ANOTHER CONCEPT FOR REFORMING THE DEPARTMENT

CONCEPT
of state policy in the sphere of criminal punishment execution

Introduction

Given that almost all the directions of reform approved by the Government in 1991 have currently been practically implemented, or require new approaches, the democratic transformations that have taken place in Ukraine have positively influenced the results of the activities of the State Criminal-Executive Service of Ukraine (hereinafter—the criminal-executive service), and have necessitated its reform and alignment with international standards.
The functioning of the criminal-executive service is based on the observance of the Constitution and laws of Ukraine, international law, and European ethics, as well as non-partisanship, political neutrality, and openness to interaction with national and international non-governmental organisations and institutions.
The change in the Ukrainian state's policy in the sphere of criminal punishment execution has led to a one-third reduction in the number of people serving sentences in places of imprisonment, and the trend of this process is continuing.
Also, among the positive developments that have occurred in recent years is the openness of the criminal-executive service’s activities and a qualitatively new level of interaction between penal institutions and human rights organisations.
At the same time, the existing penal institutions and pre-trial detention centres in Ukraine do not meet modern requirements for ensuring the rights and freedoms of man and citizen and do not fully ensure the fulfilment of the tasks assigned to them.
The expansion of types of punishment not involving imprisonment has necessitated the improvement of the work of the criminal-executive inspection, which now monitors as many convicts as there are in penal institutions. In this regard, a need has arisen to develop the criminal-executive inspection based on the model of probation services created in many European countries.
The premises in which convicts are held are of a ‘barracks’ type, housing several dozen people. The premises in pre-trial detention centres are no better. There is no possibility of employing all convicts, and the necessary equipment in vocational-technical educational institutions within penal institutions or at institution enterprises is either missing or outdated.
Most of the buildings and structures, as well as the engineering networks of penal institutions and pre-trial detention centres, were built and commissioned more than 50 years ago and require urgent reconstruction or capital repairs.
The issue of developing new models of penal institutions for female and juvenile convicts is urgent.
Penal institutions concentrate a significant number of convicts who have a low level of education and are pedagogically neglected. Modern approaches to organising industrial activity in market conditions make it necessary to change the organisational-legal forms and principles of the activities of penal institution enterprises regarding the involvement of convicts in socially useful labour, prioritising their vocational-technical training, and the formation and consolidation of their work skills as an integral part of their resocialisation process.
Despite the significant number of convicts suffering from somatic and mental illnesses, and the prevalence of infectious diseases among them, primarily HIV/AIDS, problems remain in providing such individuals with adequate medical care.
The practice of ill-treatment of individuals held in penal institutions and pre-trial detention centres by staff has not been eradicated, and the investigation of complaints regarding such treatment is insufficiently effective.
Therefore, ensuring real possibilities for the protection of the interests of the individual, society, and the state by creating conditions for the correction and resocialisation of convicts, preventing the commission of new crimes by convicts and persons in custody, as well as preventing torture and inhuman or degrading treatment of individuals held in institutions of the criminal-executive service, and the gradual alignment of conditions for the detention of convicts and persons in custody with European standards, along with improving work with personnel and perfecting their professional training, is one of the priority directions of the state’s policy in this sphere.
Furthermore, the processes of demilitarisation and the transformation of the criminal-executive system into a civilian agency, open for cooperation with the public, have not been fully completed.
The social and legal protection of the criminal-executive service personnel is at an inadequate level, which hinders the attraction of qualified personnel to the system.
Given that man, their life and health, honour and dignity, inviolability and security are recognised in Ukraine as the highest social value, and the task of the criminal-executive system is to create conditions for the correction of convicts, the prevention of the commission of new crimes by both convicts and other persons, as well as the prevention of torture and inhuman or degrading treatment of convicts, defining the directions of state policy in the sphere of criminal punishment execution based on conceptual principles of its development is one of the important tasks facing modern Ukrainian society.
The main goal of the Concept is to define these directions, which must be based on the following main principles:
1) bringing the order and conditions of serving sentences in line with international standards;
2) development and strengthening of bodies and institutions for the execution of punishments;
3) effective organisation of a system of social adaptation for citizens who have served criminal sentences.
State policy in the sphere of criminal punishment execution must be carried out taking into account social changes in society, in accordance with its political and economic development, and trends in the development of political, civil, and legal institutions.

General tasks of reforming
the State Criminal-Executive Service of Ukraine

This Concept defines the main directions of state policy in the sphere of criminal punishment execution.
Ukraine is a party to a number of international acts that establish standards for the observance of human rights and freedoms during the execution of criminal punishments.
Ukraine has achieved significant progress in the implementation of these acts in the execution of criminal punishments. It is important that positive developments in this sphere have occurred largely due to a change in the public assessment of processes related to the execution of criminal punishments, rather than due to criticism from the international community.
The criminal-executive service must ensure the order and conditions of the execution and serving of sentences by convicts as defined by legislation in penal institutions and pre-trial detention centres, and implement European norms in this sphere by adhering to the requirements of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (1950) and fulfilling the recommendations of the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.
The goal of reforming the criminal-executive service is to organise the activities of the criminal-executive inspection on the basis of probation, to define the place of the probation service in the system of executive authorities, to further improve the activities of penal institutions by creating conditions for the correction of convicts, their acquisition of education and a profession, their social adaptation in society, bringing the conditions of detention of convicts and persons in custody into compliance with the requirements of the ‘European Prison Rules’, and improving the organisation of work with the personnel of the State Criminal-Executive Service, ensuring guarantees of their social and legal protection.
The reform of the criminal-executive service requires a serious review of state policy in the sphere of criminal punishment execution in accordance with the changes that have occurred in the socio-political and economic situation in the state, the practice of sentencing by courts, and world experience in the execution of criminal punishments, and it must be carried out in a coordinated manner, in conjunction with the reform of other state and social institutions, in particular the acceleration of judicial reform.
To this end, during the reform, it is necessary to determine that:
the implementation of new means of correction must be carried out primarily with respect for the rights and fundamental freedoms of man and citizen, preventing the degradation of an individual's honour and dignity;
punishment for a crime committed is only one of the equal tasks in the implementation of a sentence. The correction of a specific convict is as mandatory as the punishment itself;
involving the convict in labour, the work of convicts in workshops (centres for labour adaptation), auxiliary farms, household maintenance of penal institutions and pre-trial detention centres, at penal institution enterprises, or at state or other forms of ownership enterprises is a component of correction, not punishment;
workshops (centres for labour adaptation) in penal institutions are not industrial or agricultural enterprises, and involvement in work in them is a means of correcting convicts through conscious labour;
education in a general education or vocational-technical educational institution is an integral part of correction;
an integral part of correction is participation in self-managed organisations of convicts, which are created in accordance with legislation in bodies and institutions of execution of punishments and function on a collective basis;
To achieve the set goals, it is envisaged:
to optimise the structure of the criminal-executive service and the management system of the criminal-executive service, bodies and institutions for the execution of punishments, pre-trial detention centres, and to develop a model that would correspond to international standards, to ensure the phased bringing of existing penal institutions and pre-trial detention centres into compliance with them;
to reorganise the system of executing punishments not involving imprisonment and to organise the activities of the criminal-executive inspection on the basis of probation;
to improve the forms of interaction between bodies and institutions for the execution of punishments, pre-trial detention centres, and public and state institutions with the aim of adhering to the principle of openness to democratic civilian control over the law enforcement agencies of the state;
to create a system of training, retraining, and advanced training for criminal-executive service personnel;
to improve the mechanism of legal regulation of the criminal-executive service's activities;
to ensure a system of legal and social protection for criminal-executive service personnel and their family members;
to ensure the development of the material and technical base of penal institutions and pre-trial detention centres.

Main measures for reforming
the State Criminal-Executive Service of Ukraine

The development of the structure of the criminal-executive service and the management system of the criminal-executive service, bodies and institutions for the execution of punishments, and pre-trial detention centres provides for:
improving the organisational structure of the criminal-executive service to ensure adherence to constitutional rights and freedoms of man and the establishment of effective mechanisms for public control;
ensuring proper conditions for detention in custody and serving sentences, in particular regarding the provision of proper material and sanitary conditions;
providing effective medical care to persons held in custody or serving sentences;
the development of a modern model for the organisation of social-educational and psychological work with convicts and the optimisation of the structure and size of the social-psychological service;
the functioning of bodies and institutions for the execution of punishments, pre-trial detention centres on the principles of legality, democracy, objectivity, transparency, systemacity, and decentralisation in certain directions, while maintaining a management vertical to ensure the implementation of state policy in the sphere of criminal punishment execution;
the development and implementation of an effective mechanism for investigating complaints by persons held in custody or serving sentences in penal institutions regarding ill-treatment by the staff of the State Criminal-Executive Service;
improving the practice of providing psychological assistance to convicts and persons in custody;
the further development of a network of educational institutions as mandatory and integral parts of penal institutions, strengthening their material and technical base, creating proper conditions for general and vocational-technical education of convicts, as well as the implementation of their socially useful employment programme and participation in self-managed organisations.
To increase the effectiveness of the criminal-executive service management system, its functioning at all levels is organised on the principles of accountability, transparency, predictability, and joint participation of central and local executive bodies, local self-government bodies, and the public.
Within the framework of improving this system, it is necessary to create a unified, secure automated information-analytical system for the criminal-executive service in accordance with ratified international documents regarding the protection of personal data.

Facilitating the work of national mechanisms to prevent torture in penal institutions and pre-trial detention centres provides for:
ensuring compliance with the requirements of the Optional Protocol to the UN Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment;
the effective and full implementation, in accordance with the requirements of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, of judgments of the European Court of Human Rights in cases against Ukraine, which have established violations of Article 3 ‘Prohibition of torture’ of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (1950);
strengthening public control over the observance of the rights of persons held in custody and convicts during the execution of criminal punishments.

The organisation of the activities of the criminal-executive inspection on the basis of probation provides for:
strengthening the material and technical base of the criminal-executive inspection, ensuring proper conditions for the placement and safety of its personnel;
developing forms and methods for involving volunteers and non-governmental organisations in the process of social support for persons sentenced to punishments not involving imprisonment;
the development of a new model of the criminal-executive inspection and the corresponding legislative base, taking into account European norms for the organisation of probation service activities.

Ensuring the openness of the criminal-executive service's activities to democratic civilian control provides for:
maintaining dialogue and improving cooperation with the public;
expanding and strengthening ties with the mass media regarding comprehensive coverage of the criminal-executive service's activities with the aim of forming an objective public opinion about the state's policy in the sphere of criminal punishment execution.

Improving the mechanism of legal regulation of the activities of the State Criminal-Executive Service of Ukraine:
bringing the regulatory framework for the activities of bodies and institutions for the execution of punishments, pre-trial detention centres in line with national legislation, the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (1950), the practice of the European Court of Human Rights, and the European Prison Rules;
ensuring the openness and clarity of regulatory legal acts concerning the rights and duties of persons held in custody or serving sentences, as well as their strict observance;
normative-legal regulation of the interaction of the criminal-executive service with central executive bodies, law enforcement agencies, local state administrations, local self-government bodies, and non-governmental organisations;
preparing and submitting proposals regarding the improvement of financial and material-technical support for bodies and institutions for the execution of punishments, pre-trial detention centres, and the economic stimulation of convict labour.

For the creation of a system of training criminal-executive service personnel and increasing the level of their social protection, as well as scientific and scientific-methodological support for the activities of bodies and institutions for the execution of punishments, pre-trial detention centres, it is envisaged:
to create an educational institution for the training, retraining, and advanced training of criminal-executive service personnel;
to create a network of medical-preventive and health-improving institutions for medical service, rehabilitation, and treatment of criminal-executive service personnel and their family members, as well as persons discharged from service in the criminal-executive service;
to provide criminal-executive service personnel with the necessary guarantees of social and legal protection and to develop a mechanism for providing them with housing.

The development of the material and technical base of penal institutions and pre-trial detention centres provides for:
the construction of new and the reconstruction of existing pre-trial detention centres;
the technical re-equipment and reconstruction of penal institutions, aimed at ensuring proper detention conditions for all categories of convicts, including persons sentenced to life imprisonment, with the goal of transitioning from barracks-style to block-style detention for 4–6 persons;
equipping bodies and institutions for the execution of punishments and pre-trial detention centres with modern telecommunication and computer systems;
ensuring the phased alignment of the level of medical care and the equipping of health care facilities of the criminal-executive service with medical equipment in accordance with the standards of European penal systems;
creating conditions for involving convicts in socially useful labour in workshops (centres for labour adaptation), auxiliary farms, household maintenance of penal institutions and pre-trial detention centres, at penal institution enterprises, or at state or other forms of ownership enterprises.

Stages of implementation of the Concept of State policy in the sphere of execution
of criminal punishments and expected results

The implementation of the Concept of State policy in the sphere of execution
of criminal punishments is carried out in stages over ten years.
In the first stage (2008–2012), measures are implemented regarding:
the development and adoption of a regulatory legal framework that would correspond to international norms and ensure the full performance of all functions assigned to the criminal-executive service;
the creation of legislative and organisational prerequisites for the further reduction in the number of persons held in pre-trial detention centres and penal institutions;
the study and implementation of positive experience in the work of European countries in the sphere of criminal punishment execution (creation of new models of penal institutions and their practical development, creation of conditions for the activities of the probation service);
the creation of a higher educational institution and a scientific-research centre, the training of a new generation of personnel capable of performing their duties at a new stage of the criminal-executive service's development;
the optimisation of the management system for the criminal-executive service activities.
In the second stage (2013–2017), the main measures are implemented regarding:
the reorganisation of bodies and institutions for the execution of punishments and pre-trial detention centres into modern-type institutions that meet European standards;
ensuring the sustainable functioning of the probation service.

Financial support

Funding is carried out at the expense of funds from the State Budget of Ukraine in accordance with calculations submitted annually by the State Department of Ukraine for the Execution of Punishments, as well as investments from international organisations and other receipts not prohibited by legislation.

Expected results

The implementation of the provisions of this Concept should ensure:
effective state policy in the sphere of criminal punishment execution;
the creation of a modern criminal-executive service that meets European standards, primarily in the sphere of human rights observance;
the creation of a probation service as a component of the criminal-executive service;
effective correction of convicts, a reduction in recidivism, and a reduction in the number of crimes and other offences;
the strengthening of the personnel potential of the criminal-executive service, ensuring effective counteraction to corruption and other illegal manifestations among its staff;
the improvement of cooperation with law enforcement agencies, other state authorities and local self-government bodies, penal services of other states, and international organisations;
the formation of a proper understanding among the public of the significance of the State Criminal-Executive Service of Ukraine.
The fulfilment of this Concept will contribute to the affirmation of European human rights standards in the criminal-executive service and the realisation of Ukraine’s strategic course towards integration into the European Union.
The result of the implementation of the Concept should be the reform of the state’s punitive policy and the creation of a penal system that will meet the standards of international legal acts and ensure the effective implementation of functions regarding the correction of convicts on the principles of humanism and respect for human rights.