I remember watching a short Vice docunentary on the Bøstoy island, as far as I remember this low security island is an experiment, but a very interesting one that is understandable in the frame of the liberal prison system that you are describing. I really loved the concept, many contemporary constitutions speak about a corrective and not punitive correctional system, but reality is that trying to punish looks quite strongly hardcover in many of us and our justice systems.
I really understand the fear of being harmed and the feeling or the need of some people to protect themselves from threatens around them. But I really agree that this new Toska may be a new one. In the end, giving opportunities could be quite more powerful to build a place we all want to live in than destroying all the opportunities of someone's life.
I always found it interesting how many people seem to argue that we need harsh punishment and inhumane prisons in order to deter people from doing crimes, yet ignore the evidence that the countries with harsh punishments have higher crime rates. Of course, they tend to also have worse economic standards and public safety nets, so it may be hard to compare.
Agree, as the other guys were saying and you were pointing to @hjrrodriguez amd @ackza , there could be some other factors that are interconnected. In a situation of socio-economic scarcity you can enter into a feedback loop that makes increase crime rates and how punitive is the system altogether.