Conference inaugurating the project. „Pilot penitentiary complexes”, implemented under the „Justice” Program, financed by the Norwegian Financial Mechanism 2014-2021 combined with the inauguration of “The Ambassadors” Program.
On May 31, 2023, an international conference was held at the Prison Service Training Center in Popowo. Representatives of the Norwegian Prison Service chaired by Kim Ekhaugen, Director of International Cooperation KDI (Norway) and Anita Fjeldsaeter from the Financial Mechanisms Office in Brussels. The Ministry of Justice was represented by representatives of the Department of Strategy and European Funds in the persons of director Aleksandra Rusin-Batko and deputies: Monika Żuberek and Tomasz Gajewski. On the part of the Prison Service, the conference was attended by: Col. Krzysztof Stefanowski – Deputy General Director of the Prison Service, Lt. Col. Grzegorz Futyma – Director of the Penitentiary Office of CBPS, Col. Cezary Kosacz – District Director of PS in Poznań, Col. Wojciech Szczudło – District Director of PS in Olsztyn, Col. Krzysztof Kulczycki – District Director of PS in Rzeszów and Lt. Col. Maciej Konior – District Director of PS in Katowice. The Academy of Justice was represented by Jakub Czarkowski PhD – Vice-Rrector for didactics.
The conference was opened by Colonel Krzysztof Stefanowski, who presented the main goal of the project, which is the implementation of innovative activities aimed at improving the functioning of the penitentiary system in Poland. He also pointed to the importance of the partnership nature of the project, which the Central Board of the Prison Service implements jointly with the Academy of Justice and the Directorate of the Norwegian Prison Service.
The director emphasized that the result of the effective bilateral cooperation is the decision to implement the “Ambassadors” Program, whose assumptions were presented by Kim Ekhaugen - Director of International Cooperation KDI. In his speech, he presented the concept of further Polish-Norwegian cooperation, creating an opportunity to develop lasting changes.
The topics related to the assumptions, objectives and principles of the implementation of the “Justice” Program were the subject of the speech by Tomasz Gajewski - Deputy Director of the Strategy and European Funds Department in MoJ.
Subsequently, representatives of the Central Board of the Prison Service, District Inspectorates of the PS and the Academy of Justice who are engaged in the implementation of the Project, took the floor and presented innovative solutions, whose implementation is foreseen under three complementary modules.
The presented activities include three modules.
Under Module No. 1 called “Pilot penitentiary complexes”, plans for the construction and launch of 4 modern penitentiary complexes (Jastrzębie Zdrój, Koziegłowy, Chmielów and Kamińsk) were presented. The concept of building housing pavilions, production hall and halfway house was discussed. In order to optimize the benefits of the support provided, the staff involved in carrying out tasks in the penitentiary complexes will be appropriately trained.
In addition, the construction of the production halls and establishing cooperation with entrepreneurs will contribute to increasing the employment of people deprived of liberty. The creation of complexes will allow the implementation of new and development of the existing penitentiary solutions, such as “Work program for prisoners”.
- Module No. 2 called “Modernization of the training system of the Prison Service staff” assumes a reduction in the rate of return of prisoners to crime understood as a recidivism phenomenon sensu largo (in the penitentiary dimension of repeated imprisonment ) by raising the competence of the Prison Service staff as part of a modernized education and improvement system supporting the process of resocialization and re-adaptation of prisoners. The Academy of Justice was involved in the implementation of these tasks. The process of raising the competence of the prison staff will allow a broader view of the phenomenon accompanying the pathology of crime, including the effects of isolation and the so-called “prisonisation” of convicts.
- Module No. 3 entitled “Development and implementation of the tool for estimating the risk of reoffending of persons serving a prison sentence” aims to develop and implement this tool of the Polish legal system. In addition, staff training is foreseen to use the new solutions. Thanks to the support of the representatives of the judiciary, probation service, prison service and law enforcement authorities in assessing the risk of reoffending of persons serving imprisonment after leaving penitentiary units, it will be possible to make efficient decisions regarding the implementation of an appropriate correction program. This minimizes the likelihood of committing a crime again.
During the rest of the meeting, the Norwegian side presented the main goal of the “Ambassadors” Program, which consists in preparing 25 properly trained trainers – representatives of the Prison Service and the Academy of Justice in Poland. They will act as training mentors and “Ambassadors of changes” modelled on the Norwegian prison system.
The knowledge they will acquire will be cascaded first to the staff performing tasks in pilot penitentiary complexes. Their activities will focus on implementing the so-called dynamic security, i.e. a working method through which prison staff are involved in creating positive interactions with prisoners in order to include better understanding of their needs. The Norwegian side will be represented by 10 persons who act as mentors for the selected Polish Ambassadors and participate in training, including in the form of so-called “job shadowing” in Norway and Poland.
The Norwegian Ambassadors will share their knowledge about the main principles of the Norwegian prison system, as well as experience from their daily work.
The Ambassadors have the chance to become initiators of changes in the way officers perform their tasks in pilot penitentiary complexes, and then after the pilot period, for the remaining staff of the Prison Service in Poland. The goal of the Program is to develop such solutions that will eventually become a permanent element of the correctional treatment.
