Norwegian Justice: Catch 'em, convict 'em, then hope they serve their sentence

I remember Norwegian jokes when I was a kid, similar in vein to Polish jokes and Aggie jokes. It's a good thing this story didn't come out back then:

20 percent of convicted criminals do not show up for their prison terms, according to the Norwegian Correctional Services.

The dilemma facing the prison authorities is that failure to show up at prison is not yet illegal. Although Parliament has passed new legislation making it a criminal offence to skip prison, the law has not yet been implemented and until it is, prison authorities can do nothing but hope that the criminals will eventually show up at the prison gates.