An Unpaid Debt to Society: How ‘Punishment Debt’ Affects Reintegration and Desistance From Crime in Norway

Abstract

The Scandinavian exceptionalism literature has highlighted the relatively progressive and rehabilitative nature of imprisonment in Norway, with the Norwegian Correctional Services taking the view that those convicted of crimes have paid their debt to society at the end of their sentence. However, other parts of the Norwegian state take a more stringent view, imposing and enforcing significant and persistent debts on offenders. This article, based on official documents and interviews with Norwegian desisters and probation caseworkers, analyses how living with debt poses a major challenge for reintegration and desistance. Referred to informally as ‘punishment debt’, this pervasive but less visible aspect of Norwegian penality demonstrates the need to broaden the penal exceptionalism research agenda beyond the confines of the prison.

Nuances of fragmentation, (mis)recognition and closeness: Narratives of challenges and support during resettlement

“…However, because of the wrong advice he was given, he incurred a debt and possible foreclosure during imprisonment. Todd-Kvam illustrates how penal-related debt in general affects change processes, in that: ‘The struggle to keep one's head above water financially will reinforce and prolong the liminal experience of desisting from crime’ (2019: 14). As Torkil found a lack of interest in his resources and challenges, a lack of structured conversations, and a lack of preparations for a future plan, his goals were not adjusted in line with the aims of the Correctional Services.…”

Samordnede velferdstjenester til personer etter soning – glippsoner og broer

“…Tilbakefall til rusmiljøet skjer ofte (Bukten et al, 2016;Denney et al, 2014). Løslattes økonomiske problemer omfatter ofte gjeld, noe som i seg selv kan vaere en risikofaktor for fortsatt kriminalitet (Andvig, Bjørlykhaug & Hummelvoll, 2019;Pogrebin et al, 2014;Todd-Kvam, 2019).…”

“…Betydningen av forebygging og behandling av rusavhengighet vektlegges også. Økonomisk rådgivning og hjelp med gjeld og økonomiske problemer etter soning kan ha avgjørende betydning (Andvig et al, 2019;Pogrebin et al, 2014;Todd-Kvam, 2019).…”

“…Det er også betydningsfullt at løslatte får de ytelsene og den økonomiske støtten de har krav på gjennom NAV-tjenesten. Økonomiske problemer og gjeld er i seg selv en risikofaktor både for fortsatt kriminalitet og tilbakefall til rus (Andvig et al, 2019;Pogrebin et al, 2014;Todd-Kvam, 2019). Økonomisk veiledning og etablering av gjeldsordninger har vist seg å vaere svaert betydningsfulle tiltak for tidligere straffedømte (Andvig et al, 2019;Pogrebin et al, 2014).…”

Should we be pining for the fjords? Probation, debt and desistance in Norway

“…Perhaps one of the project's most important contributions is shedding light on so-called 'punishment debt' (Todd-Kvam 2019) (Revold 2015). As an illustration of this, the following chart shows how state income from financial penalties have increased whilst reported crime has decreased.…”