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The Rise of the Open Prisons and the Breakthrough of the Principle of Normalisation from the 1930s Until Today

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Scandinavian Penal History, Culture and Prison Practice

Part of the book series: Palgrave Studies in Prisons and Penology ((PSIPP))

Abstract

The use of imprisonment in open prisons is considerable in the Danish penal system. Accordingly, the open prisons have attracted a lot of international attention. In the past few years, this has especially been reflected in the literature about “Nordic Penal Exceptionalism” (Ugelvik and Dullum 2012; Pratt and Eriksson 2013). The open prison institution is considered an example of the allegedly humane conditions in the Nordic/Scandinavian countries, which has been explained, among other things, as a result of the Nordic countries’ egalitarian and humane policies. But is this assumption correct? Part of the answer to this question is to be found in the history of the open prisons in Denmark.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. The Danish National Archive, Copenhagen, Denmark

    Peter Fransen

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  1. Peter Fransen
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Correspondence to Peter Fransen .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Criminology and Sociology of Law, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway

    Peter Scharff Smith

  2. Department of Criminology and Sociology of Law, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway

    Thomas Ugelvik

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Fransen, P. (2017). The Rise of the Open Prisons and the Breakthrough of the Principle of Normalisation from the 1930s Until Today. In: Scharff Smith, P., Ugelvik, T. (eds) Scandinavian Penal History, Culture and Prison Practice. Palgrave Studies in Prisons and Penology. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-58529-5_4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-58529-5_4

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  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-137-58528-8

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-137-58529-5

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