The so-called Nordic Countries (Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Norway and, depending on the definition, Iceland) have been extremely peaceful and prosperous since World War II ended, raising from the ashes and becoming some of the most peaceful and socially and technologically advanced free democratic countries in the world, with some of the best welfare systems and social safety nets of all countries.
For these reasons crime rates in these countries in this time period (ie. since the end of the war to about the 1980's and 1990's) have been relatively low, and the types of crimes tend to be relatively low-key. While there are, of course, many heinous and horrendous crimes, they have always tended to be extraordinarily rare, and the vast, vast majority of crime has tended to be rather petty, often in the form of physical altercations (especially among drunken people), petty theft, reckless or drunken driving, spouse beating and so on. Even when it comes to much more serious crimes like murder, they have usually tended to be either the result of a fight (often with alcohol playing a big role) or a crime of passion (ie. murdering a spouse). Even these tend to be relatively rare.
Because of the lack of severity in the average crime, the prison system tends to be relatively lax and, for the lack of a better term, humane. There are many open prisons in the Nordic Countries, where the "prison" consists essentially of what amounts to a small suburb or group of small homes, sometimes even relatively close to a city, sometimes in some kind of island, where there are no walls, very few guards, and the inmates are free to move pretty much however they like. There isn't really much stopping them from escaping, but most of the people in these prisons agree to not do so because that would just end up being a lot more trouble than it's worth (if and most probably when caught, their sentence would probably be at least doubled or tripled, and they would be moved to regular prison, and their crime record would look much worse.)
Even the "normal" prisons, even the most high-security ones, tend to look like relatively luxurious hotels inside. In most (perhaps all) prisons every inmate has his own personal room that he doesn't have to share with anybody else, and it will look more like a small hotel room than a prison cell. It will be nice and clean, with a modern bed and furniture, curtains, and most likely a TV. The common areas will often have a lot of recreational facilities and paraphernalia, like pool tables, and so on and so forth.
In fact, quite ironically, from time to time newspaper and news stories will be made comparing the conditions inside prisons to the conditions in a typical small rental apartment in the big city... with the prison cells being significantly nicer-looking and more luxurious.
However, regardless of all this, prison still acts as a deterrent for most native people of the Nordic countries. Going to prison is most often a downgrade for their quality of life, the severe limitation of movement is punishing and stressful, and most especially the social stigma of having been sentenced to prison is very strong. Jobs may be lost, apartments may be lost, social reputation is most often lost, and even a couple-months sentence is not only highly inconvenient and punishing, but also socially very embarrassing and shameful. For people who are married and with family it may be especially stressing and punishing. And a conviction may be something that will haunt you for the rest of your life (eg. in terms of getting high-paying jobs).
In short, prison in the Nordic Countries may look like luxury hotels on the inside, but they can be, because it's ok to treat prisoners very humanely, the prison system still acts as a strong deterrent.
Problem is... it acts as a deterrent for Nordic people who have lived their entire lives in the Nordic culture. It does not act as any sort of deterrent for people who have lived their lives in much poorer and violent countries, where the average household is completely decrepit and prisons are more or less torture chambers.
To a person from such a place a Nordic prison is literally like a luxury hotel. To such a person getting a jail sentence is like getting a vacation in a luxury resort, completely for free. Most often such a person has no need to fear any sort of social stigma or repercussions, or suffer any sort of monetary losses or loss of reputation. It's, in fact, quite often the case, especially for people from certain countries, that a prison sentence is not seen as anything to be embarrassed or ashamed about. Some may even consider it a badge of honor, a sign that you are a "tough guy", a "gangsta", someone to not be messed with, and someone that women in their society might even admire rather than be wary of.
Add to this the fact that prison sentences in the Nordic Countries tend to be almost laughably short, compared to many other countries. For example, aggravated assault or rape getting you something like 4 or 5 months in prison, from which you will be sitting maybe 3 months before let go on parole. That's like just a slightly extended vacation for these people. And it's not like they are going to lose anything given that they are most likely living on welfare and a state-funded rental apartment anyway (for which they don't pay a single dime of their own money).
The fact is that the prison system in the Nordic Countries, for the most part, does not act as a deterrent for migrants coming from certain countries, which is why they aren't really all that concerned about committing crimes. The only deterrent they may have is individual honesty and humanity. Not all of them have that.
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