Column | Investing in the rehabilitation of prisoners is in everyone’s interest

Addictions in the popular literature on the subject often refer to so-called rat park experiments. The set-up of the experiments was simple. The rats were divided into groups, some of which lived in individual cages without proper stimulation and some in the so-called rat park, where there was company in addition to activities. Rats were offered either normal or morphine-infused water.

The results were intuitive: park rats clearly chose normal water more often.

The tests were done in the 1970s. One reason why they are still referred to is that the reproducibility of the experiments has been variable, possibly due to flaws in the experimental setup. Instead, the idea of ​​environmental influences has been able to be verified even later.

In fact, even at the time of publication, the result was not really new in the scientific field. However, Rottapuisto survived, because it simply illustrates an idea that is important to many, for example, working with addicts.

“To prison ending is also a choice”, stated the Minister of Justice Leena Meri At A-studio at the beginning of May. The comment was a response from the representative of the Support Foundation for Crime-Free Life Marjatta Kauralan to the speech, where this brought up concerns about the increase in the number of prisoners and insufficient resources. According to Kaurala, rehabilitation and activity opportunities have already decreased in prisons. Rehabilitation can refer to, for example, promoting withdrawal from intoxicants, working or studying. As these decrease, more and more prisoners spend more and more time in closed cells.

The like more speeches have been heard this year. There are too many prisoners and too few resources. For example, in Sweden, due to the lack of space and the reduction of activities, violence in prisons has increased.

In Finland, the number of prisoners was decreasing for a long time, but recently turned to increase. This has been estimated to be due more to changes in criminal policy than to the crime situation. Growth is affected by, among other things Sanna Marini (sd) the government’s reform of the sexual crime legislation and the restoration of the commutation of fines.

“

There are too many prisoners and too few resources.

According to forecasts, the changes planned by the current government will further increase the number of prisoners. At the same time, organizations that offer both preventive and rehabilitative activities are being cut.

In his speech, Kaurala also emphasized the goal of rehabilitation enshrined in the Prison Act. Meri responded to this by telling about the government’s support measures – for example, increasing the training places for security guards – and finally appealed to the choice of a person.

I was working more recently as a prison doctor. When I discussed the conditions of prisoners in my free time, the question of choices came up repeatedly. Either the problems were earned because of bad choices or they were not earned because there were no choices. The problem with the latter is that it ends up sensitively denying the moral agency of some people.

Arguing with choices or lack of them seems a bit pointless in this context. Choice or not, a person who has committed a crime deserves fair treatment and usually a chance for a new business. Human dignity and respectful treatment do not require correct choices.

Supporting a new company is also worthwhile, both in terms of safety and the national economy. Increasing the punishments in itself does not prevent crimes as a rule. One would therefore hope that the focus of the expensive prison treatment – ​​estimated at around 225 euros per day per person in 2021 – would be the prevention of new crimes.

Prisoners usually return to society. There will probably be better chances for that return if the previous years are not spent mostly in a closed cell, without stimulation.

Summer columnist Aurora Lemma is a doctor and journalist. He alternates with Ylioppilaslehti’s former editor-in-chief Adile Sevimli, philosopher Lauri Järvilehto and winner of the Talousguru competition Patrick Itäniemi.