internet Resource: Accessed March 17, 2012 at http://www.ssb.no/publikasjoner/DP/pdf/dp597.pdf Year: 2009 Country: Norway Keywords: Employment (Norway) Shelf Number: 124564 |
Author: Rege, Mari Title: The effect of plant closure on crime Summary: We estimate the effect of exposure to plant closure on crime using an individual-level panel data set containing criminal charges for all unmarried and employed Norwegian men below the age of 40. Men originally employed in plants that subsequently closed are 14 percent more likely to be charged of a crime than comparable men in stable plants. There is no difference in charge rates prior to closure, supporting a causal interpretation of our result. Within crime categories, we find no effect of plant closure on property crime, perhaps because closure has a small and insignificant effect on subsequent earnings. We estimate an effect of plant closure on categories of non-acquisitive crime, suggesting a role for mental distress or idleness. A role for idleness is supported by evidence that the effects of plant closure on crime tend to be more pronounced for crimes committed during the week than on weekends. Details: Oslo: Research Department, Statistics Norway, 2009. 33p. Source: Discussion Papers No. 593: Internet Resource: Accessed March 17, 2012 at http://www.ssb.no/publikasjoner/DP/pdf/dp593.pdf Year: 2009 Country: Norway Keywords: Business Closure, Business Downsizing (Norway) Shelf Number: 124565 |
Author: Skarðhamar, Torbjørn Title: Reconsidering the theory on adolescent-limited and life-course persistent antisocial behaviour Summary: This article presents a critical review of the taxonomic theory of adolescent-limited and life-course persistent antisocial behaviour (Moffitt 1993) and its empirical evidence. This influential theory suggests that there are two qualitatively distinct types of offenders that require distinct theoretical explanations. Moreover, the empirical evidence for the typology is considered to be strong, at least by some. I discuss along three lines. First, to what extent the taxonomy should be interpreted literally. Second, whether the suggested mechanisms are likely to produce the hypothesized groups. Third, whether some of the most important empirical evidence really does support the theory. I conclude that the theoretical arguments are surprisingly unclear on key issues and that the empirical evidence is highly problematic. Details: Oslo: Research Department, Statistics Norway, 2009. Source: Discussion Papers No. 587: Internet Resource: Accessed March 17, 2012 at Year: 2009 Country: Norway Keywords: Adolescents (Norway) Shelf Number: 124566 |
Author: United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization Title: Application of the 1970 Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property. First Periodical Report: Norway Summary: This first periodical report describes the implementation in Norway of the provisions of the 1970 Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property. The preparation of Norway's first periodical report has been coordinated by the Ministry of Culture based on reports and information from relevant museums and public authorities as concerns their respective remits. In letters dated 9 November 2010 the Ministry of Culture invited the following bodies to present their views on the current situation concerning illicit trade in cultural objects in response to the questionnaire submitted from the UNESCO Secretariat for the preparation of this report: Arts Council Norway1 The Ministry of Trade and Industry The Customs and Excise Authorities The Norwegian National Authority for Investigation and Prosecution of Economic and Environmental Crime (Økokrim) The National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design The Norwegian Directorate for Cultural Heritage (Riksantikvaren) The Museum of Cultural History, University of Oslo As far as practicable, the present report follows the structure of the proposed guidelines from the UNESCO Secretariat. Details: Paris: United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, 2011. 37p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed August 3, 2012 at: http://www.regjeringen.no/upload/KUD/Kunstavdelingen/Rapporter_Utredninger/UNESCO-periodicalreport_1970_Convention-march2011.pdf Year: 2011 Country: Norway Keywords: Antiquities Shelf Number: 125849 |
Author: Skardhamar, Torbjørn Title: Does Employment Contribute to Desistance? Offending Trajectories of Crime-Prone Men Around the Time of Job Entry Summary: Influential perspectives in life course criminology maintain that transitions to adult social roles play an important role in the termination of criminal careers. Along with marriage, employment is frequently associated with potential to assist in the desistance process. At this time, the empirical status of these claims remains contested. Although several studies report negative associations between within-individual changes in employment and offending, the evidence regarding time-order remains limited to anecdotal observations from qualitative data. The present investigation took advantage of administrative data sources available in Norway. Focusing on a sample of criminally active males who became employed during 2001-2006 (n=1,063), general and group based estimation techniques were used to examine monthly changes in offending trajectories around the point of job entry. Results show that most offenders had desisted prior to the employment transition, and that employment entailed marginal to no further reductions in criminal behavior. We were able to identify a group of offenders who became employed during an active phase of the criminal career; and these individuals did experience substantial reductions in criminal offending following job entry. However, this trajectory describes only about 2% of the sample. Overall, the pattern observed in this research suggests that employment, as a naturally occurring event, is best viewed as a consequence rather than a contributing cause of criminal desistance. Details: Oslo: Statistics Norway, Research Department, 2012. 40p. Source: Internet Resource: Discussion Papers, No. 716: Accessed December 10, 2012 at: http://www.ssb.no/publikasjoner/DP/pdf/dp716.pdf Year: 2012 Country: Norway Keywords: Desistance from Crime (Norway) Shelf Number: 127205 |
Author: Bjorndahl, Ulla Title: Dangerous Liaisons: A report on the violence women in prostitution in Oslo are exposed to. Summary: The report looks at the “Nordic/Swedish Model” in relation to the sex industry. This model originated in Sweden which among other things made it illegal to buy sexual services, pimping, procuring, living off the earnings of a sex worker – operating a brothel is also illegal. Essentially the Swedish Model was first enacted in 1999 in Sweden and criminalises the purchase of sex but not the selling of sex. Since 1999 however, Norway and Iceland have introduced similar legislation and many other countries around the world are looking to move to the same model. This report looks at the consequences of the “Nordic/Swedish model” and is a great piece of research to refute benefits of criminalising clients, brothels etc. 1.4 The main findings of the report: • 59% of the participants in the investigation from 2012 said they had been the exposed to violence in prostitution after the sex purchase law was introduced. • The violent offender in most cases is an unfamiliar, male client. • Many of the women reported that they have been the victims of extreme violence in the last 3 years. Among the 123 participants in the investigation 25 say that they have been raped / threatened into having sex, 24 had been threatened with weapons, 17 said they had been robbed/attempted robbed and 11 had been the targets of attempted murder. • The numbers can only be interpreted one way: women who sell sex in Oslo is a group where many have been exposed to extreme violence in the last 3 years. A frequency of extreme violence this high is seldom seen among such a small group in Oslo. • The terms under which sex work is conducted has changed for a large share of the women who provide sexual services. The market is characterized by increased judicialization which means that sex workers are more controlled by the government and therefore perceive themselves to have been increasingly criminalized. • The women rarely talk about their experiences with violence and few seek help from support services after they are exposed to violence. • Harassment and discrimination of women in prostitution from society at large has increased. • Some of the survival strategies sex workers mentioned in 2007/08 have been difficult to maintain subsequent to the passing of the sex purchase ban due to large changes in the prostitution market. The difficulties in employing these strategies are tied to an increased judicialization, a reduction in available customers and changes to the terms under which the women sell sex. Details: Oslo: Municipality of Oslo and Ministry of Justice and Public Safety, 2012. 53p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed February 11, 2013 at: http://nothing-about-us-without-us.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/Dangerous-Liaisons_A-report-on-the-violence-women-in-prostitution-in-Oslo-are-exposed-to_Ulla-Bjorndahl-Oslo-2012_English-Translation.pdf Year: 2012 Country: Norway Keywords: Prostitutes Shelf Number: 127558 |
Author: Brugård, Kaja Høiseth Title: Student Performance and Imprisonment Summary: This paper studies the relationship between education and crime. We exploit Norwegian register data on skills at the end of compulsory education at age 16, high school attainment, and detailed imprisonment data. We find that skills, as measured by GPA, have a strong diminishing effect on imprisonment. The result is robust to a range of model specifications, including school and neighborhood fixed effects and IV-estimations using the result from the external exit examination as an instrument for skills. The relationship is nonlinear and driven by individuals with skills below average. Even though there is a strong relationship between GPA and high school attainment, this does not seem to be the main mechanism for the effect of GPA on imprisonment. This result is also robust to a range of model specifications. Details: Trondheim, Norway: Department of Economics, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, 2012. 36p. Source: Internet Resource: Working Paper Series, No. 9/2012: Accessed February 13, 2013 at: http://www.svt.ntnu.no/iso/wp/2012/9_studentperformance_KHB_TF.pdf Year: 2012 Country: Norway Keywords: Education and Crime Shelf Number: 127599 |
Author: Andersen, Synove N. Title: Age at Immigration and Crime: Findings for Male Immigrants in Norway Summary: Previous studies have identified an “immigrant paradox” in crime in which crime rates are highest among immigrants who are young when they arrive in the host country, even though social capital and integration in the labour market and social networks favour the young. We use Norwegian registry data to estimate the probability of committing at least one crime in any year after the year of immigration, and we include interaction terms between age and age at immigration to explore the troublesome temporal association between age, age at immigration and duration of residence. The results suggest an overall negative association between age at immigration and registered crime, which seems to be exaggerated by the residual effect of the omitted duration of residence variable. Comparability of results between studies depends crucially on how age at immigration is measured. Details: Oslo: Statistics Norway, Research Department, 2012. 32p. Source: Internet Resource: Discussion Papers no. 728: Accessed February 27, 2013 at: http://www.ssb.no/publikasjoner/DP/pdf/dp728.pdf Year: 2012 Country: Norway Keywords: Age Shelf Number: 127731 |
Author: Lyngstad, Torkild Hovde Title: Understanding the Marriage Effect: Changes in Criminal Offending Around the Time of Marriage Summary: Social bonding theories argue that marriage has a restraining effect on criminal offending. Given what is known about marriage and union formation in contemporary Western societies, it is realistic to assume that the social and emotional bonding between married partners predates the actual date of marriage. In consequence, if these processes influence criminal behavior, we should expect significant reductions in offending several years prior to marriage. Independently of the social bonding theory, it is possible to treat marriage as an outcome of rather than a causal agent in the process of criminal desistance. An individual who has “cleaned up his act” may be more attractive in the market; marriages may be unlikely to occur at elevated points of the criminal trajectory for this reason. These issues have received limited attention in prior research. In this study we examine criminal offending trajectories using a within-individual design and population-wide register data on Norwegian men who entered marital unions in the years 1995-2001 (N=120,821). Our results show a gradual and substantial decrease in offending levels during the five years prior to marriage, followed by a small but a non-trivial increase after the formalization of the relationship. Overall, the decade around the martial event is characterized by major strides towards criminal desistance. However, the effect of marital event is negligible relative to the amount of desistance that takes place prior to marriage. Earlier research may have overstated the importance of marriage as a discrete life course event as a causal factor in criminal desistance. Details: Paris: University of Paris - Sorbonne, GEMASS, 2011. 27p. Source: Internet Resource: GEMASS Working Paper 2011 - No. 2: Accessed March 12, 2013 at: http://www.gemass.fr/IMG/pdf/Gemass_Working_Paper_2011_-_no2.pdf Year: 2011 Country: Norway Keywords: Marriage and Desistance (Norway) Shelf Number: 127918 |
Author: Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Title: Armed Violence in Norway: Incidence and Responses Summary: This report concerns the incidence and impact of armed violence in Norway and the strategies employed by both state agencies and civil society to prevent and reduce the phenomenon. The report also presents Norway's broad range of responses to the global problem of armed violence. Armed violence has been recognised by the United Nations, an increasing number of member states, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and civil society organisations as a global humanitarian, developmental and security problem. The UN estimates that armed violence claims some 740,000 lives each year, with several million more people being injured for life. This report has been produced as a follow-up to the May 2010 "Oslo Conference on Armed Violence", where some 60 states committed themselves to measure and monitor the incidence and impact of armed violence in a transparent way, and develop targets and indicators to assess progress on reducing armed violence. This was part of the "Oslo Commitments on Armed Violence", the declaration endorsed by the conference. The conference was jointly organised by Norway and UNDP. The Oslo Commitments identify four key actions states can undertake, alone or in cooperation with each other, the UN, international organisations and civil society to reduce the incidence and impact of armed violence, both at the national and international level. The actions concern monitoring and reporting, the rights of victims, the integration of armed violence prevention and reduction strategies into planning and programming, the relationship with, and the role of, international cooperation and assistance. Armed violence is a global problem that manifests itself in a variety of ways in different geographical areas and political contexts in the world. Thus there is no one single way of addressing armed violence, and meaningful responses need to be multi-sectoral and adapted to local, national and regional contexts. A first step in developing effective responses is to acknowledge the problem and get an overview over its scope and magnitude. Details: Oslo: Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 2010. 44p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed January 16, 2014 at Year: 2010 Country: Norway Keywords: Armed Violence (Norway) Shelf Number: 131772 |
Author: Andersen, Synove N. Title: Pick a Number: Mapping recidivism measures and their consequences Summary: Recidivism studies differ with respect to samples, definitions and follow-up periods. While it is recognized that such differences hamper comparability, there is little systematic knowledge about how recidivism figures are affected. We explore how deliberate changes in the following three parameters affect the reported recidivism levels: 1) sample definition, 2) measure of recidivism, and 3) length of follow up. We use administrative records from Norway which allow using total offender populations and combining information from several sources. Our results show that the proportion of reoffenders varies from 9 to 53 percent, depending on how, among whom and for how long recidivism is measured. Details: Oslo: Statistics Norway, Research Department, 2014. 32p. Source: Internet Resource: Discussion Papers, No. 722: Accessed March 31, 2014 at: http://www.ssb.no/en/forskning/discussion-papers/_attachment/166596?_ts=14496f98d88 Year: 2014 Country: Norway Keywords: Crime Measurement Shelf Number: 132036 |
Author: Skardhamar, Torbjorn Title: Family Formation, Fatherhood and Crime: An Invitation to a Broader Perspective on Crime and Family Transitions Summary: Using large-scale individual-level Norwegian administrative register data on the total population of men, we study the offending rates five years prior to and after five different family-related transitions. Leading criminological theories predict that marriage and fatherhood has a preventive effect on crime, with marriage receiving most support by empirical research. The last decades' major changes in family patterns warrant a re-examination of the marriage effect. We argue that marriage, cohabitation, and fatherhood all are important aspects of the family formation process. We find some support for the hypothesis that family formation inhibit criminal behaviors, but our results are less clear-cut than those reported by previous research. Most importantly, the declines in offending in the years prior to experiencing family transitions do not seem to be of a permanent nature. Details: Oslo: Statistics Norway, Research Department, 2009. 27p. Source: Internet Resource: Discussion Paper No. 579: Accessed July 2, 2014 at: http://www.ssb.no/a/publikasjoner/pdf/DP/dp579.pdf Year: 2009 Country: Norway Keywords: Desistance from Crime Shelf Number: 132603 |
Author: Aase, Kjersti N. Title: Desistance from crime. How much can be explained by life course transition? Summary: Objectives: Previous studies have argued that marriage, parenthood and employment are important factors that lead to desistance from crime. However, the effects of these events only apply to those experiencing them and do not necessarily explain why the majority of desisters stop offending. In this research note, we discuss how large a proportion of desisters experience these transitions. Methods: We describe changes in the lives of those who have stopped offending. We use data from a total population sample of all registered male offenders in Norway who committed at least five crimes in the past five years, and none thereafter (N=4963 persons). We report relevant life events from five years before until five years after the last recorded crime. Results: Of those who terminated their criminal career, 10 percent got married, 22 percent had a child, and 31 percent increased the number of months they were employed. In total, 47 percent experienced at least one of these events. Conclusions: While marriage, parenthood and employment are central to life course criminology, the majority of those who terminate a criminal career do so for other reasons. Details: Oslo: Statistics Norway, Research Department, 2014. 14p. Source: Internet Resource: Discussion Paper, No. 791: Accessed May 13, 2015 at: http://www.ssb.no/en/forskning/discussion-papers/_attachment/204709?_ts=14984a7ecb0 Year: 2014 Country: Norway Keywords: Criminal Careers Shelf Number: 135552 |
Author: Oien-Odegaard, Carine Title: Crime and the transition to teenage parenthood Summary: Age-graded social control theory suggests that parenthood can have a preventive effect on crime among adults, but it is unclear whether and how this applies to teenagers, as teenage parenthood and affiliation with crime can have mutual confounding causes. Using individual-level Norwegian administrative register data on the total population of fifteen to nineteen year olds, we assess the relationship between teenage parenthood and criminal activity. We find that teenage parents have an elevated risk of offending compared to non-parents, but that the transition to parenthood is nevertheless related to a within-individual decline in offending. This decline does not seem to be of permanent nature for girls, but for the boys it appears to stabilize on a lower level than before the transition to teenage fatherhood. Details: Oslo: Statistics Norway, Research Department, 2015. 22p. Source: Internet Resource: Discussion Papers, No. 812: Accessed July 15, 2015 at: http://www.ssb.no/en/forskning/discussion-papers/_attachment/232157?_ts=14e1adb6a00 Year: 2015 Country: Norway Keywords: Desistance Shelf Number: 136066 |
Author: Blidberg, Eva Title: Marine Littering and Sources Summary: Marine litter is a global environmental problem that endangers sensitive marine ecosystems and wildlife. It also has major socio-economic and aesthetic impact and is strongly connected to a sustainable society. Most marine litter consists of plastic material and it is generally accepted that 80% of marine litter comes from land-based sources. Identifying these sources is an important key to proposing cost-effective measures. The background to this project is a joint interest by Nordic NGOs to collaborate and expand upon their current activities e.g. clean-up campaigns and monitoring of beach litter. A model for litter categorisation from a product perspective is introduced in order to identify targeted measures to reduce marine litter. The pilot studies in the project are based on pick analyses of litter items collected during clean-up campaigns or in connection with beach litter monitoring. The results confirm that the most common types of litter found on beaches in all Nordic countries are made of plastic and polystyrene. Short-life items and packaging were the most common product types, strongly linking littering to individual consumers, although it should be noted that the litter can originate far beyond the borders of the Nordic countries. Consequently, marine litter is largely a product of modern production and consumption. By contrast, litter from the beach studied in Norway had a higher proportion of industrial packaging from, for instance, the fishing and agricultural sectors, as well as packaging related to the transport of goods. The project has shown that it is feasible to obtain further information on litter items from both monitoring surveys and beach cleanups. To ensure high quality data, information from monitoring surveys is preferable but the statistical basis may become less. NGOs and grassroots level organisations have an important role in the collection, analysis and storage of such information. Measures relating to policy targets for waste recycling are discussed along with the proposed changes to the Waste Framework Directive. Producers are charged with greater responsibility and expected to support prevention and clean-up initiatives financially. Suggested goals include a 30% reduction in the ten most common beach litter items and fishing industry waste found at sea by 2020. It is concluded that the plastics and packaging industry has an important role in this context. Raising public awareness by arranging beach litter clean-up events is further suggested as an important measure in the reduction of marine litter. Even if the regional action plans in HELCOM and OSPAR support cooperation between riparian states, it would be beneficial if the Nordic countries could continue to share data. This includes identification of both litter composition and origin, for the dissemination and sharing of national knowledge and experience. Other measures include cooperation around clean-up activities, e.g. by arranging a Nordic Beach cleanup day. In this way, Nordic NGOs can be even more successful in their work against marine litter. Details: Copenhagen: Nordic Council of Ministers (Nordon), 2015. 68p. Source: Internet Resource: TemaNord 2015:524: Accessed October 5, 2015 at: Year: 136060 Country: Norway Keywords: Littering Shelf Number: 2015 |
Author: Revold, Mathias Killengreen Title: Innsattes levekar 2014 (Prison inmates' living conditions 2014) Summary: This report on living conditions among inmates in Norwegian prisons is based on a survey conducted in the autumn of 2014. The report describes their lives before prison and to some extent their lives while incarcerated and their plans after they are released. A control group from the general population, with similar demographic characteristics, was made from Statistics Norway's other surveys. Most of the inmates are men, and the majority are younger than 40 years. Seven out of ten people surveyed were non-immigrants, but inmates with deportation orders and inmates held on remand were excluded from the sample. These groups have a high percentage of immigrants and the proportion of immigrants in the total prison population may be higher. The inmates had to a greater extent than the reference group been living alone and to a lesser extent been living in relationships with children before they were incarcerated. The proportion that are divorced or separated is higher than in comparable groups. 46 percent were serving their first sentence and 54 percent had served previous prison sentences. Many inmates had experienced a difficult childhood. 32 percent had little money compared to others or were among the poorest in the neighborhood. A large percentage had negative experiences in childhood. For example, 40 percent were abused while growing up, 38 percent lived with someone who had alcohol or drug problems and 41 percent have had family members in prison. Inmates who have served previous sentences and younger inmates had consistently experienced more of these negative childhood experiences than other inmates. The living conditions of the inmates before prison is consistently worse than in comparable groups of the general population. 68 percent lived in a dwelling they owned or rented, compared to 98 percent among comparable groups. 28 percent lived in cramped quarters, which is a much higher proportion than in the reference group. Education and employment levels are also markedly lower. 66 percent have secondary or lower as their highest education, and only 36 percent were employed when the were incarcerated. In the reference group, the proportions are respectively 24 and 82 percent. The share who had economic problems was also higher among inmates. The proportion with poor health was higher among inmates than in the reference group. It is also more common to have various symptoms of physical and mental disorders. One in five inmates consider their health as poor or very poor, and a majority has a long-term illness or disorder. Older inmates score worse on all health indicator compared to younger inmates. Inmates had been the subjected to violence and intimidation in the year before incarceration to a much greater extent than comparable groups in the population. A majority of inmates had used drugs in the year before they were inprisoned. This is a higher level of drug use than we find in the reference group, and the difference is particularly evident in the proportion who used hard drugs. There is less of a clear difference in the proportion who drink alcohol, but it is more common among inmates become intoxicated often. The majority of inmates have friends or family they can talk to and help them with problems, but the proportion without such close contacts is higher than in the reference group. Four out of ten do not have someone they can talk to in prison and a similar proportion have not been visited in the last three months. The inmates also exhibit less confidence that others can be trusted and that most people will treat them decently. Overall, we find that the vast majority of inmates have problems with their living conditions in one or more areas. We find the largest proportion with multiple problems among inmates under 40 years, inmates on short sentences and inmates who have served previous prison sentences. 18 percent of inmates think there is a quite small or small possibility that they will not commit new crimes after their release. Details: Oslo: Statistics Norway, 2015. 80p. Publication is in Norwegian only. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 2, 2016 at: https://www.ssb.no/en/sosiale-forhold-og-kriminalitet/artikler-og-publikasjoner/_attachment/244272?_ts=150b8c1bce0 Year: 2015 Country: Norway Keywords: Inmates Shelf Number: 138884 |
Author: Skardhamar, Torbjorn Title: Straffegjennomforing med elektronisk kontroll i Norge - Execution of sentence with electronic monitoring in Norway Summary: Since September 2008 there has been a pilot project on execution of sentences using electronic monitoring (EM) in six Norwegian counties. This form of execution of sentence is a form of home detention under certain conditions, where a tag is attached to the offender's ankle which reports his or hers geographical position. Execution of a sentence using EM is meant to be an alternative to serving time in prison, and who is found eligible is an administrative decision by the prison authorities. Persons who are sentenced to less than four months in prison can apply for EM. A second group who can apply is those who have served a long sentence and have less than four months left, and these can serve the remaining time with EM. One main purpose of EM in Norway is to avoid that the offenders loose contact with the labour market and the society at large. This report describes some Norwegian experiences with this form of execution of a sentence. The first part of the report describes who get to serve their sentence with EM, compared to those who serve a short sentence in prison. These groups are compared on a number of socioeconomic variables. This part of the analysis shed light on social inequality in execution of sentences. We show that those who serve time with EM is generally better off on a number of characteristics. They have higher educational level, larger proportion was employed before the sentence, lower proportion on social benefits, and they have higher average incomes from work. Nevertheless, those who serve time with EM are not a particularly privileged group, and only about half were employed prior to serving their sentence. The second part of the report describes changes in employment situation on a monthly basis from 24 months before serving their sentence until 24 months after. This analysis focuses only on those who serve their entire sentence with EM, which is the majority. The outcome is compared with a matched comparison group of offenders who serve their time in prison. It is shown that there are very little changes in the employment rate among those who serve time with EM. As a main purpose of EM is to prevent the convicts of dropping out of the labour market, this indicates that this goal is achieved. However, this applies to a large extent to the comparison group as well, although they have a somewhat reduction in employment rates, which is temporary. Neither are there much changes in the proportion receiving social benefits among those who serve time with EM, while there is a somewhat increase after having served their sentence in the comparison group. In conclusion, those who serve time with EM do not seem to get noticeable increased problems on the labour market after execution of the sentence, and it is possible that EK has up to a moderate positive effect compared to a matched comparison group. Details: Oslo: Statistics Norway, 2013. 38p. This publication is in Norwegian Only Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 2, 2016 at: https://www.ssb.no/sosiale-forhold-og-kriminalitet/artikler-og-publikasjoner/_attachment/105969?_ts=13e36fbcdc0 Year: 2013 Country: Norway Keywords: Electronic Monitoring Shelf Number: 138885 |
Author: Pettersen, Lone Charlotte Title: Tracking the Trafficker? A Qualitative Study of the Investigation of Trafficking in Human Beings in Norway Summary: Trafficking in human beings (THB) is a vast global problem where the cynic exploitation of fellow human beings is limited only by the exploiter's creativity and cruelty. This paper looks upon the phenomena of THB from a law enforcement perspective, thus defining and problematizing it as a crime against humanity and a crime against international and national laws. Consequently, understanding the complexity of the crime enables the investigator and prosecutor to better conduct criminal investigations to uncover, prevent and prosecute the crime of THB. Norway is a recipient country, and to some extent also a transit country, which means that the victims of THB in Norway are mostly from foreign countries. However, the numbers on THB are not reliable when it comes to describing the reality of victims that have yet to be identified by Norwegian authorities. Thus, the majority of THB-cases reported, investigated and receiving convictions, are THB for sexual exploitation. Trafficking for other types of exploitation is widely underreported. At the same time, research on the field of trafficking in Norway has focused mainly on sexual exploitation. However, this paper does not distinguish between the different types of exploitation. Rather, it focuses on how the police investigate the phenomena in order to be able to prosecute the traffickers. As such, this paper is based on a qualitative study where police investigators and police prosecutors from 8 different police districts in Norway have been interviewed about their knowledge and experience in investigating cases of THB. The study aims to answer the following approach to the research topic: Tracking the Trafficker? A qualitative study of the investigation of trafficking in human beings in Norway. The research findings suggest that there is a severe lack of competency in THB in general in the Norwegian police and that this affects the outcome of THB-cases in several ways. The police does not initiate THB-cases themselves, rather they are to a large extent recipients of information from others - especially the victim. This leads to a highly victim-oriented approach to the investigation, placing much responsibility on the victim to provide the investigation with sufficient information to identify the trafficker or other important part of the exploitation they have been exposed to. Furthermore, the victim itself is considered a great challenge in the investigation of THB-cases. The findings also indicate that the organisational structure of the police districts, combined with how THB is prioritized with regard to resources and personnel, may have some affect as to how the investigation is conducted in the different police districts. Details: Oslo: Politihogskolen , 2015. 119p. Source: Internet Resource: Thesis: Accessed May 18, 2016 at: https://brage.bibsys.no/xmlui/bitstream/handle/11250/297965/master_Pettersen_2015.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y Year: 2015 Country: Norway Keywords: Human Trafficking Shelf Number: 139074 |
Author: Jensen, Frank Title: A Corporate-Crime Perspective on Fisheries: Liability Rules and Non-Compliance Summary: The existing fisheries economics literature analyzes compliance problems by treating the fishing firm as one cohesive unit, but in many cases, violations are committed by agents acting on behalf of a firm. To account for this, we analyze the principal-agent relationship within the fishing firm. In the case where the firm directly benefits from illegal fishing, the firm must induce its crew to violate regulations through the incentive scheme. Within this framework, we analyze how the allocation of liability between fishing firms and crew affects quota violations and the ability to design a socially efficient fisheries policy. We show that without wage frictions, it does not matter whom is held liable. However, under the commonly used share systems of remuneration, crew liability generally yields a more efficient outcome than firm liability. Furthermore, asset restrictions may affect the outcome under various liability rules. Details: Oslo: Norwegian School of Economics, 2015. 58p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 18, 2016 at: https://brage.bibsys.no/xmlui//bitstream/handle/11250/296887/1/DP%2020.pdf Year: 2015 Country: Norway Keywords: Fishing Industry Shelf Number: 139075 |
Author: Rosenlund, Jorgen Title: Motion Pictures and Piracy: A Theoretical Investigation Summary: In recent years, copyright-protected markets have been challenged by the sharp rise in usage of peer-to-peer networks. Many of these networks participate in illegal sharing of copyrighted materials, such as books, music and movies. The illegal copying and sharing of intellectual property also known as piracy - is depicted by firms and media as a terrible crime. But what are the actual consequences of the file-sharing activity? While the music industry has progressed toward lower investment costs at the same time as piracy arose, motion pictures are as - or even more - expensive to produce than before. When reproduction costs are negligible, this makes the motion picture industry more vulnerable to piracy. With the aim of gaining knowledge about motion picture piracy, this thesis extensively review the motion picture industry and reviews literature relevant to piracy in information good markets, motion pictures in particular. It then constructs two models of motion picture piracy with origins in different parts of the theory of industrial organization. Even though the models are not complete in any sense of the word, they nonetheless provide some interesting results. It is shown that, under specific circumstances, piracy can both raise and lower legal demand for motion pictures. Effects upon profits cannot be unambiguously concluded with. It is also shown that an increase in a consumers cost of piracy can negatively affect demand in specific periods - due to fewer consumers being charged with a higher price. It is concluded that further research is much needed to fully understand the workings of piracy in the motion picture industry and its total welfare effects. Details: Bergen: NORGES HANDELSHOYSKOLE, Institute for Research in Economics and Business Administration, 2012. 125p. Source: Internet Resource: Thesis: Accessed May 23, 2016 at: https://brage.bibsys.no/xmlui/bitstream/handle/11250/169443/Rosenlund_2012.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y Year: 2012 Country: Norway Keywords: Intellectual Property Theft Shelf Number: 139133 |
Author: Juberg, Anne Title: When not too far gone: a pragmatic - reflexive approach to substance and crime prevention in consumer society towards indicated 16-18-year old adolescents Summary: The thesis sheds light on the life shaping challenges of youths who occupy the indeterminable landscape between shared norms for use of substances and abidance of the law on the one hand, and more deviant life arrangements on the other hand. The concept of life shaping has been derived within theory on late modernity (see Giddens 1991). It refers to the capacity to exert judgment around the socially appropriate and the capacity to shift direction on short notice. By emphasizing life shaping, the thesis is meant to contribute to a timely conceptual framework for professional effort aimed at hindering that incipient problems with substance use as well as rule breaking / delinquency develop and become persistent. The data material consists of transcripts from focus group interviews with a total of 17 youths, 11 boys and 6 girls, 16-18 years of age from Trondheim, Norway and some other municipalities. The youths corresponded on a group level to those risk factors that are statistically associated with persistent delinquency and persistent problems with substances later in life. Additionally, the youths had been exhibiting involvement in risk activities to an extent that made adults be more than averagely worried about their future. All the same, the youths had not developed problems of the most serious kind. Moreover, they represented a wide range of situations and personalities. It seems to be general consensus among researchers that it is difficult to distinguish the normal from the deviant in adolescence. Approaches based on the assumption that youth in the indeterminable landscape without further consideration are problem youths with life shaping ideals that deviate from the mainstream population therefore appear as inappropriate in a perspective of prevention. The fact that we deal with youths in constant development as well as the fact that contemporary society has become highly changeable and unpredictable seems to have reinforced the need for new principles for prevention. The capacity to change direction on short notice and to exert judgment around the socially appropriate is, for instance, as appreciated in today`s world as the capacity for long term planning and risk calculation. This constitutes a principle for life shaping that often is described as "reflexivity". A result of the development in recent decades is also that the focus on individual responsibility for one’s own welfare is increasing at the same time as the knowledge about risk-prone phenomena has become commonly shared. Behavior that puts health at risk against the actors` better judgment is regarded as a threat against the common good. Life shaping or self-shaping therefore appears as a fruitful concept within substance and crime prevention in late modern consumer society; even though much literature on life shaping may be criticized for ignoring social inequality. Without the capacity of reflexive life shaping exclusion from respectable society may become the result. A basic assumption in this thesis is therefore that a focus on reflexive individual life shaping in the future should be viewed as a major basis for substance and crime prevention. Despite the increasing emphasis on the role of individual life shaping for avoidance of problems in the future, research with a focus on such principles is scarce within the realm of prevention. A reason why may be that the "risk zone" is a landscape which is difficult to conceptualize in the conventional scientific way. It may also be that the very topic of life shaping is regarded as a theme beyond the academic mandate. Yet, the lack of timelier research may not at least be due to the fact that prevention in the described area is still predominated by a mind-set that fits in a less complex and therefore more predictable society, but which is no longer really appropriate in consumer society. Knowledge based on self-experience, agency and curiosity towards the indeterminable has poor conditions within this tradition. A premise for most prevention effort has, for instance, been that there are relatively sharp boundaries between risk-prone behavior and safe behavior and between "at risk" youths and "ordinary" youths. Moreover, risk in this perspective is not likely to be treated as mere future potentiality, but as something that already has happened. In this way, the phenomena appear as determinable in normative space that is relatively indeterminate. The analysis of the current data indicates that everyday experience after all may be as an important basis for prevention and self-shaping processes as the more universal conceptualizations and solutions that have been developed by experts. This should be the main rule even when the projects may seem indeterminate and directionless in the first place. Expert solutions are mostly derived from a conceptualization of risk as calculable and predictable. The assumption that there is a tension in contemporary society between contingency (everybody may become anybody they wish) on the one hand and social constraint on the other, shaped the groundwork for the current data analysis. The analysis suggested that the youths both acknowledged and drew on both tendencies. They made many attempts at keeping more deviant life style at an arm’s length, although often in a non-reflected manner. All the same, many of them seemed to lack a determined direction in life. Besides, in the latter perspective it proved easier to become aware that the youths had problems with arriving at a more conscious position in their own life. There was a tendency to operate in quite evasive ways and participants generally tended to see more easily the risk prone aspects of their peers’ activities than the risk prone aspects implied in own modes of operating. Much is dependent on the perspective by means of which the described tendencies are regarded. If the analysis had been carried out in the light of conventional risk discourse, the evasive maneuvers and the ignorance of own risk could be mistakenly viewed as deviant acts. Moreover, the youths could be ascribed characteristics as morally deviant. This may entail unintended stigma and blocked communication. When viewed in the light of prevailing currents in contemporary society, however, it also becomes clearer that the uncertain and directionless way in which the youths are operating may even be viewed as a resource to draw on in the interaction with the youths. There certainly are some things they do not want for their future and life styles they do not want to be identified with. The maneuvering in the morally indeterminable space that the youths tended to occupy has in this thesis been described by means of the term “tentativeness”. In contrast to the concept “practical reason” which is oriented towards the normative and commonly acknowledged, the concept of tentativeness is implying both thoughtless and directionless maneuvering. The data suggest that the leap needs not be far from a predominantly unconscious to a more conscious tentativeness. The professional challenge is above all to take this seriously without oversteering the interest in the youths towards becoming more active in their life projects. The precondition for this leap is to accept that not all life shaping is calculable. Moreover, one must accommodate the ambiguous and indeterminable and support the single youth's capacity to get further in life. Not least, it is a crucial point to facilitate the youths’ participation in meaningful activity and that they attend work life. Principles that have been particularly addressed are accept of non-calculability as a part of being, the need to allow for ambiguity and indeterminability, promotion of “nudging” or “scaffolding” practices and the necessity of assisting youth in getting involved in meaningful activity. Both theoretically and with regard to content the term tentativeness resembles terms derived from cultural criminology. The novel way in which the concept of tentativeness is employed in this thesis is above all that it is related to crime and substance prevention on a so-called indicated level and that it clarifies why life-shaping projects should be emphasized more in substance and crime prevention with teenagers. Details: Trondheim, Norway: Norwegian University of Science and Technology, 2014. 242p. Source: Internet Resource: Dissertation: Accessed February 1, 2017 at: https://brage.bibsys.no/xmlui/bitstream/handle/11250/263189/-1/692656_FULLTEXT01.pdf Year: 2014 Country: Norway Keywords: At-Risk Youth Shelf Number: 140787 |
Author: Andersen, Synove N. Title: Electronic Monitoring and Recidivism: Quasi-experimental evidence from Norway Summary: The replacement of custodial with non-custodial sanctions holds the potential to reduce recidivism as well as other costs associated with imprisonment. However, the causal impacts on recidivism of noncustodial sanctions in general, and electronic monitoring (EM) programs in particular, remain unclear. We estimate the effect of EM on recidivism by exploiting an EM program that was gradually introduced in Norwegian counties from 2008, using difference-in-differences and instrumental variable designs. Results show that introducing EM reduced 2-year recidivism rates by about 10 percent, which corresponds to about 19 percent for those actually serving on EM. We find no effects on recidivism intensity or severity. Subsample analyses show that the effect estimates are strongest among offenders without previous imprisonment or recent unemployment spells, and although between-groups differences are statistically non-significant, this suggest that avoiding prison stigma and maintaining workplace relations can be important to reduce recidivism and promote desistance. The reliability of our results is somewhat challenged by unstable pre-implementation trends and signs that more people are convicted to EM-qualifying sentences when EM is introduced. Details: Oslo: Statistics Norway, Research Department, 2016. 58p. Source: Internet Resource: Discussion Papers, No. 844: Accessed February 13, 2017 at: https://www.ssb.no/en/forskning/discussion-papers/_attachment/276183?_ts=156fa403880 Year: 2016 Country: Norway Keywords: Alternatives to Incarceration Shelf Number: 145120 |
Author: Havnes, Ingrid Amalia Title: Violence and diversion of prescribed opioids among individuals in opioid maintenance treatment. A complementary methods study of violent crime convictions in a national cohort and qualitative interviews among prisoners Summary: Background: Opioid dependence is linked to crime, morbidity and mortality, directly through drug overdoses and indirectly via drug-related mortality, accidents, suicides and violence. Violence in general is a major health concern worldwide. Opioid maintenance treatment, OMT, is found to reduce mortality, morbidity and criminal behaviour, but less is known about the effect of OMT on violent crime. A possible negative consequence of OMT is diversion of methadone and buprenorphine and rising overdose deaths related to these medications among individuals not enrolled in OMT. The aim of this thesis is to study violent crimes prior to, during and after OMT in a national cohort and to generate new knowledge about OMT-enrolled individuals' experiences and understandings of being both violent and non-violent offenders, the role of substances in such crimes as well as their understandings and motivations related to diversion of prescribed opioids. Materials and methods: Two complementary data collection methods have been used. Violent convictions were investigated by use of cross-registry methods for a complete longitudinal national OMTcohort of 3221 individuals with an observation period of 9 years and a qualitative study among 12 imprisoned, OMT-enrolled individuals. 28 semi-structured interviews were thematically analyzed with a reflexive and interactive approach. Findings: Violent crime rates were significantly reduced during OMT compared with before treatment. The rate of convictions for violent crime during OMT was halved among those who remained in treatment. The reduction was less pronounced for those who left treatment: for this group, the rate of violent convictions after OMT was higher than before treatment. The risk of convictions for violent and non-violent crime during OMT was highest for those with violent convictions prior to treatment. In the qualitative part of the study, it was found that substances and, in particular, high-dose benzodiazepines were deliberately used to induce temporary 'antisocial selves' capable of transgressing individual moral codes and performing non-violent and violent criminal acts, mainly to support costly heroin use prior to OMT. During OMT, impulsive and uncontrolled substance use just prior to the violent acts that the participants were imprisoned for was reported. Benzodiazepines were also used to reduce memories of and alleviate the guilt associated with having committed violent crimes. The study participants maintain moral standards, engage in complex moral negotiations, and struggle to reconcile their moral transgressions. They were found to exhibit a considerable amount of self-control, selfregulation and/or self-initiation of external control related to intake of methadone and buprenorphine in various settings. Their acquired norm of sharing with others in a drug using community was carried along when entering OMT. Several had developed strategies to avoid selling or giving of methadone or buprenorphine to others. Giving one's opioid prescriptions to an individual in withdrawal, was seen as an act of helping. Individuals enrolled in OMT might thus be trapped between practicing norms of helping and sharing and adhering to treatment regulations. Conclusions: Opioid dependent individuals with violent convictions should have access to OMT. Treatment providers should identify individuals with histories of violent behavior. The situation that precede and motivate violent behavior and the potential role of substances prior to and after such crimes should be explored with the patient in question. What appears as a severe antisocial personality disorder may be partly explained by substance use. Treatment providers should explore the living conditions and social lives of individuals applying for and enrolled in OMT. To following OMT guidelines may entail breaking a personal and drug culture norm of sharing and helping by means of providing OMT medications to those in need. Opioid-dependent couples should be encouraged to apply for and enroll in OMT at the same time, if both are motivated for starting treatment. Some individuals might know what particular configurations of internal and external control they need in order to achieve their own treatment goals in OMT. An individual's experience and ability to execute self-control and self-regulation with regard to drug taking may be seen as a resource throughout the course of treatment. Details: Oslo: University of Oslo, 2015. 118p. Source: Internet Resource: Dissertation: Accessed August 4, 2017 at: https://www.duo.uio.no/handle/10852/42124 Year: 2015 Country: Norway Keywords: Shelf Number: 146719 |
Author: Bhuller, Manudeep Title: Intergenerational Effects of Incarceration Summary: An often overlooked population in discussions of prison reform is the children of inmates. How a child is affected depends both on what incarceration does to their parent and what they learn from their parent's experience. To overcome endogeneity concerns, we exploit the random assignment of judges who differ in their propensity to send defendants to prison. Using longitudinal data for Norway, we find that imprisonment has no effect on fathers' recidivism but reduces their employment by 20 percentage points. We find no evidence that paternal incarceration affects a child's criminal activity or school performance. Details: Cambridge, MA: National Bureau of Economic Research, 2018. Source: Internet Resource: NBER Working Paper No. 24227: Accessed January 22, 2018 at: http://www.nber.org/papers/w24227 Year: 2018 Country: Norway Keywords: Children of Prisoners Shelf Number: 148903 |
Author: Berger, Ryan Title: Kriminalomsorgen: A Look at the World's Most Humane Prison System in Norway Summary: Kriminalomsorgen, Norway's corrections system, is described as the world's most humane prison system. Kriminalomsorgen focuses on rehabilitation and reintegration as the primary purposes of prison, and implements these policies through the Principle of Normality, which mandates that life in prison should be as similar to life outside of prison as possible. Norwegians believe that prison's sole punishment should be the loss of liberty, and that offenders continue to be entitled to all other rights and services that every other citizen receives. Bastoy Prison and Halden Prison stand out as two of Norway's most famous prisons, renowned for their lavish amenities and services. Comparing the Norwegian prison system with the American prison system reveals stark differences. The Norwegian system is far more expensive, with the cost per prisoner three times higher than it is in the American system. However, the Norwegian system appears to do a much better job of reducing recidivism than the American system. Indeed, the rate of American recidivism is up to three times higher than the rate of Norwegian recidivism. Kriminalomsorgen is an impressive system that does many things well, but implementing a similar system in the United States would prove difficult. Firstly, Norway is a much different country than the United States, as Norway is a small, homogenous country with a low prison population while the United States is a large, heterogeneous country with a massive prison population. Thus, a system that succeeds in Norway might not necessarily succeed in the United States. Secondly, Kriminalomsorgen is expensive, so implementing it in the United States would create a heavy financial burden. Finally, American emphasis on punishment and retribution clashes with the rehabilitative ideals underpinning Kriminalomsorgen. Details: Unpublished paper, 2016. 42p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed June 3, 2018 at: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2883512 Year: 2016 Country: Norway Keywords: Correctional Institutions Shelf Number: 150458 |
Author: Bhuller, Manudeep Title: Incarceration, Recidivism, and Employment Summary: Understanding whether, and in what situations, time spent in prison is criminogenic or preventive has proven challenging due to data availability and correlated unobservables. This paper overcomes these challenges in the context of Norway's criminal justice system, offering new insights into how incarceration affects subsequent crime and employment. We construct a panel dataset containing the criminal behavior and labor market outcomes of the entire population, and exploit the random assignment of criminal cases to judges who differ systematically in their stringency in sentencing defendants to prison. Using judge stringency as an instrumental variable, we find that imprisonment discourages further criminal behavior, and that the reduction extends beyond incapacitation. Incarceration decreases the probability an individual will reoffend within 5 years by 29 percentage points, and reduces the number of offenses over this same period by 11 criminal charges. In comparison, OLS shows positive associations between incarceration and subsequent criminal behavior. This sharp contrast suggests the high rates of recidivism among ex-convicts is due to selection, and not a consequence of the experience of being in prison. Exploring factors that may explain the preventive effect of incarceration, we find the decline in crime is driven by individuals who were not working prior to incarceration. Among these individuals, imprisonment increases participation in programs directed at improving employability and reducing recidivism, and ultimately, raises employment and earnings while discouraging further criminal behavior. For previously employed individuals, while there is no effect on recidivism, there is a lasting negative effect on employment. Contrary to the widely embraced 'nothing works' doctrine, these findings demonstrate that time spent in prison with a focus on rehabilitation can indeed be preventive for a large segment of the criminal population. Details: Bonn: Institute of Labor Economics (IZA): 2018. 82p. Source: Internet Resource: IZA Discussion Paper No. 11645: Accessed July 18, 2018 at: http://ftp.iza.org/dp11645.pdf Year: 2018 Country: Norway Keywords: Employment Shelf Number: 150902 |
Author: Bratsberg, Bernt Title: Welfare Activation and Youth Crime Summary: We evaluate the impact on youth crime of a welfare reform that tightened activation requirements for social assistance clients. The evaluation strategy exploits administrative individual data in combination with geographically differentiated implementation of the reform. We find that the reform reduced crime among teenage boys from economically disadvantaged families. Stronger reform effects on weekday versus weekend crime, reduced school dropout, and favorable long-run outcomes in terms of crime and educational attainment, point to both incapacitation and human capital accumulation as key mechanisms. Despite lowered social assistance take-up we uncover no indication that loss of income support pushed youth into crime. Details: Bonn: Institute of labor Economics (IZA), 2018. 49p. Source: Internet Resource; IZA Discussion Paper No. 11719: Accessed September 4, 2018 at: http://ftp.iza.org/dp11719.pdf Year: 2018 Country: Norway Keywords: Economic Conditions and Crime Shelf Number: 151340 |
Author: Norwegian Parliamentary Ombudsman Title: Women in Prison: Summary: International research shows that prisons are often organised in accordance with the needs of male inmates, partly due to the low number of women in prison compared to men. This is reflected in prison architecture, security, the activities available and health services, among other things. In addition, an even higher percentage of women than men in prison come from disadvantaged backgrounds. They have more often been the victims of abuse in childhood, have extensive and untreated mental health problems and substance abuse problems. The differences in prison conditions for men and women is a challenge well-known to the Norwegian Correctional Service In 2015, a cross-disciplinary working group prepared the report 'Equal conditions for women and men under the responsibility of the Correctional Service' on behalf of the Directorate of the Norwegian Correctional Service. The report concluded that change must be made at multiple levels and in various fields before the conditions can be deemed equal for men and women under the responsibility of the Correctional Service. The Directorate of the Norwegian Correctional Service (KDI) has announced that the report will be followed up by a separate strategy for the conditions for women in prison. The Parliamentary Ombudsman's thematic report addresses key issues relating to the conditions for women in prison, including the physical conditions, sense of security, activities, health services and contact with family. The report largely confirms that women in prison are a particularly vulnerable group. In many cases, they risk serving under worse conditions than men. Physical conditions -- Aging buildings pose a challenge to Norwegian prisons, as is well-documented in Statsbygg's 2015 annual report. Statsbygg stated that the maintenance backlog is vast, and the Parliamentary Ombudsman's visits to Norwegian prisons have confirmed the physical conditions described by Statsbygg in its annual report. The poor state of Norwegian prison buildings directly impacts the conditions for women in prison. For example, women have special sanitary needs, especially in connection with menstruation, menopause and pregnancy. This requires respect for their privacy and access to satisfactory sanitary facilities. The NPM visits showed that the cells in several prisons did not have toilets, and, in some of these prisons, it was not possible to be let out of the cell to go to the toilet at night. Such conditions are particularly challenging for menstruating or pregnant women, who often need more frequent access to toilets and washing facilities. In 2016, Kragero Prison was converted into a women's prison and it was decided that the old section of Kongsvinger Prison, Section G, would be converted into a women's section. It is positive that new prisons are being established for women. The Parliamentary Ombudsman is, nevertheless, concerned that the women's prison in Kragero and the planned new section for women at Kongsvinger Prison are located in old buildings that do not adequately address the needs of female inmates. Physical activity -- Possibilities for physical activity are an important precondition for mental as well as physical health during long periods of imprisonment. In both women's prisons visited by the NPM, the possibility for physical activity outdoors was limited by the design and size of the exercise yard. This was particularly the case in Krager0 Prison, where the exercise yard was a 70-square-metre tarmacked area with little direct sunlight much of the year. Section G at Kongsvinger Prison, which was converted into a womens prison in January 2017, also has an exercise yard that is smaller and more poorly equipped than the outdoor areas at most men's prisons. Some of the prisons where men and women serve together have separate exercise yards for female inmates, but they are consistently smaller and more poorly equipped than the men's yards. In some prisons, this is resolved by giving the women access to the men's exercise yards. However, this entails security challenges and depends on personnel resources. Sense of security -- Most women the NPM spoke to stated that they feel safe in prison. There are, however, exceptions. In sections with few prison officers on guard, more women said that they do not feel safe. Mixed-sex prisons with both female and male inmates give rise to particular challenges. Despite most mixed prisons having separate women's sections, inmates spend a lot of time together during work, school and leisure activities. A number of women have reported unwanted attention from male inmates, and there is a real risk of sexual harassment and abuse in such situations. Few prisons have special procedures and training in place to detect or deal with such abuse. The Parliamentary Ombudsman has recommended that written procedures be developed for such situations. School and work -- Meaningful activities, including school and work, can be crucial to counteracting the harmful effects of imprisonment and reducing the risk of future crime. However, the Parliamentary Ombudsman has found that work activities for female inmates are often inadequate or given low priority due to resource or security considerations. The fact that female inmates as a group have weak labour market attachment makes this even more problematic. Health services -- The health care services provided in prisons should be equivalent to the services provided to the general population. Inmates must be offered services adapted to their individual needs following an individual assessment. During the NPM's visits, inmates with mental health problems were often highlighted as a particularly vulnerable group. Several prisons described an increase in the number of women with mental health problems in recent years. The NPM found that many women have an unmet need for mental health support services. Both prison staff and administration as well as health services have echoed this concern. A high proportion of female inmates have been the victims of sexual abuse. Many have negative experiences of men. This could make it difficult for women to seek help from male health personnel. The Parliamentary Ombudsman has recommended that steps be taken to ensure that women who, for whatever reason, want to see a female doctor have access to one. The NPM's visits show that access to substance abuse rehabilitation varies greatly between women and men, despite knowledge of widespread substance abuse among female inmates. In interviews with women serving in mixed prisons, it was clear that many want the opportunity to take part in additional and more extensive substance abuse rehabilitation programmes. After visits to prisons where such opportunities have been inadequate, the Parliamentary Ombudsman has recommended that women be offered substance abuse treatment equivalent to that offered to male inmates. Contact with the outside world -- Contact with the outside world, and particularly with family and children, is important to prison inmates. Since few prisons in Norway take female inmates, women risk being detained in prisons far away from their home. This makes it difficult for some inmates to receive visits from family. This applies in particular to children who are too young to travel alone and children who do not live in Norway. Very few of the prisons that the NPM has visited provide inmates with the possibility of communicating with family via Skype or similar modern means of communication. The Parliamentary Ombudsman has recommended in several visit reports that the Norwegian Correctional Service introduce such technology, also in high-security prisons. [1] The Correctional Service (2015): Equal conditions for women and men under the responsibility of the Correctional Service (Likeverdige forhold for kvinner og menn under kriminalomsorgens ansvar). [2] Statsbygg is the Norwegian governments key advisor in construction and property affairs, building commissioner, property manager and property developer. See http://www.statsbygg.no/Om-Statsbygg/About-Statsbygg/. Details: Oslo: The Ombudsman, 2017. 52p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed November 16, 2018 at: https://www.sivilombudsmannen.no/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/SIVOM_temarapport_ENG_WEB_FINAL.pdf Year: 2017 Country: Norway Keywords: Correctional Administration Shelf Number: 153489 |
Author: Parliamentary Ombudsman, The, Norway Title: Visit Report: The Police Immigration Detention Centre at Trandem 19-21 May 2015 Summary: The NPM visited the police immigration detention centre at Trandum in the period 19-21 May 2015. The visit was unannounced. The detention centre has the capacity to hold 140 detainees, and the plan is to extend the capacity to include another 90 places in 2016. The detainees do not have legal residence in Norway and have been detained on grounds of suspicion that they have given a false identity or to prevent them from evading the enforcement of a final decision requiring them to leave the country. Being detained at Trandum is not the consequence of a criminal offence and does not therefore constitute punishment. During the visit, an inspection was carried out of the detention centre's premises, meetings were held with the administration, union representatives, lawyers and medical personnel, and necessary documentation was obtained. The most important part of the visit was to conduct private interviews with detainees. The NPM interviewed a total of 60 of the 100 detainees. The NPM was accompanied by two government authorised interpreters (Russian and Arabic/French). Telephone interpreting was also used. The administration and staff at the detention centre provided good assistance during the visit, by obtaining the requested information and providing free access to all areas of the detention centre. The NPM's right to conduct private interviews with the detainees was adequately provided for. In the early hours of 21 May, the NPM also observed an escorted deportation of eleven individuals from the time that they left the detention centre until they boarded a chartered flight from Gardermoen airport. The NPM emphasises as a positive factor that the detainees mostly had positive things to say about the detention centre staff. Many of them stated that they were treated with respect and received the necessary assistance in their day-to-day pursuits. Another positive finding was that, according to the NPM's observations, the deportation on 21 May was performed in a dignified and professional manner. One of the main findings during the visit was excessive attention to control and security at the expense of the individual detainee's integrity. This has also been pointed out by the Parliamentary Ombudsman after previous visits. Many of the detainees felt that they were treated as criminals, even though they had not been convicted of a crime. Several described the humiliation of undergoing a body search on arrival and after all visits. The body search entailed the removal of all clothing and that the detainee had to squat over a mirror on the floor so that the staff could check whether they had concealed items in their rectum or genital area. The detainees perceived it as especially upsetting that a full body search was conducted after all visits, even when staff members had been present in the room during the visit. Many were also frustrated that they were not given access to their mobile phone and that they were locked in their rooms during evenings, at night and for shorter periods during the day. The detention centre uses largely the same security procedures as the correctional services, including procedures for locking detainees in and out of their rooms, the use of security cells and solitary confinement, and room searches. In some respects, as in the case of full body searches after visits, the procedures appear to be more intrusive than in many prisons. In addition to concerns about the overall control regime, it should be noted that all these control measures can result in more unrest and undesirable incidents rather than a sense of security. The immigration detention centre does not appear to be a suitable place for children. In 2014, 330 children were detained, 10 of them without adult guardians. There were no children at the detention centre at the time of the NPM's visit. The atmosphere at the detention centre appears to be characterised by stress and unrest. Several incidents have taken place at the detention centre in 2014 and 2015, including major rebellions. The incidents have included breaking of furniture and fixtures, self-harm, suicide attempts and use of force. This is not deemed to be a satisfactory psychosocial environment for children. In two instances, children have also witnessed parental self-harm. Several weaknesses were also found to exist in the delivery of health services. A clear majority of the detainees were critical of the health services offered by the detention centre. Among other things, the criticism concerned factors such as a lack of confidentiality, availability and follow-up. The immigration detention centre purchases health services from a private health enterprise based on a contract between the enterprise and the National Police Immigration Service (NPIS). The contractual relationship between the health enterprise's doctors and the NPIS raises questions about the health services professional independence. This may undermine the relationship of trust between patients and medical personnel and may weaken the health service's assessments. The health service also includes two nurses. They are temporarily employed by the police. This arrangement may also give rise to doubt about the health service's professional independence. Health interviews with newly arrived detainees were not conducted as a matter of routine, despite clear recommendations from the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT). Detainees are often particularly at risk of poor somatic and mental health. A medical examination on arrival can provide an overview of the detainee's immediate medical needs, document any physical injuries and detect infectious diseases and suicide risk. The detainees also did not have access to mental health care over and above emergency assistance, among other things because of a lack of rights. In addition, the health department lacked procedures for systematic follow-up of persons who are particularly vulnerable as a result of long-term detention. Other findings during the visit include shortcomings in administrative decisions on the use of isolation and security cells, few organised activities, unclear legal authority for locking detainees in their rooms, lack of information on arrival, whether the food that is served is sufficiently nutritious, routine visit control and lack of access to mobile phones. Details: Oslo, Norway: Parliamentary Ombudsmen, 2015. 44 p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed January 12, 2019 at: https://www.sivilombudsmannen.no/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/2015-Rapport-Police-immigration-detention-centre-Visit-report-EN.pdf Year: 2015 Country: Norway Keywords: Shelf Number: 154083 |
Author: Parliamentary Ombudsman, The, Norway Title: Visit Report: Ullersmo Prison, Juvenile Unit East 7-8 February 2017 Summary: The Parliamentary Ombudsman's National Preventive Mechanism (NPM) visited Ullersmo Prison, Juvenile Unit East, on 7-8 February 2017. The date of the visit was not announced. Ullersmo Prison's Juvenile Unit East is a high security prison with four places for inmates aged between 15 and 19 years. The visit covered the whole unit. The juvenile unit's management and other staff members were forthcoming throughout the visit. Ullersmo Prison's Juvenile Unit is one of two prisons in Norway for juvenile inmates. The other one is Bjorgvin Prison's Juvenile Unit, which was established in 2009. Ullersmo Prison's Juvenile Unit East opened on 12 April 2016. At the time of the visit, the unit was only approved to hold two inmates. This was due to fire safety issues identified in October 2016. Statsbygg had been given until 1 April 2017 to remedy the situation. In accordance with the Norwegian Correctional Service's project description, the juvenile units' basic staff included both prison officers and milieu therapists. At the time of the visit, a total of 25 employees were working in shifts. An interagency team had been established at the juvenile unit. The management and employees who form part of the basic staff wear uniforms in their everyday work, except when they participate in leisure activities such as exercise or escort inmates on leave outside the unit. It emerged during the visit that the employees found the use of uniforms unnecessary and an obstacle to developing good relations. It also emerged that the duty to wear a uniform made normal activities for the juvenile inmates more difficult because the officers had to change for physical activities such as ball games in the outdoor areas. In accordance with a decision by the Norwegian Correctional Service's regional office, the juvenile unit had sometimes had to place juvenile inmates in prisons for adults while waiting for a place at the juvenile unit to become available. This is in violation of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, which states in Article 37 (c) that every child deprived of liberty shall be separated from adults unless it is considered in the child's best interest not to do so. At the time of the visit, three juvenile inmates were in this situation. Juvenile Unit East emphasised that this was a temporary measure pending the opening of the other two places at the unit. The interagency team at the juvenile unit was responsible for attending to these juveniles while they were temporarily placed in other prisons. The layout and furniture of the juveniles' cells appeared well planned and practical. There were no window bars. The communal areas were spacious with good access to natural light and views of the natural surroundings. The communal kitchen was closed to the juveniles except during fixed food preparation times and communal meals. One of the cells was adapted for persons with disabilities. The visit left the impression that the juvenile unit focused on welcoming the juveniles and creating secure relations and good dialogue from the start of their stay. It was a positive factor that the juvenile inmates were always given the name of their contact officer in writing. However, the information booklet handed out to the juvenile inmates on admission was not well suited for the target group - it was formal and inaccessible. There was no written information about the juvenile unit's routines and rules in any language other than Norwegian. According to documentation submitted by the juvenile unit, use of force was rare. It emerged that the psychologist worked to prevent violent incidents and use of coercive measures through work with the juveniles and guidance of the staff. The staff appeared to be aware of the importance of preventing the use of force. No information emerged about other specific conflict prevention methods used by the staff. The use of security cells for juvenile offenders is a highly invasive measure that is potentially very harmful. Juvenile Unit East had one security cell. At the time of the visit, the security cell was not approved by the Directorate of the Norwegian Correctional Service, and it had not been used. The security cell appeared much like an ordinary security cell in prisons for adult inmates. This contrasted with the security cell at Bjorgvin Prison's Juvenile Unit, which during the visit to that unit was found to have been designed to minimise the strain on juvenile inmates and give a more humane impression. Juvenile Unit East had a separate segregation unit. It was stated during the visit that it had been used once for a period of two days. The NPM's review of documents showed that decisions were made and supervision carried out and logged. At the time of the visit, Juvenile Unit East had not prepared its own procedures for body searches. From a preventive perspective, fixed procedures are important in order to ensure that body searches are conducted in the gentlest possible way. It emerged that female staff had been present during body searches of male juveniles on several occasions. At a meeting with the management, the NPM was told that the use of female staff to search male juveniles would be discontinued. It also emerged during the visit that the juvenile inmates were locked in their cells several times during the day, for example when they were not participating in outdoor exercise or preparing food. It is food for thought that the unit considers it necessary to lock inmates in their cells in this way despite the unit's good staffing level. According to the unit's weekend routines, juvenile inmates who are locked in their cells both during outdoor exercise and while the food is being prepared will spend six hours outside their cell per day. This is less than recommended by international guidelines, and gives particular cause for concern since these inmates are juveniles. It emerged that it varied whether the juvenile inmates were given the opportunity for outdoor exercise every day. A contributory cause of this was that the outdoor area was so poorly lit that the prison did not consider outdoor exercise in the afternoon sufficiently secure during the winter months. The health service appeared to function well, and the health personnel seemed to demonstrate a good understanding of their role in connection with any use of coercive measures. The schooling appeared to function well. No work activities were offered at the juvenile unit. There were a total of three visiting rooms at the juvenile unit. They were all sparsely furnished and not very welcoming. None of the visiting rooms had access to children's toys for visits by young siblings or were adapted for prolonged visits, despite the fact that the regulatory framework allows for juvenile inmates to receive visits over several days. Juveniles under the age of 18 had the opportunity to call their next of kin and friends for a total of one hour per week. This is half the telephone time that juvenile inmates at Bjorgvin prison are allowed. Details: Oslo, Norway: 2017. 7p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed January 12, 2019 at: https://www.sivilombudsmannen.no/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Visit-report-2017-Juvenile-Unit-East-Summary-and-recommendations.pdf Year: 2017 Country: Norway Keywords: Convention on the Rights of the Child Shelf Number: 154082 |
Author: Parliamentary Ombudsman, The, Norway Title: Visit Report: The Klokkergarden Collective 6-8 June 2017 Summary: The Parliamentary Ombudsman's National Preventive Mechanism (NPM) visited the Klokkergarden Collective "Klokkergardenkollektivet" on 6-8 June 2017. The Klokkergarden collective is one of several long-term institutions under the foundation "Stiftelsen Klokkergarden". The foundation was established in 1980 with the objective to rehabilitate young people with substance abuse and behavioural problems. The Klokkergarden Collective is in Asnes municipality in Hedmark county and can accommodate 15 persons between the ages of 13 and 18. The institution is approved for placement without the young person's consent. The physical surroundings at the collective appeared to be good, and there seems to be a broad range of activities on offer for the young people, both at and outside the institution. The Parliamentary Ombudsman also had the impression that the young people were given good opportunities to help to decide which activities they wanted to participate in. The institution also had good procedures in place for safeguarding the health of the young people upon arrival and during their stay. The collective had made few administrative decisions on the use of force in the past year. However, the institution made many decisions to limit freedom of movement and the use of electronic means of communication in 2016. It seemed that such decisions were made routinely when the young people arrived at the institution. It was also found during the visit that the record-keeping practice had potential for improvement. A review revealed shortcomings in the records, including the fact that any alternative measures that had been considered/tried before the use of force were rarely recorded. It was also found that the institution had a practice of grounding the young people in their rooms if they overslept. This is a clear violation of young people's right to autonomy and privacy and increases the risk of them feeling isolated. Those who overslept in the morning and failed to appear downstairs by 8.45 had to stay in their rooms for the rest of the day. This included having to eat their meals in their rooms. Nor were they allowed to participate in social activities organised outside the house. No administrative decision was made regarding this restriction even if the grounding involved a clear restriction on the young people's freedom of movement inside and outside the institution. The Klokkergarden Collective had a practice of taking the young people on what they referred to as 'motivational trips' as part of their treatment. According to the institution plan, the purpose of such trips is to enable the young people to concentrate on working on conflicts or problems that have developed quickly or over time, without being disturbed. The institution stated that the motivational trip meant that 'a young person leaves the institution together with two adults for a limited period in order to keep an overview of and focus on special tasks.' The institution plan lists four main reasons for organising a motivational trip: reintegration after an escape; special care of a young person after substance abuse; intensifying treatment; and a need for extra care and attention. However, it was found during the visit that violating one of the institution's main rules was also an important reason why the young people were sent on motivational trips. Both staff and the young people stated that one of the reasons for a motivational trip could be if someone had 'secrets' with other young people. It was found that the motivational trips were mainly carried out following a decision by the staff. Thirty-five motivational trips were organised in 2016, and as of 27 April, nine such trips had been carried out in 2017. A document review showed that the trips lasted from a few days up to 14 days. In the Parliamentary Ombudsman's assessment, there was a clear risk that the motivational trips at the Klokkergarden Collective were seen as punishment. It was difficult to see any correspondence between many of the circumstances that could lead to a motivational trip and the guidelines to the Rights Regulations concerning 'destructive behaviour' or 'necessary on the basis of the responsibility to provide the individual with care and considerations for everyone's safety and happiness'. When the staff had decided to take a young person on a motivational trip, the young person was normally pulled aside by staff members in the hallway near the exit of the main building. If the young person did not wish to go on the trip and did not go out to the car voluntarily, the staff and the young person remained in the hallway until the latter consented to the trip. In such situations, the staff would block the doors in the hallway by standing in front of them to prevent the young person from going anywhere but straight out to the car. The young person was not allowed to return to the rest of the group or to their own room, and nor were they allowed to pack their things. The young people were not always told about the reason for the motivational trip. Nor were they told how long the motivational trip would last. The management said that the young people couldn't be informed about the duration of the trip, because the young person him/herself and the work carried out during the trip determined how long the trip would last. In the cases where the young person had not been told about the reason for the motivational trip or where this was not apparent, the length of the trip could be determined by the young person's ability to describe the circumstances that made the adults decide to organise a motivational trip. Several of the young people experienced this as the staff waiting for them to 'confess something' and that if they confessed to the rights things, they would be allowed to go back to the institution. In many cases, the motivational trips also included a period as 'phaseless', and always a plenary meeting at which the young person had to state the reason why he/she was sent on the trip and answer questions from both adults and the other young people. The degree of force and the lack of any real opportunity for the young people to participate meant that it was difficult to see how a motivational trip could make a positive contribution to any lasting change. The young people were placed in a coercive situation where their only way out was to comply with the adults' demands for how they should behave and what they should say. In total, the pressure that was exercised in the hallway before a trip without it being possible for the young person to withdraw to their room, the lack of openness as regards the reason for the trip and its length, the 'phaseless' period and the uncertainty about how long this would last, and the plenary meeting requirement constituted a worrying lack of openness and respect from the institution vis-avis the young people. The fact that, in the past year, there had been an instance where a young person had been subjected to physical pressure to complete a motivational trip, underpins concerns about the risk of inhuman treatment that young people are subjected to through the Klokkergarden Collective's use of involuntary motivational trips. Details: Oslo, Norway: 2017. 9p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed January 12, 2019 at: https://www.sivilombudsmannen.no/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/Visit-report-2017-The-Klokkerg%C3%A5rden-Collective.pdf Year: 2017 Country: Norway Keywords: Detention Centers Shelf Number: 154081 |
Author: Kock, Ida Elin Title: Vulnerable Persons from Bulgaria and Romania who Sell Sexual Services in Oslo: Experiences from Pro Sentret and Other Actors in Oslo Summary: Introduction: In Norway, the media climate has been harsh when it comes to migrants from Bulgaria and Romania, particularly in relation to begging and other forms of street-work. Producing a report that deals with persons of a specific origin who are involved in a very stigmatised occupation, prostitution, is a precarious matter; one risks further adding stigma to a highly ostracised group. The aim behind this report is to map what service providers and state actors know of the group through service provision, including general life situation, health and the extent of organised crime/trafficking in this group. The composition of nationalities among the service users of Pro Sentret has gone through rather substantial changes in the last two years. People with Nigerian origin dominated the service users from around 2005, making up around 50% of the total of service users of Pro Sentret. However, the number of Nigerian service users have diminished since 2015. Because of the substantial drop in Nigerians, persons of Romanian origin are now the third biggest nationality among the service users of Pro Sentret despite of the numbers being fairly stable in recent years. Bulgarians make up a smaller, but stable group. Details: Oslo, Norway: Pro Sentret, 2017. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 27, 2019 at: http://prosentret.no/en/om-pro-sentret/pro-sentrets-publikasjoner/ovrige-publikasjoner-2/ Year: 2017 Country: Norway Keywords: Bulgaria Shelf Number: 155582 |
Author: Hanninen, Oskari Title: Nordic Antifouling Project: A follow-up of the MAMPEC workshop from 2017. Adjustment of the environment input parameters for more realistic values Summary: MAMPEC (Marine Antifoulant Model to Predict Environmental Concentrations) is a commonly used model in EU antifouling (biocidal product type 21) exposure assessment. Several scenarios, e.g. EU regional marina scenarios (Excel Tool scenarios) and the EU fishnet scenario, have been developed in MAMPEC in order to harmonize the environmental risk assessment of antifouling products in the EU.The aim of the project was to determine representative values for certain input parameters in the Excel Tool Baltic and the Excel Tool Baltic transition scenarios. In addition, it was decided to evaluate the suitability of the EU fish net scenario for risk assessment in the Baltic Sea area. The project was conducted in cooperation between Nordic biocide authorities from Finland, Denmark Sweden and Norway. Details: Capenhagen: Nordic Council of Ministers, 2019. 77p. Source: Internet Resource: Nordic Working Papers: Accessed May 17, 2019 at: http://norden.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:1316151/FULLTEXT01.pdf Year: 2019 Country: Norway Keywords: Environmental Crime Shelf Number: 155892 |
Author: Svanemyr, Joar Title: Review of the realisation of Norway's "Strategy for intensifying international efforts for the elimination of female genital mutilation for the period 2014-2-17" Summary: In 2014, the Norwegian government launched the Strategy for intensifying international efforts for the elimination of female genital mutilation for the period 2014-2017. This review is an assessment of to what extent the strategy has been realised, what the results are, and to what extent the channels and partners selected to implement the strategy has proved strategic to reach its objectives. According to the strategy, Norway's ambition is to "work to ensure that no girls are subjected to FGM, and that those who already have been are given the best possible care". Furthermore, it states, "The Government will now intensify Norway's efforts in this area by providing political, technical and financial support for the work to eliminate female genital mutilation." At an overall level, the government has realised these goals. It has increased its support to programmes aimed at ending FGM, it has expanded its support to civil society and international organisations and has continued to supporter the UNFPA-UNICEF Joint Programme. It has also bolstered Norway's efforts to eliminate FGM in Ethiopia and intensified its cooperation with the Somali authorities. Concretely, the government said it was going to "[d]ouble its allocation to civil society and international organisations working to eliminate FGM, from NOK 25 million to NOK 50 million, as of 2015". The objective to allocate NOK 50 million to civil society organisations and international organisations (excluding the support to the UNFPA-UNICEF Joint Programme) was achieved in 2015 and 2017. The government maintained the support to UNFPA-UNICEF Joint Programme, which received in total NOK 60 million over the three-year period. The main civil society agreement partners are Tostan, Norwegian Church Aid, Save the Children, and AmplifyChange. Smaller amounts were allocated to IPPF, BLESS, FORUT, FOKUS, KFUK/KFUM and Digni. In addition, the World Health Organization has received earmarked support to strengthen the health system response to FGM and the Population Council has received funds to assist other organisations in strengthening their monitoring and evaluation systems and in developing research projects. The choice of channels and partners has been strategic in the sense that they have all documented promising results. The bulk of funding is channelled through organisations (i.e. NCA/SC and UNFPA-UNICEF Joint Programme) using approaches that are in line with a holistic, integrated, and multi-sectoral approach, which is now established as a 'best practice'. The selection of Ethiopia as a pilot country has been successful in the sense that it has provided long-term specific funding for a nation-wide programme. The available data and reports are indicating that FGM has become less common in many parts of the country and the results are evidence of what can be achieved through sustained substantial presence and support in combination with a dedicated government. A significant decrease in the prevalence rates have been documented in several of the countries where organisations supported by Norway are operating. There is still a need, however, for long-term commitment to initiate and sustain change and to build competency. It takes time for organisations to build capacities, structures, and systems, and it takes time to build experience, credibility, and trust in the context within which they operate. Continuity in the support and approach clearly has a value in itself. The support to the pilot countries Ethiopia and Somalia should be sustained as well as the support to the UNFPA-UNICEF Joint Programme and to the WHO. Some modifications in the total portfolio may be considered. There is still a lack of data on the impact of many programmes, and further strengthening of the monitoring and evaluation frameworks as well as more research are all needed to enable clearer conclusions on the effectiveness of the various approaches. Details: Bergen: Chr. Michelsen Institute, 2018. 57p. Source: Internet Resource: CMI Report No. 16: Accessed June 18, 2019 at: https://www.cmi.no/publications/file/6729-review-of-the-realisation-of-norways-strategy-for.pdf Year: 2018 Country: Norway Keywords: Female Cutting Shelf Number: 156520 |
Author: Egnell, Susanne Title: Cannabis policy and legislation in the Nordic countries: A report on the control of cannabis use and possession in the Nordic legal systems Summary: Why should we study the legal control of cannabis from a Nordic perspective? Reasons and statistics Cannabis is used throughout the Nordic countries (Kraus, 2016; Skretting, 2016; Bretteville-Jensen, 2013). There are many reasons why we should be interested in the use of this drug and why we ought to look more closely at how society responds to its use - not least because of the changes which currently impact on both the use of cannabis and societal responses to it. Cannabis use seems to be on the increase among young adults in most Nordic countries, or at least it is safe to say that the use of cannabis is not decreasing among young adults in any Nordic country. For example, in Finland almost 20% of people aged 15-69 reported in 2014 having used cannabis at least once in their lifetime (Hakkarainen et al. 2015). Still, the use of cannabis in the Nordic countries has not increased among underage adolescents (Kraus et al., 2016). Cannabis markets have also changed. The illegal market today is more professional and centralised, and online dealing of cannabis (or plants) is more common. During the 21st century cultivation of cannabis has expanded in the Nordic countries (Bretteville-Jensen, 2013). Home cultivation among the users themselves has also become more important (Hakkarainen et al., 2008). In Iceland, for example, all of the cannabis used in the country appears to be cultivated in Iceland or home-grown by the users or the dealers, say the informants to this report. Attitudes towards cannabis have also grown more lenient in the population. The European School Survey Project on Alcohol and Other Drugs (ESPAD) shows that young people in all of Europe perceive the use of cannabis as less risky than young people did ten years ago (The ESPAD Group, 2016). Also, adults seem to be less critical of cannabis compared to attitudes on other drugs (Hakkarainen et al., 2015). The more lenient attitudes towards cannabis also prevail internationally. Lately there have appeared international efforts and discussions to legalise, decriminalise, or depenalise cannabis use (and in some cases drug use in general). The discussion has also intensified in the Nordic states. The use of medical cannabis has increased internationally, but is still small-scale. Medical cannabis is mainly allowed as pain treatment in certain cancers and to alleviate some symptoms of multiple sclerosis. While many other use areas have been claimed and studied, the evidence is still contradictory (EMCDDA, 2018). As our report will show, the use of medical cannabis is strictly regulated in the Nordic countries. Cannabis users in the Nordic countries are a heterogeneous group both in terms of their use and social background. According to a Finnish survey, most cannabis users use the drug a few times a year, without any major health or social consequences from the use (Hakkarainen & Karjalainen, 2017). Sporadic use - a few times a year - seems to be the most common way to use cannabis in other Nordic countries as well (Skretting et al., 2016). A typical Finnish cannabis user 'is a young man who lives in a city and smokes marihuana that he got from friends. He uses cannabis recreationally and is a heavy user of alcohol.' (Hakkarainen & Karjalainen, 2017, translation Yaira Obstbaum.) Many cannabis users do not use other illegal drugs, but they often use alcohol simultaneously or on different occasions. The share of cannabis users with prevalent health and social problems is higher than among non-users. Using other drugs is also more prevalent among cannabis users than among non-users of cannabis. Alcohol seems to be the most common drug, at least in Finland (Hakkarainen & Karjalainen, 2017). Cannabis is not a harmless substance. Frequent use of cannabis is connected to at least impaired cognitive ability and increased risk of psychotic symptoms. More studies are needed to clarify the effects of long-term cannabis use (WHO, 2017). A growing body of evidence points at cannabis use (and its psychosocial consequences) being a mental health risk (Nordentoft et al., 2015). Cannabis problems can also be regarded as a symptom of underlying ills, such as social problems, social exclusion, economic problems, ill health, and many other factors. Starting to use cannabis at an early age may be a sign of socioeconomic and (mental) health problems, and is connected to truancy and higher levels of school drop-out (Lemstra et al., 2008; Tims et al., 2002). Young cannabis users have a heightened risk of developing dependence (Sundhedsstyrelsen, 2017). It is safe to say that cannabis use is not decreasing in Nordic countries, and in most Nordic countries the use is increasing at least in the young adult population. Use of cannabis is thus likely to produce increasing harm - social problems, health problems, and problems of law and order - burdening not only the health and treatment systems but also the legal system. (For an overview of current treatment of cannabis use in the Nordic countries, see Stenius, 2019.) The relationship between cannabis use and the legal system is complicated. That the use of cannabis is illegal in many countries obviously has many consequences for those who use the drug. Many researchers support the claim that the illegal status of cannabis may aggravate an already strained social situation (Houborg & Pedersen, 2013) or push towards further social problems (Tham, 2005). Possessing and using cannabis may currently lead to legal sanctions in the Nordic countries, and while the consequences are not necessarily always heavy, the sanctions vary a great deal. The very existence of a criminal record due to cannabis use may have consequences for those, for example, applying for a job where one needs to disclose one's criminal record. Researchers emphasise the need for a stronger focus on treatment and social support. According to Kinnunen (2018), the Nordic countries have quite similar criminal policies in general; criminal control and sanctions are usually a last resort. 'We try other things instead, social policy and welfare measures, to create possibilities to combat social exclusion.' But when it comes to drugs, the situation is different. Criminal sanctions come into the picture very quickly, raising the question of how social exclusion is conceived in our criminal policy. In a Scandinavian welfare state, drug use seems to be viewed as an arena where welfare policies are not enough (see Kinnunen, 2008). There are also differences between the Nordic countries in how much they lean on welfare policies and how much trust is placed in criminal control. This report will show how cannabis use and possession are controlled by the legal systems in the Nordic countries, beginning with an overview of Nordic trends in cannabis use. This is followed by comprehensive reports on the legal control of cannabis in each of the five Nordics: Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden. The country reports are complemented by a short summary of the key findings for each country. The report concludes with an overall summary along with suggestions for further study Details: Stockholm: Nordic Welfare Centre, 2019. 146p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed June 24, 2019 at: https://nordicwelfare.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Cannabis-policy-and-legislation-in-the-Nordic-countries_FINAL.pdf Year: 2019 Country: Norway Keywords: Cannabis Shelf Number: 156622 |
Author: Skardhamar, Tobjorn Title: Relative Mortality among Criminals in Norway and the Relation to Drug and Alcohol Related Offenses Summary: Background: Registered offenders are known to have a higher mortality rate, but given the high proportion of offenders with drug-addiction, particularly among offenders with a custodial sentence, higher mortality is expected. While the level of overall mortality compared to the non-criminal population is of interest in itself, we also estimate the risk of death by criminal records related to substance abuse and other types of criminal acts, and separate between those who receive a prison sentence or not. Methods: Age-adjusted relative risks of death for 2000-2008 were studied in a population based dataset. Our dataset comprise the total Norwegian population of 2.9 million individuals aged 15-69 years old in 1999, of whom 10% had a criminal record in the 19921999 period. Results: Individuals with a criminal record have twice the relative risk (RR) of death of the control group (non-offenders). Males with a record of use/possession of drugs and a prison record have an 11.9 RR (females, 15.6); males with a drug record but no prison record have a 6.9 RR (females 10.5). Males imprisoned for driving under the influence of substances have a 4.4 RR (females 5.6); males with a record of driving under the influence but no prison sentence have a 3.2 RR (females 6.5). Other male offenders with a prison record have a 2.8 RR (females 3.7); other male offenders with no prison record have a 1.7 RR (females 2.3). Conclusion: Significantly higher mortality was found for people with a criminal record, also for those without any record of drug use. Mortality is much higher for those convicted of substance-related crimes: more so for drug - than for alcohol-related crimes and for women. Details: Oslo, Norway: Statistics Norway, 2013. 6p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed August 21, 2019 at: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0078893 Year: 2013 Country: Norway Keywords: Driving Under the Influence Shelf Number: 157037 |