Norwegians frightened by rising costs for prisoners from disadvantaged countries
The main Norwegian liberal said that today his country cannot "send Romanians and Russians home to serve sentences for crimes committed in Norway", but the current situation "should be changed" and help should be given to those "lagging behind" in modernizing prison systems. "We fund many humanitarian projects in Russia and Romania, so why not take on prisons there!" he urged, sparking heated debate in the kingdom.
Currently, more than 1,000 foreigners are serving various sentences in the country's prisons, mostly from Eastern Europe and Africa. This is a third of all inmates. And if keeping a healthy "inmate" costs more than 300 euros per day, the cost of keeping the sick and disabled in prison is simply off the charts.
For example, a drug courier confined to a wheelchair costs the state about 30,000 euros per month. And from January 1, 2011, Norwegian taxpayers are in for a new shock. The government was forced to revise legislation that already provided prisoners with the full range of services offered by the welfare state.
The reason for the revision of the legislative framework was a Lithuanian rapist, whose treatment bill in a closed psychiatric hospital exceeded 1.5 million euros. When the question arose of who should pay, it turned out that the Norwegian state must do so. "If a foreigner is placed in a Norwegian prison by court order, he is lawfully present on Norwegian soil. Consequently, the person falls under the law providing him with the basic social benefits applicable to all residents of the country," commented leading expert Professor Asbjørn Schjønstad.
The forced change in legislation gives foreign bandits and thieves truly fabulous opportunities. If the sentence is more than a year, the "inmate" is entitled to full medical care like any Norwegian citizen, as well as a child allowance of about 400 euros per month, provided the child does not attend a Norwegian kindergarten.
Local journalists immediately calculated how much would have to be paid, for example, to a Romanian Roma who has a dozen children waiting for him at home, and the nation was horrified. The average annual income in Romania is 4,000 euros. A father of a large family will earn this amount in one month in a Norwegian jail simply due to the fact of his fatherhood.
The prison perks don't end there. From next year, local legislation will actually begin to encourage foreigners to commit serious crimes punishable by more than three years. Starting from that term, a convicted criminal falls under the pension law. After serving a "three-year stretch", he can expect, upon reaching the Norwegian retirement age of 67, a minimum pension of 60 euros per month. Killed, stabbed, raped, got a "ten-year sentence", and your old age will be three times better accordingly.
Only now, having brought practice into line with the letter of the law, Norwegian politicians realized what a pit they had dug for the country. After all, even before, foreign criminals flocked to the Land of the Fjords like flies to honey, without any fear of ending up behind bars. Now, as Norwegians rightly fear, a pilgrimage of foreign bandits seeking to secure their old age will begin.
Parliamentary hearings on this matter have already been held. A group of deputies proposed to revise the law on universal welfare for foreign "inmates", and a decision is expected in May.
However, getting rid of "guest performers" is not easy. Norway is bound by a number of treaties with other countries and the EU concerning the provision of minimum social protection for people. When concluding these agreements, Norwegian politicians did not think that a prison could provide a pass to the local "social paradise".
Alexei Smirnov.
Novye Izvestia