The prisoners will enjoy better conditions in penitentiaries and possibilities of working while serving time in jail. These will also benefit from training courses so as to be able to easier integrate into society. The employees of penitentiary institutions will also be created better working conditions and their responsibilities will be clearly defined. Such provisions are contained in the draft strategy for developing the penitentiary service of Moldova for 2016-2020, which the Ministry of Justice discussed on May 6, IPN reports.
Minister of Justice Vladimir Cebotari said that by this strategy the authorities aim to create conditions for reeducating the detainees, re-firing the system and regulating the activity of penitentiaries. Conditions will be created for each detainee to find a job. There will be developed the system of encouraging the useful activities performed by detainees in exchange for which they will get such benefits as more days spent with the family. “We count on internal funds and on international support in implementing this strategy. We must improve financial administration. We will also adopt a policy to increase the budget financial support, but it’s time to rationalize costs,” he stated.
Siri Fjørtoft, expert in working out the strategy for developing the penitentiary system and head of penitentiary in Norway, said that it is very demanding to work in the correctional field. “We work with persons whom society does not want to see and to accept. I think every society should discuss what is happening to the detained persons when they are in penitentiaries. To improve, we need a strategy that wil represent a roadmap for achieving the goals. An important aspect is that this strategy must be realistic. The draft document is a working instrument and it is important for the final document to represent the result of the discussions at all the levels,” she said.
By this strategy, the authorities aim to ensure the safety of society and to prevent recidivism. It is proposed improving the infrastructure, guaranteeing the safety of the detention system and improving the medical services in the penitentiary system. Among other goals are to provide the system with professional personnel, to stimulate the staff depending on personal results, to provide high quality psychological assistance to employees and to institute a progressive prison system.
