Norway has one of the lowest crime rates in the world. And researchers have long theorised that one of the reasons for this is the country has long, cold winters – weather that acts as a deterrent for crime. Others believe a contributing factor is the country's strict firearm laws, which are, along with Australia's, amongst the toughest in the world.
But in recent times, the low crime rate in Norway is dwindling even further. And the reasons for it are far from conjecture.
Over the past few decades, the Norwegian Government has taken some extraordinary steps – most notably an innovative rehabilitative, rather than punitive, approach to its treatment of prison inmates.
It is often said that people are sent to prison as punishment, not to be punished. And Norway is certainly a country that embraces this idea – that inmates lose their freedom but not their dignity.
