People shocked to see prison that looks more like a five-star hotel

Don’t be fooled by the £1 million Banksy-style art or the windows without bars – this isn’t a swanky hotel. This is the home to some of Norway’s toughest criminals. 

People were left stunned when they saw how murderers, rapists and other convicts live in Halden Prison, Norway, on TikTok.

Viewers flocked to the comments of TikToker @sherifelsahly’s video with one user saying: ‘It’s nicer than my rental. This is my new retirement plan.

While another chimed in: ‘This is not a prison it’s a holiday home.’

Boasted as the most humane prison in the world, inmates living in the £15 million prison get plush en-suite bathrooms. fully equipped kitchens, as well as flat-screen TVs, mini-fridges and even a key to their own cell.

For very 12 to 15 rooms there is a top-notch kitchen with stainless steel work tops and lounge areas complete with IKEA-style sofas and coffee tables filled with cards and board games.. 

The prison, which took 10 years and an eye-watering £138 million to build, boasts luxurious facilities for inmates, including a gym which comes with a rock climbing wall, a stocked supermarket, and a recording studio.

The pampered prisoners also get two visits from partners every week, who they can spend ‘alone time’ with them in windowless and unsupervised rooms.

These facilities are also stocked up with towels, condoms, sheets and an en-suite. 

It isn’t only the ultimate prison break for inmates, their families can also come and stay, once every three months, in a separate wooden cabin on the 75-acre property.

A part of the ‘Daddy in Prison’ scheme, the log cabin comes with cots, rooms for children and a garden full of children’s toys. 

Halden inmate, Amund, explained the process to Ann Widdecombe in her Channel 5 series In The World’s Most Luxurious Prison.

He said: ‘They have to go through a course and then wives and girlfriends come with kids for one or two nights during the weekend,

‘It’s about getting to connect with their kids again. Maybe some haven’t had much of a connection with their kids for a long time.’ 

The luxurious facility, which is home to 252 criminals was deliberately constructed to not look anything like a prison.

Norwegian prison authorities claim the extravagant environment helps reduce the country’s already very low crime rate. 

The Norwegian artist, Dolk, who painted Halden’s £1 million mural said: ‘In the Norwegian prison system, there’s a focus on human rights and respect.

‘We don’t see any of this as unusual.

‘When they arrive many of them are in bad shape and we want to build them up, give them confidence through education and work and have them leave as better people.’

The reoffending rate in Norway sits at 20%.  Between July and September of 2021, the UK’s stood at 25.2%.