We've often noted the befuddlement of European institutions in the face of Muslim immigration. That continent's ill-preparedness for the perils of modern life doesn't end with immigration, however. Don Surber notes a remarkable feature of criminal justice in Norway: prisons are optional. That is to say, the courts sentence criminals to prison, but whether they actually turn themselves in is up to the criminal:

“It’s difficult to make plans for the prison terms when we have no idea who will show up and who won’t,” said Ellinor Houm, director of the Norwegian Correctional Services, section for eastern Norway.

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.

Predictably, difficulty in planning prison occupancy is the least of the Norway's problems: Surber cites Interpol data to show that Norway's crime rate, and the crime rate across northern Europe generally, is now double that in the United States.

I'm pretty sure that when my ancestors lived there, Norway's attitude toward criminals was a bit more practical. But much of Europe has succumbed to a liberal ideology that renders it more or less defenseless against civilization's enemies.

Via Jules Crittenden.

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Posted by John at 8:54 AM  |    |