New visit from China to Oslo Prison

The Chinese are currently participating in numerous discussions with staff from institutions in western countries on the subject of punishment and sentencing conditions.  Here at Oslo Prison we are proud of our methods, and our practices have attracted a good deal of recent attention. Last Thursday we were visited by a delegation of top leaders from Beijings' "Labour Camps".

The delegation was recommended by central authorities to visit Oslo Prison. After the visit, Leader of the delegation, Managing Director Mr. Xiao Shiming, commented that they had learned a lot from studying Oslo Prison's methods and practices.

Many of the challenges associated with prison custody and sentencing are the same both in Norway and in China, including the need to reintegrate prisoners in the community in an effective manner after release.  As well as learning a great deal about our systems in this area, we too benefited greatly from listening to them describe their challenges and solutions in the same field.

In the middle, Managing Director Mr.Xiao Shiming; on the
right, the interpretor. Unfortunately our prison director, Are
Høidal, is not at all good at speaking Chinese...