More information
Description
The project aims at improving, with support from Norwegian partners, the overall performance of the Romanian prison and probation systems, so as to facilitate the social reinsertion of convicts.
Despite the improvements registered in the Romanian correctional system, there are still challenges and needs that have to be addressed concerning detention and probation infrastructure, the development of specific intervention tools/ programmes for working with offenders, as well as the availability of sufficient and adequately trained staff.
In this respect, the project will address the organizational management, working tools, overall capacity, reintegration processes, human resources, working and detention conditions, awareness raising, as well as issues concerning Roma and other social exclusion risk categories of offenders. A special focus will be on developing specific social reintegration interventions in 2 pilot correctional centers, where 630 new detention places will be built in line with the European Prison Rules. Also, the project aims at continuing the improvement of the working conditions of the probation staff and the functioning of the probation system by providing the necessary investments for this purpose.
The project shall directly benefit to inmates and former inmates, offenders, including persons under probation supervision, minor and young offenders, with a special focus on Roma and other social exclusion risk categories of offenders, as well as to prison and probation staff.
The project is built on the Norwegian „seamless principle” and it envisages its translation in the Romanian correctional system. This should lead to a close structured cooperation between the Romanian prison and probation systems, as well as to a strengthened collaboration with the local authorities, to ensure an integrated approach of the specific interventions and to establish a smooth transition of offenders from prison via the probation service and into the community.
Summary of project results
The measures foreseen in this project were implemented considering the pivotal role of corrections in relation to the proper functioning of the justice system, with a view to providing an adequate framework for both the execution of penalties and the social rehabilitation of persons convicted for committing criminal offences.
Therefore, important steps were taken to ensure the respect of detainees’ human rights, including through significant investments for creating detention conditions in line with the European Prison Rules (i.e. European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment/ CPT - Council of Europe’s standards), the necessary specialized interventions/ programmes for facilitating the social reintegration of offenders (with a special focus on vulnerable groups, such as minors/ youngsters, women and Roma ethnics), as well as the improvement of the overall performance of the prison and probation systems, by addressing issues concerning working conditions, working practices/ procedures and adequate and continuous training of the prison and probation staff, so as to enable them to apply the newly developed programmes and adopted concepts (i.e. Norwegian seamless principle), to better perform their tasks and to effectively respond to current and future challenges.
The results achieved in the project significantly contribute to the strengthening of the Romanian prison and probation services by implementing activities aimed at ensuring an integrated approach in dealing with offenders so as to increase their social reintegration chances.
Thus, important developments occurred towards further improving the performance of the Romanian correctional services by addressing challenges in the area related to requirements for reducing overcrowding in prisons through the building of 630 new prison places in line with CPT - Council of Europe’s standards and of 3 multipurpose reintegration facilities, including for carrying out probation work, as well as through the endowment of 46 prisons with equipment for improving detention conditions (e.g. medical equipment - defibrillators, food preparation equipment, industrial washing machines, professional dryers, tablets for detainees and prison staff, video-conferencing and CCTV systems).
Moreover, measures were implemented for strengthening the correctional system’s capacity to provide adequate social reintegration interventions and procedures for convicted persons, by developing more than 15 new and improved rehabilitation programmes (including for vulnerable and social exclusion risk categories of offenders, such as juveniles, women, Roma ethnics) and by providing qualification courses to over 250 detainees in various jobs that would allow their self-support after release (e.g. cook assistant, garden caretaker/ landscaper, pest control agent, construction worker, hairdresser), as well as for extensively training the prison and probation staff in relevant topics for enhancing the quality of their specific activity (e.g. 283 staff trained in prison management and leadership, 408 staff trained in social care of convicted persons and in cultural sensitivity regarding vulnerable groups, 96 staff trained in working with mentally ill offenders, 64 staff trained in coaching etc.).
To this end, the Romanian and Norwegian partners worked closely together in order to assess the current situation in Romania and to develop a more suitable approach to the reintegration process of offenders, also by implementing in the Romanian correctional system the ”seamless” reinsertion principle, which proved its efficiency in the donor project partners’ correctional system.
Thus, the project framework represented both a premise and an opportunity for ensuring the transfer by the donor project partners of knowledge, experience and best practices adapted to the specifics of the Romanian correctional system, contributing also to the strengthening of the bilateral relations in this area between Norway and Romania. Furthermore, the Council of Europe’s standards, such as CPT recommendations, were considered during the elaboration and implementation of the project.
The project achieved sustainable results, consisting of investments in prison infrastructure, endowment for improving both detention and working conditions of prison and probation staff, specific intervention programmes for offenders’ social rehabilitation (including for vulnerable and social exclusion risk categories of offenders, such as juveniles, women, Roma ethnics), properly trained human resources, as well as strengthened bilateral relations, with a view to supporting the application of the Norwegian ”seamless” principle in the Romanian correctional system.
All these results contribute to the improvement of the capacity and overall performance of the Romanian prison and probation systems by simultaneously addressing existing shortcomings at all levels, with a view to offering an integrated approach to the social reinsertion of offenders.
Thus, the direct beneficiaries of the project’s achievements are convicted persons – i.e. detainees and under probation (e.g. improved prison conditions and reintegration facilities, specialised intervention programmes and qualification courses for supporting their social reinsertion, awareness measures on intercultural diversity centred on Roma and other vulnerable groups), as well as prison and probation staff (e.g. improved working conditions, extensive trainings on topics relevant for carrying out their specific activity, exchange of best practices and expertise through participations in study visits).
Summary of bilateral results
The project fostered the conclusion of strong partnerships and networks with five Norwegian partners, and the exchange of knowledge, experience and best practices in various areas of interest for the project, helping the Romanian and Norwegian experts to better understand the specific working methods employed and the characteristics of the two correctional systems, with a view to building on the good results achieved in each system.The project was a premise and an opportunity for ensuring the transfer by the Norwegian partners of knowledge, experience and best practices, adapted to the particularities of the Romanian correctional system, and for the shared achievement of the project’s outputs, thus contributing also to the strengthening of the bilateral relations between Norway and Romania. It should be emphasized that the project aimed at implementing, for the first time in Romania, the “seamless” principle, a concept successfully apllied in the Norwegian correctional system, which promotes the close cooperation of the prison and probation systems, as well as a strengthened collaboration between them and the local authorities, so as to ensure an integrated approach of the specific interventions for the social reinsertion of convicts.The cooperation between the Romanian and Norwegian partners materialized in specific project activities (e.g. trainings, study visits), facilitating improved knowledge and increased mutual understanding of their respective correctional systems, and the achievement of a better comprehension in relation to topics of common interest. In this regard, a special mentioning should be made about the Ambassadors Programme, consisting of trainings delivered jointly by the Norwegian and Romanian partners, which comprised both theoretical and practical aspects on the main principles of functioning of their correctional systems, current trends in this area, good practices, and other topics of interest pertaining to corrections.