Good find and yes, very similar. The end result is they spend a whole lot less on their prison systems with much, much better results.
"In Norway, fewer than 4,000 of the country's 5 million people were behind bars
as of August 2014.
That makes Norway's incarceration rate just 75 per 100,000 people, compared to
707 people for every 100,000 people in the US.
On top of that, when criminals in Norway leave prison, they stay out. It has one of the lowest recidivism rates in the world
at 20%. The US has
one of the highest: 76.6% of prisoners are re-arrested within five years."
"In Norway, fewer than 4,000 of the country's 5 million people were behind bars
as of August 2014.
That makes Norway's incarceration rate just 75 per 100,000 people, compared to
707 people for every 100,000 people in the US.
On top of that, when criminals in Norway leave prison, they stay out. It has one of the lowest recidivism rates in the world
at 20%. The US has
one of the highest: 76.6% of prisoners are re-arrested within five years.
That's why Norwegian extremist
Anders Behring Breivik, who killed 77 people in a bombing and mass shooting, was only sentenced to 21 years. Most of the outrage and incredulity over that sentence, however, came from the US.
Overall, Norwegians, even some parents who lost children in the attack, seemed satisfied with the sentence, The
New York Times reported. Still, Breivik's sentence, as is, put him behind bars for less than 100 days for every life he took, as
The Atlantic noted. On the other hand, if the system doesn't determine Breivik "rehabilitated," he could stay in prison forever. "