And there's no law in effect that compels sentenced criminals to report to prison, either. 20 percent of convicted criminals do not show up for their prison terms, according to the Norwegian Correctional Services. Prison authorities can do little but hope that the criminals will eventually come knocking on the prison door.
It almost sounds like something out of a film, but for the Norwegian Correctional Services (Kriminalomsorgen), the problem is real. 20 percent of convicted criminals simply fail to show up to serve their prison term, according to figures for 2007.
Criminals sentenced to long prison terms are particularly prone to bunking off.
| No, reeeeeeaaallly? |
I guess ...
With fewer criminals showing up here than in any other part of Norway, Houm's in charge of prisons with many empty beds. So far this year, every fourth criminal has not bothered to turn up at the prison gates in eastern Norway.
The dilemma facing the prison authorities is that failure to show up at prison is not yet illegal. Although Parliament has passed new legislation making it a criminal offence to skip prison, the law has not yet been implemented and until it is, prison authorities can do nothing but hope that the criminals will eventually show up at the prison gates. "Some people just don't get that it's better to get the sentence over and done with as soon as possible," said Houm.
And those hard boys in the Pak crime syndicates just laugh, and laugh, and laugh ...