Danubius International Conferences, 11th International Conference The Danube - Axis of European Identity

Working Behind Bars, General Rules For Penitentiary Employees

Florin Proca
Last modified: 2021-06-30

Abstract

At a first glance or analysis, the service within a penitentiary unit seems quite simple: the staff ensures the security, accommodation, food, hygiene items, clothing when needed and the possibility of daily recreation for the detained/imprisoned persons and the detainees are waiting for the time to pass in order to reintegrate into society. In fact, things are much more complex. The objective of the research is to identify the problems faced by the prison staff/penitentiary employees, other than those clearly stipulated by the normative acts/regulations, as well as to determine the course of action in the case of such difficult situations.

I approached this topic because it is of interest both for the new staff employed in such a complex and stressful institution, as well as for the long-term employees in this field. In this "gray" environment, which is in a continuous tension and transformation, new situations always appear that initially seem without solution, situations whose solution is not specified in laws or regulations. Prisons and the detained/imprisoned persons have been a topic of great interest recently, both in the mass-media and in the legislative plan, where many changes have taken place for the benefit of the persons deprived of their liberty.

All these have overshadowed the other human element of the prison environment - the prison staff, who in addition to working in a very dangerous environment, also sometimes have to manage people who have nothing to lose, face the feeling of social isolation due to the numerous restrictions that come with choosing this profession. The long-term negative effects of the service between the detained/imprisoned persons, as well as the unwanted habits that the employees involuntarily acquire in view of the nature of the service should not be neglected, but rather studied and stopped as much as possible.