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NOT A PRISON – A WARD!
A million prisoners – huge costs. At the same time, Norwegians have an answer to where the money went – it's the recidivism rate. With us... Citizens leave prison having lost all social ties: no family, no job, nowhere to go. It's simpler – and often happens – to go back. And in a barracks for 100 people, experienced 'instructors of prison life' have already taught how to earn easily. So it turns out that a carrier of prison subculture is released, who does not stay long in normal society...
The more prisoners are resocialized, the less recidivism there will be. The first hours after release are especially dangerous. In Norway, they understand this well, and therefore housing is rented for former prisoners for the first time, and work is provided. Sometimes housing is rented for life, but this is done not by the prison but by the municipality. Employees of the penal system and officials have one goal – the safety of the whole society. In Russia, a person is released, most often, even more criminal than before.
The successful experience of Norway can become a good basis for laying down a completely different principle of operation of the system of serving and correcting punishments in Russia, which needs reform and humanization.
– People sometimes end up in prison who have stumbled or caused harm unintentionally. How can such prisoners be protected from the influence of the criminal world behind bars? Is this problem being solved in Russia?
– Norwegians solve many issues in 'manual mode' – the prison director can call a colleague and simply agree on which prisoner is best to send where. The issue of exchanging or redistributing convicts to deprive them of criminal ties in their prison is also resolved this way. In Russia, things are different. Sometimes criminal leaders of the prison subculture can even be used by staff to make it easier to manage prisoners – this refers to 'red' and 'black' zones.
– Is the difference in salaries between Norwegian and Russian prison guards large?
– Norwegians in the penal system receive a fairly high salary. The education system is very well organized. To get a certified position in the prison service, one must undergo special two-year training at the educational institution of the penal service – the KRUS Academy. The selection of cadets is announced every year, competition – about 10 people per place. Only 175 people can undergo training annually. They receive a scholarship of 300 thousand crowns per year (1 crown = 6.3 rubles). In addition to teaching theory, students are required to undergo internships in prisons. In total, 3,600 people work in the Norwegian prison system, the number of penal system employees is 325. After graduating from the Academy, an employee receives 200-250 per month and more. In the police, salaries are even higher.
In Russia, a colonel in the military receives more than 100 thousand rubles, and a police colonel – 50-60 thousand (about the same for a colonel of the Federal Penitentiary Service). FSIN employees officially earn on average from 20 to 50 thousand – that is, not counting the 'shadow side' of the issue. In Norway, the system itself does not allow for corruption.
– So there is no corruption at all there?
– We asked employees about this – they did not immediately understand what we were talking about. There, relations in society between people are somewhat different – everyone communicates as equals. For example, in a rehabilitation center, employees eat at the same table with convicts. When we were there, we went to have lunch together – and the prison director helped the cafe worker set the table for us. Imagine such a picture in our country – the head of a pre-trial detention center feeding human rights activists...
Structurally, the Norwegian penitentiary system consists of a central apparatus, regional administrations, and, actually, units – prisons. At the same time, maximum authority is delegated to lower-level units. In Russia, there are many services – security department, guard department, operations department, regime department, educational work department, internal security department, special department, logistics, production, medical unit, plus administrations and heads of supervising departments. The result is a mass of reports, certificates and meetings. Norwegians do not have this vertical hierarchy. There is a head of the department and employees with their duties. No one will call on the phone and say who to 'lock up' and who to release. But at the same time, control is organized at a high level, as is the distribution of responsibilities among employees.
In Norwegian prisons, there are many civilian employees who have nothing to do with the criminal punishment system. These are not only doctors, but also municipal service workers. The video surveillance system and security system as a whole work well.
– How often do escapes occur in Norwegian prisons?
– There have been no cases in the last year. And in 2011, for example, 4 escapes were recorded from high-security prisons and no more than 6 cases in low-security prisons. For comparison, in Russia there are about a million prisoners, and escapes occur much more often.
Serious violations of the law also almost never occur in Norwegian prisons. Employees do not even remember when there were cases of violence against prison workers by prisoners.
– Are there any complaints about prison guards from Norwegian human rights activists?
– Yes, there are always some problems. Not long ago, representatives of the UN Committee against Torture came to them. They are unhappy that the accused are held in custody for too long (more than two months). They also pointed out that minors are held together with adults – there are, by the way, not many juvenile offenders, about 20 people in the country. Or, for example, it is considered a violation that terrorist Breivik cannot communicate with other inmates: he is in the highest security wing of a prison in Norway and can only communicate with those in that wing – but he is alone there.
– Do you think our penal system can change without fundamental changes in the government?
– Nothing can change without the government. In Russia, one person decides all major issues, but I’m afraid that even he cannot handle this issue. However, the system is still changing. The emergence of public oversight commissions is a major breakthrough. I spent a year studying the system from the inside. Thanks to the commissions, it is becoming increasingly open, and the more openness, the fewer violations. Of course, material and living conditions are changing much more slowly, and they vary from region to region.
– As chairman of the Public Oversight Commission of the Rostov Region, are you satisfied with the results of your work?
– We work in different areas, including the police, the Federal Penitentiary Service, and the Ministry of Defense. But one thing I can say for sure – the system has become more open. Already today, cases where employees of the penal system use force against inmates without legal grounds have practically disappeared – no one in prison needs extra problems. Although this does not rule out the possibility of collusion between unscrupulous employees and convicts.
In Russia, it is still easier to govern people with fear, and sometimes with the help of so-called "watchers." Not everyone is satisfied today, including prison staff themselves. They complain, saying that if we had the eurozone, we would have "euro-prisoners," but everything cannot be changed at once. And they will be the ones to change it; we can only help. Here, openness, transparency, and the media play a key role.
I believe that until the mindset of the population and our government changes, there will be no radical changes.
We recently conducted a monitoring of police activities – checking the work of precinct officers, patrol and post service, traffic police, and police stations. We identified how well state bodies provide services for protecting citizens' safety and defending their legal rights and interests. Just think: if our country has up to 70% recidivism among released prisoners, what kind of service is that? Not very effective – for the money spent from the budget on maintaining law enforcement agencies. And talk of a special mentality, a "unique path," or some kind of bonds is not very appropriate here.
Interviewed by Polina BYKOVSKIKH.
IA "Rosbalt"