Inmates’ perceptions and experiences of how they were prepared for release from a Norwegian open prison

ABSTRACT Re-entry to society is challenging and inmates often feel unprepared for release. Insufficient human and social capital makes it difficult to cope with the challenges of everyday life outside prison. In Norway the aim of prisoner rehabilitation is to counteract new criminal acts, and make it possible for the convicted person to change his or her criminal patterns. This qualitative study aimed to explore and describe inmates’ perceptions and experiences of how they were prepared for release from a Norwegian open prison. Three focus group interviews with inmates were conducted. A thematic content analysis of the data resulted in three categories: 1) life outside, 2) working as a community and 3) useful learning for the future. Our findings indicate that inmates were prepared in several ways to return to the society. One aspect was the social climate where inmates were treated with humanity by staff. Inmates received training in local democracy, and developed hope for the future, self-reliance and personal agency, which strengthened their process of preparing for release. Inhibiting factors seemed to be an emotional vulnerability, inadequate preparation for modern working life and poorly planned release preparation. This study indicates the importance of maintaining open prisons with humanistic values.