At present, the United States criminal justice system undergoes sharp criticism for being overly rigid and ineffective in terms of rehabilitation. It is reported that the majority of prisoners’ lives are destroyed due to its brutality and extreme sentences, which further force them to return to crime after release because they do not see any other opportunity. As a result, there is a severe impediment to their resocialization, which increases recidivism rates. Meanwhile, the Scandinavian and Nordic prison systems are characterized by minimally rough conditions and designed to help prisoners return to society. Due to their innovative open prison concept, they allow people to continue working or pursue higher education, which should solve their problems after release and prevent them from returning to crime.
Therefore, this study aims to test the claim that providing higher educational opportunities like in the Scandinavian criminal justice system relative to the United States is significant to lower recidivism rates. To conduct the research, thirteen sources were analyzed to retrieve past and current statistics related to the recidivism rates. The comparative analysis was undertaken to demarcate the differences in criminal justice system approaches towards incarceration in the U.S.A. and Scandinavian countries. As a result of the research, it was identified that providing educational opportunities to the prisoners is beneficial because it ensures their job opportunities after release. This study is a part of more significant research on the worldwide perspective of recidivism. The analysis of the criminal justice system of these two countries will facilitate further research to improve the lives of prisoners and provide them with various services and opportunities to ensure that they do not return to prison.