Theoretical approaches to building the activities of a social worker in penitentiary institutions. Functions of a social worker in penitentiary institutions
The most intensive development of social work in Russia began in the 90s. years of the 20th century On modern stage development of social work in Russia great importance has the development of its theoretical foundations.
There are several models of theoretical justification for the practice of social work in society. All these models can be reduced to three main ones:
1) Psychologically oriented;
2) Sociologically oriented;
3) Complex-oriented.
The theoretical basis for various areas of social work in society has been developed to a greater or lesser extent. For example, a study of sources on the theory of social work showed that while social work with the disabled, children, the elderly, women, the unemployed and other categories of the population has a fairly well-developed theoretical basis, then the theory of social work in the penitentiary sphere is not actually considered in domestic science. Perhaps because for a long time it was believed that convicts cannot be clients of social work, since they are not full members of society and are serving a well-deserved sentence without the right to the help of social workers, i.e. in essence, the phenomenon of crime was considered from the standpoint of morality and emotion. Society views criminals as groups of alien elements standing outside society. “Criminals are seen only as “monsters.” By doing this, society treats criminals the same way they treat their victims.” However, based on the analysis of data on crime and criminal individuals, it can be argued that crime is a type of human behavior, and criminals are deviants.
Offense is one of the forms of anti- social behavior, non-standard behavior that differs from the norms established in society both legally and in the moral and ethical sphere. “There is a so-called deviant subculture, which is a system of values, norms and forms of behavior that is recognized by a certain group of antisocial elements and builds their relationships with each other on it. This subculture behaves relatively alienated within society, which gives rise to the existence of a conflict with society.” The activities of a social worker should be aimed specifically at overcoming and preventing such conflict and maximizing possible elimination such a deviant subculture. Some aspects of the theory of penitentiary social work are discussed in various aspects of law, pedagogy, psychology, psychiatry, sociology, however, nevertheless, there is no single theory of penitentiary social work.
The theoretical basis for penitentiary social work also comes down to psychologically oriented, sociologically oriented and complex models. The most effective model of penitentiary social work is complex. There is also a certain feature of penitentiary social work, which lies in the fact that it, more than all other areas of social work in society, is isolated from this society. And it is regulated by legal norms in accordance with the criminal and penal legislation of the Russian Federation, while all other areas of social work are based mainly on civil, administrative and social law. This fact, undoubtedly, should be taken into account when preparing a specialist in penitentiary social work, both professional and moral and ethical. It is necessary to develop special training programs for the training of social workers in the penitentiary sector, in which the main emphasis should be placed on the legal education of future social workers
Also, within the framework of the general theory of social work, it is necessary to develop a unified theoretical justification for penitentiary social work; this is required by the practical activities of the penitentiary system, the transformation of which and the restructuring of the very principles of penitentiary policy from repressive to humanistic-oriented, through the efforts of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation alone is impossible. Public institutions are needed that could effectively regulate the penitentiary system. One of these institutions is social work. To develop the theoretical foundations of Russian penitentiary social work, it is possible to turn to international experience. In countries Western Europe and the USA, the institute of social work in the penitentiary sphere is quite developed and well theoretically “savvy”. However, it is necessary to take into account the specifics of the situation in the penitentiary system of modern Russia. This, of course, is the stereotypes regarding convicts that have developed in our society, and the economic situation.
The prospects for the development of social work in the penitentiary sphere in our country are very great, since penitentiary social work combines knowledge from various branches of the sciences about society and man, because, as we know, social work is interdisciplinary in nature, allowing the use of methods of various sciences in its activities. What is especially important in penitentiary social work is that it is universal in nature, allowing us to most accurately and correctly consider the problem of each client and build the optimal way out of this problem for him, which neither psychology, which considers only psychological aspects, nor law, which considers only the legal side of the problem.
Social work allows you to see the full range of conditions necessary to help a client.
The institute of penitentiary social work is also important because often, a person who is free can solve his problem by discussing it with various specialists, whom he can turn to at any time, as soon as he wishes, convicted due to a significant restriction of his rights and freedoms simply does not have the opportunity to turn to anyone for help. Thus, it can be argued that social work in the penitentiary system plays a very important role in providing the necessary conditions for people in prison, that is, in the penitentiary system of the Russian Federation
The principles of social work are both elements of scientific theory and fundamental rules of empirical work. They are divided into general philosophical, general scientific (organizational and activity-based, socio-political, psychological and pedagogical, etc.) and specific principles of social work. Specific principles of social work are: the principle of universality, the principle of protecting social rights, the principle of prevention, the principle of social response, the principle of client-centrism, the principle of relying on own strength, the principle of maximizing social resources, the principle of confidentiality and tolerance. All these principles are also the principles of penitentiary social work, as part of social work.
However, based on the analysis performed, it can be argued that social work in the penitentiary sphere has several more specific principles, these are: humanism, legality and justice.
The principle of legality in the activities of social workers in the penitentiary sphere has deep moral foundations. The social worker must help bring the convicted person to law-abiding behavior. The most general content of the principle of legality follows from Part 2 of Article 15 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation: “Bodies state power, organs local government, officials, citizens and their associations are obliged to comply with the Constitution of the Russian Federation and laws.” Persons serving sentences are obliged to strictly comply with the requirements of the laws that determine the procedure and conditions for the execution of punishment. Convicts must be fully explained their rights and obligations, working and rest conditions provided for them by law. The implementation of the principle of legality in the execution of criminal penalties is that:
firstly, the legal status of convicts must be strictly observed, and their strict fulfillment of the duties and prohibitions assigned to them must be ensured;
secondly, a real opportunity must be ensured for convicted persons or persons representing their interests to use the rights granted by law.
However, often the application of this principle to convicted persons is predominantly declarative in nature, and the task of a social worker is to ensure and apply this principle to convicted persons in reality.
The principle of justice contains the requirement of correspondence between practical role various people in the life of society and their social status, between their rights and responsibilities, action and retribution, labor and reward, offense and punishment, people’s merits and their recognition. Inconsistency in these relationships is regarded as injustice. IN philosophical literature It is customary to see two aspects of justice: equalizing and distributive. The first is related to the need to ensure equality of citizens before the law, the second aspect states that: “the punishment or other criminal law measure to be applied to a person who has committed a crime must be fair, that is, correspond to the gravity of the crime, the circumstances of its commission and the identity of the perpetrator.” (Article 6 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation).
The principle of justice should be implemented not only by the implementation of criminal punitive legal restrictions, but also by the application of benefits and incentives to convicted persons. In general, justice is one of the most important principles that must be ensured in the activities of a social worker in the penitentiary field.
The principle of humanism is fundamental in the activities of a social worker. It is expressed in the Constitution of the Russian Federation, which proclaims that: “a person, his rights and freedoms are the highest value” (Article 2). In accordance with Part 2 of Art. 21 of the Basic Law, “no one should be subjected to torture, violence, or other cruel or degrading treatment or punishment.” The principle of humanism is reflected in Article 7 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation: “Punishment and other measures of criminal law cannot be aimed at causing physical suffering or humiliation of human dignity.” Humanism, according to the concepts established in Soviet legal science, has two sides. One side is expressed in “minimum and mild repression.” The other side protects society and allows the most severe punishments, including the death penalty. In our opinion, this understanding of humanism is somewhat outdated, because it essentially justifies the period of the 30s - early 50s. 20th century in Russia, when criminal repression was most severe, and millions of people served their sentences in Stalinist camps and prisons.
Humanism in relation to a criminal means, first of all, the “human” attitude of the state and society towards him and it is incorrect to reduce it to just all kinds of concessions for convicts during the execution of punishment. Humanism is a rejection of the so-called “functional” approach to the convicted person, when he was considered as a “function”, a means of achieving economic, financial, political, etc. by the penal system. goals. Humanism is, first of all, the recognition of the possibility of every convicted person to return to a law-abiding life in society, this is the recognition by employees of the penal system of those convicted as equal to themselves in their human nature and essence. However, at the same time, the principle of humanism does not mean forgiveness; the severity of the punishment regime may even increase, but such measures should not lead to the destruction of humanity in a person, undermine the health of the convicted person, or turn him into an object of manipulation. The principle of humanism is reflected in international documents on the treatment of prisoners. Thus, the principle of humanism refutes the opinion that prison makes a bad person terrible and a good person bad.
A social worker, more than other specialists in the penitentiary system, should be guided by the principle of humanism in his work with convicts, since it is he who understands that by treating convicts as a “lower being,” we only cause the manifestation of the worst qualities of his personality, which he shows in revenge on society. Using repressive measures against a convicted person, we will never be able to ensure that the convicted person looks at the world and performs his actions from the standpoint of humanism and philanthropy. Therefore, the orientation of the penitentiary system precisely towards moral and humanistic principles and the implementation of penitentiary policy in accordance with them is the most important task modern society. And it is the social worker who must implement these principles in view of the specific features of his professional activity.
IN penitentiary institutions the most important functions of social workers are to: together with convicts and administrative staff, draw up a plan for training and work during the period of imprisonment; to help convicts overcome the psychological crisis due to their being under arrest; assist in their adaptation to the ITU environment; help organize free time and continue studying; protect and ensure that the rights of convicted persons are not violated; provide advice to the prisoner’s relatives in solving problems related to his deprivation of liberty; assist the prisoner in regulating financial issues; prepare the prisoner for release, including, if possible, finding him housing and work; regulate the relationship between convicts and staff, because often correctional institution employees treat convicts as hopelessly incorrigible, which serves as fertile ground for arbitrary government. Also, one of the most important functions remains assistance to the groups and categories of convicts who most need it, who are traditionally the objects of social work in the wild. These are, first of all, minors, youth, women, the unemployed, pensioners, and the disabled.
One of the most socially vulnerable categories of convicts are people with disabilities. Let us consider the functions of social workers in providing assistance to this category of convicts. According to statistics, about 22,000 disabled people are serving sentences in penal institutions, of which 54.7% have disabilities of groups 1 and 2, 48,000 convicts are over 55 years old, of whom 17.3% are of retirement age.
Execution of punishment in relation to convicts with disabilities and convicts who have reached retirement age has its own characteristics due to the need to take into account the state of their health and physical capabilities, and social status in society. The correctional labor legislation provides for them special conditions, benefits, and sending disabled people, at their request, to homes for the disabled and the elderly. Social workers must help people with disabilities receive all the noted benefits provided by current legislation.
It is also known that a large number of disabled people (71.7%) have chronic diseases or are often sick, 56.6% of them experience difficulties in household services, and 8.2% cannot do without outside help. However, neither the health status of disabled people nor the presence of chronic diseases is actually taken into account when organizing the execution of punishment. The effectiveness of the system of professional rehabilitation of disabled people is very low, while disabled people, to a greater extent than healthy convicts, need special rehabilitation programs. The vast majority of convicts with disabilities are not only socially maladjusted, but also deprived of social connections.
For 37.8% of convicts, a medical certificate of disability was made in places of deprivation of liberty; those entitled to a pension are forced to go through commissions again, it takes several months to collect certificates, and all this time, without a means of subsistence, such persons are forced to live either on dependent on relatives, or begging. Therefore, in places of deprivation of liberty, special conditions must be created for disabled people to ensure social protection. It is the social worker who must create and monitor the implementation of these conditions; he must also determine the volume and structure of rehabilitation measures on the basis of a medical and social commission conducted jointly with doctors.
Thus, having considered only one category of objects of assistance, we observe what diverse and numerous functions a social worker should perform in the penitentiary system. At the present stage of development of the penitentiary system, there is a peculiarity of the activities of social workers, which lies in the fact that a social worker must take on the functions of educational, cultural, legal, and sports and recreational workers who have been abolished due to financial difficulties.
That is, we can conclude that the functions of a penitentiary social worker are very diverse, ranging from assistance in improving everyday life and living conditions, to psychological counseling of convicts and staff. However, the following are fundamental:
Legal assistance and support for convicts
Psychological and pedagogical diagnostics of the personality of a convicted person
Development, together with the administration of correctional institutions, of programs for socio-psychological and professional rehabilitation of convicts
Adaptation of convicts to the ITU environment.
In the activities of a penitentiary social worker, psychological methods are extremely important. As you know, a person entering a correctional labor institution for the first time experiences a feeling of psychological discomfort. Feelings of allegedly committed injustice, personal inferiority, suspiciousness, anxiety, suspicion, fear of the unknown prevail in him; the convict understands that for a long time no one will be interested in his condition. Sustained and pronounced mental overstrain requires release, there is nothing to switch to, convicts commit crimes, about a third of violent crimes in correctional institutions are committed without apparent motives, due to mental release. Many people strive to go to the hospital, where they will be provided with human treatment. Cases of mental disorders in penitentiary institutions are 15% more common than in the wild; people cannot adapt to a new environment; a significant number of convicts live in a state of chronic stress. It has also been proven that after 5-8 years of imprisonment, irreversible changes in the human psyche very often occur. Therefore, it is necessary to create psychological laboratories and services in the penitentiary system with highly qualified staff of psychiatrists, psychologists and social workers. Currently in Russia, work is underway to create an organizational and methodological base for psychological services. The importance and effectiveness of psychological support for the resocialization of criminals is evidenced by both foreign and domestic experience.
The need to create a psychological service at the ITU arose a long time ago, but only in September 1992 did it acquire a legislative basis. Psychological laboratories began to be created. Thus, on the basis of correctional institutions of the Saratov, Oryol and Perm regions, psychological laboratories have been organized to study the personality of convicts, the basics of psychological and pedagogical assistance and behavior correction. Modern penitentiary social work determines the principles of individualization when developing the problem of a convicted person and the differentiation of methods of psychological influence, since when developing psychological programs it is necessary to take into account that with an increase in the number of convictions and the time a person spends in an ITU, there is an increase in psychological traits that impede the adaptation of a person’s life in freedom. The functions of a social worker are to diagnose the personality of the convicted person using various psychological techniques, make a conclusion about the personality based on the data obtained, and develop, together with the administration of the correctional facility, programs for re-education, correction and ways of communicating with the convicted person. Social workers should also organize the free time of convicts. G. I. Schneider most correctly describes the tasks of educational influence during leisure time. He says that: “the tasks of educational influence during leisure time come down to creating a prosperous social atmosphere in penitentiary institutions and inducing a craving for meaningful leisure time after release.
Free time in prison should not remain “an object of murder” or be used for preparing, planning, discussing actions for new crimes. It should serve to raise the cultural level of convicts. Successful cultural orientation of prisoners is known to reduce the tendency to recidivate. Properly organized leisure contributes to good rest, restoration and renewal of a person’s physical and mental strength. Leisure plays an important role in the execution of punishment and it cannot be assessed separately from professional and general training; it destroys the monotony and uniformity of the prison, and the loneliness and lack of independence of prisoners has a depressing effect on them.” Also, social workers must carry out work to adapt the individual in prison, promote the formation of the maximum possible active life position in him, explain his rights and responsibilities, prepare convicts for release, and encourage those who are imprisoned for life or for a long term to be active, “normal”, adequate view of the world; create psychological auto-training programs. In his activities, a social worker must focus on ensuring that the isolation system does not destroy the socially useful connections of criminals, and help strengthen their family and kinship relationships.
The basis of the approach of social workers to psychological interaction with convicts should be the individualization of the approach and complexity or systematicity, implying an integrated approach that combines various techniques in relation to the convict. A systematic approach to the study of personality is a system of implemented socio-pedagogical, psychological measures aimed at obtaining a comprehensive analysis of information characterizing the personality of a convict with the aim of the most effective use of methods, techniques and means of persuasion, correction, re-education and assistance to the convict and predicting his behavior. That is, psychological methods of social work should use a systematic approach in studying the problems facing social work in penitentiary institutions.
The main directions of psychological penitentiary social work should be:
1) Study of the personality of the convicted person and the formation of his “criminal career”;
2) Development of individual programs of influence and assistance to convicts;
3) Social and psychological assistance in adaptation to the environment of correctional labor institutions.
Social, psychological and professional assistance in preparing for release from prison. Some of these areas have already been sufficiently studied. For example, there are many methods for studying the personality of a criminal.
According to domestic criminologists (Kudryavtsev V.N., Antonyan Yu.M., etc.) “The study of an individual involves obtaining information about his needs and interests, value orientations, the degree and quality of socialization of the individual, the characteristics of his response to certain circumstances, motives realized in other actions, typological psychological characteristics as a whole.”
In generalized form, the data necessary for studying personality may include:
Year, place of birth and residence, education, profession, specialty, Family status and other socio-demographic data.
Individual (intellectual, volitional, emotional) personality characteristics, character traits, type of temperament, state of health, physical development and other individual qualities.
Conditions of upbringing in the family, its composition, activities, education, and behavior of parents, their attitude towards children, relationships in the family, its living and material conditions.
Conditions and results of studying at school, others educational institutions, characteristics of work activity, the nature of the influence of school and production teams.
Basic needs, interests, habits, views, inclinations, life goals and value orientations of the subject.
Attitude to work, study, social responsibilities, other people, family, and oneself.
Behavior at school, at work, in public places, at home, data on bringing to public, disciplinary, administrative, and criminal liability.
This list can currently be supplemented with several characteristics. This could be: attitude to any religion, data from personal documents (analysis of diaries, letters, etc.)
A later method of studying personality was adapted after the collapse of the Soviet penitentiary system based on data from public laboratories. A set of methods for the psychological study of human personality was developed and adapted. Thus, on the basis of the Perm and Saratov psychological laboratories, methods were developed for studying the personality of a criminal using psychological tests(MMPI, Luscher test, Roschrach test, “Anxiety” test) For example, using the MMPI it is possible to obtain a large amount of information about a criminal within 1-2 hours and make a forecast of his behavior. Psychological data about the individual should be compared with information obtained as a result of visual observation, independent characteristics of convicts and the administration, and to identify individuals prone to various types of behavior. Having separated those who are inclined to perform public works, timely separate the convicts - opportunists, put on the register of persons prone to offenses and on the mental register of persons prone to offenses who have anomalies in personal development.
However, only with the help of psychological methods it is impossible to build an effective program for the correction of criminals and a program for the activities of a social worker. Therefore it is necessary to develop practical recommendations on the activities of a social worker in the penitentiary system based on complex methods of penitentiary social work focused specifically on moral and humanistic principles of treatment of convicts.
The most intensive development of social work in Russia began in the 90s. years of the 20th century At the present stage of development of social work in Russia, the development of its theoretical foundations is of great importance.
There are several models of theoretical justification for the practice of social work in society. All these models can be reduced to three main ones:
1) Psychologically oriented;
2) Sociologically oriented;
3) Complex-oriented.
The theoretical basis for various areas of social work in society has been developed to a greater or lesser extent. For example, a study of sources on the theory of social work showed that while social work with the disabled, children, the elderly, women, the unemployed and other categories of the population has a fairly well-developed theoretical basis, then the theory of social work in the penitentiary sphere is not actually considered in domestic science. Perhaps because for a long time it was believed that convicts cannot be clients of social work, since they are not full members of society and are serving a well-deserved sentence without the right to the help of social workers, i.e. in essence, the phenomenon of crime was considered from the standpoint of morality and emotion. Society views criminals as groups of alien elements standing outside society. “Criminals are seen only as “monsters.” By doing this, society treats criminals the same way they treat their victims.” However, based on the analysis of data on crime and criminal individuals, it can be argued that crime is a type of human behavior, and criminals are deviants. Offense is one of the forms of antisocial behavior, non-standard behavior that differs from the norms established in society both legally and in the moral and ethical sphere. “There is a so-called deviant subculture, which is a system of values, norms and forms of behavior that is recognized by a certain group of antisocial elements and builds their relationships with each other on it. This subculture behaves relatively alienated within society, which gives rise to the existence of a conflict with society.” The activities of a social worker should be aimed specifically at overcoming and preventing such a conflict and the maximum possible elimination of such a deviant subculture. Some aspects of the theory of penitentiary social work are discussed in various aspects of law, pedagogy, psychology, psychiatry, sociology, however, nevertheless, there is no single theory of penitentiary social work. The theoretical basis for penitentiary social work also comes down to psychologically oriented, sociologically oriented and complex models. The most effective model of penitentiary social work is complex. There is also a certain feature of penitentiary social work, which lies in the fact that it, more than all other areas of social work in society, is isolated from this society. And it is regulated by legal norms in accordance with the criminal and penal legislation of the Russian Federation, while all other areas of social work are based mainly on civil, administrative and social law. This fact, undoubtedly, should be taken into account when preparing a specialist in penitentiary social work, both professional and moral and ethical. It is necessary to develop special training programs for the training of social workers in the penitentiary sector, in which the main emphasis should be on legal education future social workers
Also, within the framework of the general theory of social work, it is necessary to develop a unified theoretical justification for penitentiary social work; this is required by the practical activities of the penitentiary system, the transformation of which and the restructuring of the very principles of penitentiary policy from repressive to humanistic-oriented, through the efforts of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation alone is impossible. Public institutions are needed that could effectively regulate the penitentiary system. One of these institutions is social work. To develop the theoretical foundations of Russian penitentiary social work, it is possible to turn to international experience. In Western European countries and the United States, the institute of social work in the penitentiary sector is quite developed and well-grounded in theory. However, it is necessary to take into account the specifics of the situation in the penitentiary system modern Russia. This, of course, is the stereotypes regarding convicts that have developed in our society, and the economic situation.
The main tasks of a social worker seeking to establish, maintain and develop socially useful connections:
1) assessing the usefulness of the connection and, in accordance with the assessment received, taking measures to block, change or develop it;
2) determining, within the framework of which of the mentioned models, a socially useful connection is carried out, determining the internal social and moral reserves of the prisoner in order to increase the level of communication, the availability of opportunities for the development of communication at its object;
3) assistance to the prisoner in assessing the object of communication, revealing to him possible prospects for maintaining a connection with this object, warning him against unfounded illusions and misconceptions regarding the social prospects of this connection;
4) providing socio-psychological protection to a prisoner in the event of the collapse of socially useful connections by replacing values, finding another object of communication or coming into contact with the previous object in order to change his behavior;
5) assistance in searching or finding an object (for example, assistance in finding a relative or friend whose coordinates are unknown);
6) providing assistance in the development of social self-control skills;
7) assistance in removing obstacles to establishing and maintaining socially useful connections.
A social worker in penitentiary institutions of the Russian Federation performs the following functions.
1. Together with the convicts and the administration of the correctional institution, draw up a plan for training and work during the period of imprisonment.
2. Helping convicts overcome the psychological crisis due to their being under arrest.
3. Assistance in the adaptation of prisoners to the ITU environment.
4. Organization of free time and cultural leisure for convicts.
5. Protection and monitoring of the rights and freedoms of prisoners.
6. Legal and psychological assistance to the relatives of the prisoner in solving problems related to the deprivation of his freedom.
7. Regulation of issues of remuneration for prisoners.
8. Preparing the prisoner for release, his resocialization, assistance in finding him housing and work.
9. Regulation of relations between convicts and staff in order to avoid arbitrary power on the part of the latter.
10. Assistance to the most needy groups and categories of convicts: minors, youth, women, the unemployed, pensioners, disabled people, etc.
11. Development and strengthening of socially useful connections between prisoners and the outside world.
12. Promotion and development social status prisoner at the place of pre-trial detention or serving a sentence by establishing socially positive, social connections with other persons, assistance in changing social status.
13. Assistance in building this type of horizontal and vertical relationships that, on the one hand, would correspond to the goals of pre-trial detention or execution of criminal punishment. On the other hand, they would entail the least physiological, psychological, ethical, and social costs for the person being punished.
14. Assistance in ensuring acceptable social and living conditions of pre-trial detention and serving sentences.
15. Assistance in the social development of the prisoner, including enhancing his cultural development and social interests.
16. Assisting the prisoner in obtaining assistance from specialists.
17. Organization and provision of social protection for those categories of prisoners who need it (pensioners, disabled people).
18. Helping prisoners find a socially acceptable environment for them, an area of social interest (work, family, religion, study, sports).
19. Assistance in resolving conflict situations.
20. Social development and forecast of management development.
Within the framework of the modern penitentiary system, there is a certain specificity in the activities of social workers: a social worker must often take on related functions of workers in educational, cultural, legal and sports work that were abolished due to financial difficulties.
So, the functions of a penitentiary social worker are very diverse, ranging from assistance in improving life and living conditions, to psychological counseling of convicts and correctional facility staff.
In the practice of a social work specialist, it is customary to distinguish two main aspects of social work in the penitentiary sphere: legal and psychological support.
Psychological support. Once in an ITU, any person experiences psychological stress. The convict is overwhelmed with a feeling of allegedly committed injustice and his own inferiority. He is tormented by the fear of the unknown. The convicted person understands that for a long time no one will be interested in his fate and condition. Severe psychological discomfort requires relief. According to statistics, a third of violent crimes in correctional institutions are committed without apparent motive, as a result of mental stress. That is why it is necessary to create a psychological service in the penitentiary system with a qualified staff of psychiatrists, psychologists and social workers.
The need to create a psychological service at the ITU arose a long time ago, but only in September 1992. It acquired a legislative basis. Psychological laboratories began to be created in places of deprivation of liberty. The psychological function of a social worker is to diagnose the personality of the convicted person and develop, together with the administration of the correctional institution, a program of re-education, correction and methods of communication with the convicted person.
The most important component of psychological support for convicts is the social worker’s organization of meaningful leisure time in the correctional facility. “The tasks of educational influence during leisure time,” notes the German criminologist G.J. Schneider, “come down to creating a prosperous social atmosphere in penitentiary institutions and inducing a craving for meaningful leisure time after release. In his activities, a social worker must focus on ensuring that the isolation system not only does not destroy the socially useful connections of convicts, but also contributes to the strengthening of their family and kinship relationships.
So, the main areas of psychological support for penitentiary social work are:
1) studying the personality of the convicted person and the formation of his “criminal career”;
2) development of individual programs of influence and assistance to convicts;
3) socio-psychological assistance in adaptation to the environment of correctional labor institutions;
A person’s personality in conditions of social isolation is affected by various kinds of psychogenic factors that lead to neurotic reactions, suicidal attempts, and mental disorders. Imprisonment often leads to irreversible changes in the psyche. In the study by V.I. Lebedev, which is devoted to the analysis of psychogenic factors of extreme conditions, lists 7 groups of factors that negatively affect the human psyche in extreme conditions:
1) group isolation;
2) monotony;
3) change in the perception of spatial structure;
4) loneliness;
5) information exhaustion;
6) threat to life and health;
7) desynchronization of sleep and wakefulness rhythms.
One example of extreme conditions can be considered being in prison. The first factor affecting the psyche of a prisoner is group isolation. The prisoner is in a relatively small group of “sufferers” like himself. They are constantly forced to communicate with each other. Group isolation is accompanied by constant publicity and the inability to retire, therefore, some time after being imprisoned, a person develops a condition that R. Amundsen called “expeditionary rabies”, and T. Heyerdahl - “acute expeditionism”. The latter gave the following description: “This is a psychological state when the most flexible person grumbles, gets angry, gets angry, and finally becomes enraged, because his field of vision gradually narrows so much that he sees only the shortcomings of his comrades, and their merits are no longer perceived.” . As a result, tension in relationships appears in the group of convicts, the number of conflicts increases, open hostility intensifies in behavior and, as a consequence of all this, isolated and rejected group members appear. Their appearance is secured by the so-called “thieves’ law”, and they, as a rule, are no longer able to increase their status in the criminal hierarchy.
To allow everyone psychological problems available to the prisoner, the social worker, within the framework of his competence, must develop programs for re-education and correction of convicts.
One of the functions of a social worker in the penitentiary sphere is legal support and provision for convicts. Over the years of the existence of the Soviet penitentiary system, the staff and administration of correctional institutions have created stereotypes regarding convicts in accordance with which convicts do not have any rights. Often the rights of convicts were violated contrary to existing legislation, very often prisoners were used as free labor, but the labor of prisoners is not an end in itself. He must only prepare him for life after release, and this is only possible when prison enterprises are equipped like ordinary ones. For labor is not a punishment or a means of reducing the costs of maintaining convicts, but an exceptional factor in the resocialization of convicts. Education through labor only presupposes accustoming one to work, but one must remember that labor is always less effective than education; this is evidenced by practical penitentiary experience. Based on research into the practice of applying punishment in the US federal system, American scientist Daniel Glaser found that long-term education reduces recidivism. Therefore, it is necessary to use educational tools in the re-education of convicts.
Everywhere in the Russian penitentiary system, sanitary and hygienic standards for the accommodation of convicts are not observed. So, according to the results of these public organizations as of January 1, 1998. There were 58.8% more people held in pre-trial detention centers than were required according to the state standard. And also 18-20 sq.m. for 38 people, that is, 0.4 sq.m. per person
The widespread use of repression is largely due to the formation among the population of a unique sense of justice associated with the application of the most severe measures to the convicted person.
This state of affairs is unacceptable; it is necessary to regulate the legal relations between convicts and society. After all, a person is punished by deprivation of liberty, and not by deprivation of conditions for a normal existence. At the same time, it cannot be said that no measures are being taken, especially at the legislative level. About 40 presidential decrees, government decrees and other legal acts were adopted (Federal Law “On institutions and bodies executing criminal penalties in the form of imprisonment”, “On amendments and additions to the Correctional Labor Code, Criminal Procedure Code” and etc.).
The concept of reorganizing the penal system has been approved, there is a program for the construction of prisons and pre-trial detention centers, but in reality the whole state of affairs is deeply different from what is legally established. Thus, in accordance with Article 51 of the Criminal Executive Code of the Russian Federation, material and living support for those sentenced to imprisonment is enshrined, which is a set of organizational measures carried out on the basis of the norms of criminal executive legislation aimed at creating conditions for ensuring the normal life of convicts while serving their sentences. The importance of material and living support for convicts is manifested in the fact that a well-established life contributes to a moral change in the personality of the convict, consolidation of positive habits, and accustoms him to order and discipline. Material and living support includes the creation of appropriate housing and communal conditions, catering, clothing supplies and trade services. In correctional centers, the regulation of most of these areas of material and living support is carried out on the basis of the norms of the general legislation of the Russian Federation. Often, convicts cannot protect their rights in the field of financial support, and here the help of a social worker is needed. Which must monitor the implementation of the basic norms of material, everyday and legal support and ensuring the rule of law in the execution of a sentence of imprisonment; in case of non-compliance with these norms, the social worker must report this to the relevant authorities and institutions. Also, a social worker can communicate between the prisoner’s relatives, monitor the unimpeded sending of correspondence to the convicted person and himself, and help the convicted person in regulating financial issues and issues related to the religious belief of the convicted person. Moreover, it should be noted that the practice of religious worship is very important for many convicts, since every third of the total number of convicts considers themselves a believer. The work of religious organizations, introduction to faith, helps to improve relationships, strengthen discipline and order, expand contacts with the outside world, determine the possibility of repentance for what they have done, provide assistance in moral education, organization of everyday life and leisure, and employment.
The activities of a social worker should be aimed at maximizing effective cooperation with religious organizations. The responsibilities of social workers also include preparing a prisoner for release from prison, providing housing and work, or registering with an employment center. The social worker must monitor the fulfillment of the working conditions of convicts and ensure that convicts who do not have any specialty receive basic vocational education or vocational training.
The work of convicts is mainly regulated by Russian labor legislation. First of all, this is a code of labor laws, according to which convicts, without any restrictions or exceptions, are subject to the norms of labor legislation governing work time and rest time, work standards, wages, guarantees and compensation, labor discipline and labor protection.
In accordance with these norms, those sentenced to restriction of freedom have the right to paid leave, temporary disability benefits, benefits provided to women and youth, including those related to education; those sentenced to restriction of freedom are covered by state social insurance. In accordance with these standards, a social worker is obliged to monitor the fulfillment of all these conditions in relation to the convicted person, as well as to monitor the implementation of the convicted person’s right to an old-age pension, disability, loss of a breadwinner and other cases specified by law. Without any discrimination in relation to convicts.
The functions of a social worker also include monitoring medical support convicts. As is known, in Russian penitentiary institutions there are a colossal number of patients with tuberculosis, scabies and sexually transmitted diseases, and the number of AIDS patients is constantly increasing. It is necessary to monitor cases of the disease and provide patients with the necessary conditions for treatment.
In accordance with the current legislation, which states: “Convicts serving restrictions on freedom are guaranteed the right to health care, including receiving medical care. Treatment and preventive care for convicts is provided in accordance with the legislation of the Russian Federation of July 22, 1993 “On the protection of the health of citizens.”
Social workers are also required to coordinate the activities of medical services, guide them, facilitate and organize various preventive measures.
Thus, this aspect of the work of social workers involves them performing the functions of observers, “advocates”, administrators, controllers and social mediators.
An urgent task of the general theory of social work has become the need to develop a unified theoretical justification for penitentiary social work. This is urgently required by the experience of practical activities of the penitentiary system. The transformation of the latter, as well as the restructuring of the very principles of penitentiary policy from repressive to humanistic-oriented ones, is impossible through the efforts of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation alone. There is a need for independent public institutions of civil society that could effectively monitor and regulate the penitentiary system. One of these institutions is social work.
Based on the learned patterns of social work, principles are formed, that is, basic ideas (provisions), rules and requirements for them, the practical implementation of which constitutes the essence of the activity and predetermines its effectiveness. Being a complex universal type of activity, including legal, sociological, psychological, pedagogical and organizational and managerial aspects, penitentiary social work is based on the classification of principles proposed by L.G. Guslyakova, V.I. Kurbatov, E.I. Single and adapted into practice penal system: philosophical principles, relating to all sciences about society, man, their relationships, as well as processes: determinism, reflection, development, unity of consciousness and activity, historicism, the relationship of the individual and his social environment. These principles make it possible to penetrate into the essence of social phenomena in educational institutions, as well as to determine the content of work to create normal conditions for their functioning.
Socio-political principles: unity of state policy with national and regional characteristics, experience and traditions of social work with various categories of the population, including prisoners; democracy of its content and methods; taking into account specific situations, conditions and circumstances of the life of the convicted person, their characteristics when determining the content and technology of work; legality and fairness of the specialist’s activities.
Psychological, pedagogical, acmeological principles, contributing to taking into account the personal characteristics of convicts, socio-psychological mechanisms of education, training, formation and development of the individual in interaction with the environment, as well as the determination of effective technologies of psychological and pedagogical assistance and influence: personal-activity approach; individual and differentiated approach; educational orientation of social work in the penal system; a combination of assistance, support, protection of the convicted person with his positive development and neutralization of deformations and criminogenic determinants; priority in the work of developing positive qualities and properties; the complexity of diagnostics, external influences and conscious personal activity of convicts in resolving difficult life situations and self-development.
To the group organizational principles penitentiary social work, the implementation of which affects its effectiveness, includes: controllability of processes and procedures for providing social assistance, support, protection; systematicity, consistency and continuity of work; structural integrity of social services of the penal system; unity of rights and obligations, powers and responsibilities of social work subjects; professional and personal preparedness of specialists in social work with prisoners; coordination of actions, interaction and cooperation of penitentiary system personnel, convicts, and other interested persons and organizations.
The principles listed above are closely related to the actual principles of social work with prisoners:
Humanity– the basis of social work in correctional institutions should be an attentive caring attitude, the priority of respect for personal dignity, protection of the rights and interests of a person, regardless of his dominant negative individual characteristics, the crime committed, or behavior;
Availability and versatility- all convicts, regardless of political-ideological, religious, national, racial, gender, age, social status and other characteristics, must have equal rights and real opportunities to receive legal social assistance, support, protection;
Addressing– provision of individual social assistance to all needy convicts, especially the most vulnerable categories (disabled, elderly, pensioners, sick people who do not have a specific place of residence, occupation, etc.), their social support during the period of execution of their sentence, as well as assistance in post-penitentiary resocialization and rehabilitation ;
Voluntariness– social assistance cannot be provided against the will of the convicted person, except in cases related to a threat to the life and safety of the convicted person themselves and other circumstances;
Privacy– non-disclosure of information about the personality and social problems of convicts, which can cause them various harm, infringe on their rights and dignity, and worsen the situation;
Educational and preventive orientation– through social work, creating conditions for the correction of convicts, preventing the emergence of new difficult situations, eliminating the causes that give rise to them;
Stimulating the development of the convicted person– work should be aimed at finding and supporting the prisoner’s positive resource for independently resolving his problems, as well as personal self-education. The participation of a convicted person in social work must be considered as one of the evaluative indicators of his correction, and the ability to independently resolve difficult life situations in a non-criminal manner - as one of the criteria for readiness for a full life in freedom;
Tolerance– a tolerant professional attitude, providing assistance to all categories of needy convicts, regardless of personal likes and dislikes, assessment of the circumstances and nature of the crime committed, the gravity and its consequences, the degree of guilt and the moral, legal, psychological and pedagogical degradation of a person. Professional tolerance in penitentiary social work requires an understanding of the pattern of diversity of convicts, their life situations, as well as a combination of a tolerant and proactive, “believing” attitude towards this diversity, its consideration in the professional activities of a specialist;
Maximizing social and personal resources– to resolve the problems of the convicted person, create conditions for his normal social well-being and positive personal development, all basic means of correction provided for by law, methods and technologies not prohibited by law must be used, all possible healthy forces must be involved (state bodies, non-governmental, volunteer, charitable, human rights , religious and other organizations and institutions, private individuals).
In the process of scientific and practical knowledge of the phenomenon of penitentiary social work, based on various approaches to its organizational, substantive and psychological-pedagogical components, other provisions can and will be put forward that complement and clarify the system of the above principles. Based on them, a system of requirements for the content, methodology and organization of social work is determined. The most significant, priority, enduring professional ideal ideas about what should be done in this activity constitute its values. Unconditional acceptance and guidance of them in social work predetermine its high effectiveness, professional and personal self-realization. The basic professional values of penitentiary social work may include: human self-worth; universality, innateness, inalienability and integrity of human rights: respect for the interests and freedoms of the individual, including the mutual responsibility of people and society: social responsibility and the pursuit of justice; the fullest possible satisfaction of a person’s personal and social needs; the right of every member of society to full self-realization in life.
Thus, goals, patterns, principles and values contain general professional and specially specific features. The latter reflect the features of penitentiary social work as an independent area of activity in providing assistance, support, and protection to convicts. Specific features determined We are, firstly, by the sphere, environment and conditions of its implementation: places of deprivation of liberty; physical, but not spiritual isolation from society; execution of criminal penalties determined by the court; a system of legal legal restrictions on freedoms, opportunities for arbitrary satisfaction of interests, needs, including direct receipt of social assistance; a strictly regulated order of behavior, life activity, external and internal relationships in time and space; forced detention under protection and supervision in specific social and living conditions of joint residence and pastime; the widespread prevalence of the “prison” criminal subculture, stratification of convicts, specific regulators of relationships in the environment of correctional institutions (concepts, norms, customs, traditions); criminogenic interpersonal and intergroup communication, as well as limited normal communication; high degree conflict environment, the prevalence of criminal methods of resolving contradictions, various forms of violence and oppression; unfavorable socio-psychological background of life, an oppressive, psychologically suppressive environment and minimal subjective opportunities for its improvement; increased risk of being subjected to violence, insult, violation of human dignity, danger to physical and mental health and others. Consequently, the situation and environment in correctional institutions is characterized as complex, saturated with objective and subjective difficulties, new extreme, stressful and crisis situations that actualize the abilities for social “survival”, but objectively have low educational potential and make it difficult to carry out social work with convicts. Therefore, the penitentiary environment itself is one of the objects of social work, and its improvement is among the priority tasks, directions and conditions for the effectiveness of a specialist’s work.
Social work appears in various guises: as a scientific branch of knowledge, as an educational and practical activity. This circumstance determines its functions. As a science, social work performs the same functions. As educational and practical activities - others.
Penitentiary social work is not an end in itself. This content-specific, specially organized and managed type of complex (multidimensional) activity is one of the main means of achieving the main goal of the penal system - the resocialization of convicts. She performs a series functions. The content functions of social work with convicts include:
R unsocializing. During its implementation, the employee identifies personal strengths and weaknesses, interests and needs, implements a system of pedagogically sound measures to eliminate deformations, promotes intellectual, spiritual, physical development and self-realization in various types of educational, industrial, cultural and leisure, sports, recreational, and communicative activities , artistic creativity;
Security and protective(preventive and preventive) – provides conditions for the life of convicts, control, supervision, protection of their rights, legitimate interests and needs, prevents the negative development of personal difficult life situations, destructive processes among convicts;
Psychological– in the process of implementation of which the specialist identifies the psychological characteristics of the individual, community, environment, criminogenic determinants, and also helps, advises, corrects interpersonal relationships, moral and psychological climate, attitude to difficult life situations and the willingness to overcome them independently.
Socio-medical– aimed at facilitating the organization of work to preserve health, create conditions for its protection, prevent diseases, and maintain a healthy lifestyle.
Social and household– involves promoting the creation of living conditions in places of deprivation of liberty that meet the requirements of penal legislation;
Readaptation– its implementation ensures, during the period of execution of punishment, comprehensive preparation of convicts for life in freedom through personal development, maintaining and developing social connections, overcoming social problems and difficulties; is aimed at assisting in the provision of specific types of assistance, protection, support of persons, rehabilitation of certain categories of those released from correctional institutions, in the first stages of life in freedom, restoration of normal social functioning.
To carry out effective penitentiary social work it is necessary to manage it. Management functions include:
Diagnostic (information support)- consists of identifying the causes (factors - determinants) that led to a difficult life situation, the commission of a criminal offense, conviction and detention in places of deprivation of liberty, conditions, circumstances and reasons for the emergence of new penitentiary social problems, determining the degree of their influence on the convicted person, as well as other characteristics of a specific person, community, environment of the educational institution;
Prognostic– on the basis of study and assessment, various options for the positive or negative development of a difficult life situation are assumed, and possible prospects for the convicted person and communities are determined;
Programming and planning– adoption of one of the decisions, development of a resocialization program and action plan (together with convicts, determination of goals, objectives of future work, methods, means, forms and stages of activity), formation of an atmosphere of trust among convicts and social service specialists, explanation, discussion, agreement, registration and approval of documents with the obligatory participation of the convicted person and other persons interested in his fate;
Coordination, organizational and executive– training-instruction, counseling, organization of specific actions, assistance, support, stimulation, correction, organization of communication, socially useful activities, ensuring interaction between convicts and specialists, coordination of cooperation, monitoring and evaluating the effectiveness of individual actions and stages of work.
Consequently, social work with convicts as a type of activity must correspond to such characteristics as analytical-prognostic, active-transformative, educational-formative, psychologically developing, preventive (corrective, if necessary), resocializing in nature.
The theoretical foundations of social work with convicts reflect the current level of scientific and practical knowledge of this complex phenomenon. In the future, they will undoubtedly be studied, taken into account, and supplemented. .
Questions to consolidate knowledge and self-control:
What is the subject of penitentiary social work as a science and academic discipline?
What are the specifics of social work with convicts in penitentiary institutions?
Name and characterize the patterns of penitentiary social work?
What are the general scientific principles of penitentiary social work?
What are the specific principles of prison social work?
What scientific disciplines is penitentiary social work related to?
References for Chapter 1:
10Kalinin Yu. Priority tasks of bodies and institutions of the penal system // Crime and punishment. – 2004. - No. 2.
11Kuznetsov M., Ananyev O. Social work with convicts in correctional institutions: Textbook. allowance - Ryazan, 2007.
12 Luzgin S.A. Social work as one of the main means of correction of convicts // Gazette of the penal system. – 2002. - No. 6. - P. 27 – 30.
13 Morozov V.M., Vinogradov V.V. Social work in the penal system: Textbook. allowance – Vladimir, 2006.
14 Social work in the penal system: concepts and development prospects: Materials of the international scientific-practical conference, Ryazan, Academy of Law and Management of the Ministry of Justice of Russia, 2003.
15 Social work with convicts: Textbook. – M.: MGSU Publishing House, 2002. – 256 p.
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Ministry of General and Vocational Education
Russian Federation
Novosibirsk State Technical University
Department of Sociology
COURSE WORK
Social work in the penitentiary system of the Russian Federation: concept, essence, methods
Performed:
Khmarenkova Inna Valerievna
Scientific adviser:
Romm Mark Valerievich
Novosibirsk - 2000 -
Introduction
1. Theoretical approaches to building the activities of a social worker in the penitentiary system of the Russian Federation
1.1 Characteristics of the modern Russian penitentiary system
5. Basic methods and techniques of social work within the penitentiary system of the Russian Federation
Conclusion
Literature
Applications
Introduction
social deviant penal criminal
Relevance:
In modern Russian society, which is in a crisis situation, significant changes are taking place in the system of values, norms, and attitudes of people. The old value system has been destroyed, but the new one has not yet been created; there is a clear crisis of the value system. The number of criminal offenses committed in society has sharply increased.
Against the backdrop of drunkenness and alcoholization of the population, official statistics record an increase in violent crimes against individuals. Kudryavtsev G.S. Objects of criminological prevention in the context of social and legal reforms. - M.: Moscow. state industrial univ., 1997. - 113 p.
On this moment Every year from 2 to 3 million crimes are committed.
The increase in crime in Russia was an unpleasant surprise for the democratic forces that came to power. Social change , which led to a change in the completely established and habitual order of people’s lives require their adaptation to new conditions, which is associated not only with the transformation of previously acquired value systems, but also with a general new way of economic, political or other social behavior. Those who have not succeeded in adapting to the new situation join marginalized groups, criminal activity T b which are higher than in other groups, and our modern Russian society almost entirely consists of marginal groups. Against this background, the Russian penitentiary system is characterized by low efficiency and practically zero educational potential, which contradicts the main goal of its activities - the re-education of criminals. About this naked l Statistics clearly show this. So from 1976 to 1993, crime increased by 239% . Actual problems Deviant Behavior (Combating Social Illnesses) / Ed. B.M. Levina. - M., 1995. - 200 p.
Repeat crime is very high. Increase in recidivism for 1991- 1995 amounted to almost 65%; Of the repeat offenders in 1996, every fifth committed a new crime while serving neither I'm being punished I . Criminology / Ed. N.F. Kuznetsova. - M.: “BEK, 1998. - 566 p.
Prisons and colonies are overcrowded, they are breeding grounds for various “social” diseases. Over the past five years, the incidence of open tuberculosis in correctional labor institutions (hereinafter referred to as ITU) has increased sixfold.
Violations of the rights and freedoms of prisoners by ITU staff occur everywhere. The current penitentiary system is based precisely on the priority of punishment and repressive measures in relation to convicts. The orientation of the punitive system towards preferential imprisonment has led to a crisis in the penitentiary system. To solve this problem and overcome the crisis of the penitentiary system, it is necessary to improve the structure of the correctional system - to introduce the institution of penitentiary social work, based specifically on the moral and humanistic nature of activities in relation to convicts. The situation is complicated by the fact that modern social work theory is in its infancy. Without overcoming the noted “theoretical insufficiency”, establish effective work A penitentiary system focused on re-educating those who have broken the law and establishing them as full-fledged members of society is difficult.
Problem:
Search for new humanistic principles and methods of social work in the Russian penitentiary system.
Penitentiary system of the Russian Federation.
The essence, principles and methods of social work with convicts.
Identify the main theoretical approaches to building the professional activity of a social worker, determine its main directions, principles, methods and role in the penitentiary system of the Russian Federation .
To identify the main theoretical approaches to building the activities of a social worker in the penitentiary system of the Russian Federation.
Analyze the main directions phenomena of activity and function social worker in the penitentiary system of the Russian Federation.
Analyze the basic principles of social work in the penitentiary system of the Russian Federation.
Determine the most effective, humanistic-oriented methods of social work with prisoners.
Hypothesis:
Moral and humanistic principles at the present stage of development of society are the basis for the most effective activities of a social worker in the penitentiary sphere in comparison with the punitive and repressive principles that existed and were used for a long time in the Russian penitentiary system in relation to convicts.
Literature analysis:
Problems of social work in the penitentiary sphere are insufficiently developed in the domestic literature.
To a greater or lesser extent, questions on this topic have been developed only in the literature in related disciplines.
Literature, related to the problem of social work in the penitentiary sphere can be divided into seven groups:
The authors are the first to explore theoretical aspects criminology. This is research A.I. Alekseeva, G.A. Avanesova, V.K. Duyunova, V.N. Kudryavtseva, G.S. Kudryavtseva, I.F. Kuznetsova, V.V. Luneva, G.Y. Schneider, G.F. Khokhryakova and others.
The second group consists of works devoted to research on crime as one of the forms of deviant behavior. This is research by A.V. Borbay, B.M. Golubtsova, A.I. Kovaleva, Ya.I. Gilinsky, I.B. Mikhailovsky, V.V. Pankratova, G.V. Antonova and others.
The third group includes works on the structure and activities of penitentiary systems. This group includes the works of A.I. Zubkova, V.V. Filipova, L.I. Belyaeva and others.
The fourth group examines issues related to the problems of penitentiary sociology. These include work in mostly Yu.A. Alferova.
The fifth group consists of works devoted to penitentiary psychology. These are the works of G.A. Amineva, A.V. Pishchelko, V.I. Belosludtseva and others.
The sixth group consists of works that reveal the problems of penitentiary law. This range of problems is presented in the works of F.S. Brazhnik, S.I. Dementieva, P.G. Mishchenkova, A.A. Ignatieva, V.A. Utkina, V.A. Fefelova and others.
Particularly important in methodological terms for this work were the works of V.S. Kudryavtsev and G.S. Kudryavtsev, which quite deeply reflect questions about the personality of the criminal and the formation of his “criminal career”. And also the works of Yu.A. Alferova, G.A. Aminev devoted to the problems of penitentiary sociology and psychology. When determining and identifying methods of treating convicts, the most relevant and relevant to the objectives of this work we works of Belarusian authors A.N. appeared Pastushennaya and V.G. Stukanov, as well as a monograph by the German criminologist G.J. Schneider.
In general, based on the analysis performed, it can be argued that special literature on the theory and methodology of penitentiary social work Today, it is practically absent in domestic science. And if In several textbooks on the theory of social work there is data on penitentiary social work, they are usually given only in sections describing forms of deviant behavior. And they mainly concern the activities of social workers only in relation to juvenile offenders within the framework of penitentiary institutions oriented precisely for this contingent of convicts.
Basically, all information on this problem had to be drawn from sources in related disciplines. These are penitentiary psychology, sociology, criminology, jurisprudence ( at executive, criminal procedure, criminal law).
1. Theoretical approaches to building the activities of a social worker in the penitentiary system of the Russian Federation
1.1 Characteristics of modern Russian penitentiary system
For the most effective analysis of the functions, principles and methods of activity of a social worker in the penitentiary system of the Russian Federation, it is necessary to characterize the modern Russian penitentiary system.
In the system of penitentiary institutions of the Russian Federation in 1998. there were 742 correctional labor colonies, 61 educational labor colonies, 413 prisons and 191 pre-trial detention centers, in which in total there were on July 1, 1998. 1017814 people. Filipov V.V. Reforming the penitentiary system: materials of the international conference October 8-10. - Minsk, 1998. - 108 p. “Types of correctional institutions [Art. 74 of the Penal Code of the Russian Federation] are:
Correctional and educational colonies, prisons, medical correctional institutions and pre-trial detention centers that perform the functions of correctional institutions in relation to some convicts [Appendix 1]. Correctional institutions are state bodies included in the penitentiary system, which are entrusted with the execution of imprisonment for a certain period and life imprisonment in order to correct convicts and prevent new crimes on their part, as well as ensuring law and order and legality in their activities, the safety of convicts and personnel, officials, attracting convicts to work, organizing their general and vocational education, ensuring the health of convicts.
The penitentiary system is determined by the classification of those sentenced to imprisonment.
The type of correctional institution is determined by the court when passing a sentence. At the same time, he takes into account the age and gender of the convicted person, the severity of the crime committed, the form of guilt, the term of the imposed punishment, the fact of serving a previously imposed sentence of imprisonment, relapse, dangerous and especially dangerous recidivism of crimes.
Punishments for various categories of convicts depending on the above factors in order to ensure the personal safety of convicts, to prevent bad influence the most criminally neglected people convicted of others and create the preconditions for their correction.
Correctional colonies are intended for convicts who have reached the age of majority to serve imprisonment. They are divided into general regime colonies, where those convicted for the first time for crimes that are not serious are kept, strict regime colonies, where those convicted of especially dangerous crimes are kept, and colonies special regime, where especially dangerous repeat offenders are kept, and for whom the death penalty is replaced by life imprisonment. In colony settlements, those sentenced to imprisonment for crimes committed through negligence, as well as convicts transferred from general and strict regime correctional colonies, serve their sentences. Those sentenced to a term of more than five years for committing especially serious crimes, with especially dangerous recidivism of crimes, as well as convicts who are malicious violators of the established procedure for serving their sentences and transferred from the penal colony are serving their sentences in prisons.
There are special and strict regime prisons.
Convicted minors, as well as convicts left in educational colonies until they reach the age of 21, serve their sentences in educational labor colonies. According to Part 6 of Art. 88 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, male minors sentenced to imprisonment, as well as female minors, serve their sentences in general regime educational colonies, male minors previously serving imprisonment - in reinforced regime colonies.” Aminev G.A. And others. Toolkit of a penitentiary psychologist. - Ufa, 1997. - 168 p. - pp. 164-166.
Thus, all of the above institutions constitute the penitentiary system of the Russian Federation.
In penitentiary institutions there is a pressing issue of providing prisoners with the necessary means of subsistence. In these conditions, the morbidity and mortality rates of prisoners are very high; for example, in 1995, the incidence rate of tuberculosis in the wild was 57.8 people per 100,000 population, and in the penitentiary system - 2,481 people, while the mortality rate in the wild was 14.4 people per 100,000 population, in the penitentiary system - 201.54 people per 100,000. Filipov V.V. Decree. Op. - pp. 164-166. The problems of reforming the penitentiary system are no longer purely prison ones. The world community has ambivalent assessments of the activities of penitentiary institutions in Russia. On the one hand, the issues of education of convicts are well developed in them, although without taking into account their individual interests and often contrary to the wishes of the convicts; on the other hand, in Russia there is an excess of prison paraphernalia, especially in relation to minors. Restrictions on the rights and freedoms of prisoners are unacceptable from the standpoint of humanism and the rule of law. The use of repressive and punitive measures in large quantities, widespread physical, mental and moral violence against the person of the convicted person. The basis of Soviet penitentiary policy was the correctional labor aspect. Convicts were viewed primarily as cheap labor. Penitentiary policy was based on the priority of the state and society, and the interests of the individual were considered only if the interests of the state, society and the individual coincided.
After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the penitentiary system was reformed. Sovereign Russia declared the priority of the interests of the individual as a fundamental principle: “Man, his rights and freedoms are the highest value” (Article 2 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation, 1993). This principle formed the basis for the formation of penitentiary policy. However, in the context of a general increase in crime in the state, correctional institutions, on the contrary, are making efforts to be strict in treating prisoners, the stereotype formed in the eyes of the public and penitentiary personnel about the personality of the criminal, about his incorrigibility still exists against this background, the main punishment is not determined by the fact of deprivation of liberty , and by establishing a certain scope of the right to restrictions of a material and everyday nature while maintaining connections with the outside world.1 Alferov Yu.A. Penitentiary sociology. - Domodedovo: RIKK of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia. 1995. - 177 p.
Zubkov A.I. and others. Penitentiary institutions in the system of the Ministry of Justice of Russia: history and modernity. M.: “Norma”. 1998 - 172 p. The activities of correctional labor institutions are aimed at creating the image of an “ideal” prisoner, and not at correcting the convicted person. Currently, the Russian correctional system is not equipped with scientifically based programs for the formation of a law-abiding personality, and the social and welfare provision of prisoners does not meet modern requirements. The consequences of the crisis of the correctional labor system in social terms are especially severe. Every third person released from prison commits a new crime, and the number of suicides in correctional labor institutions is high. This crisis is due to both objective and subjective reasons. An example of the latter can be the incompetence of correctional facility staff, who cannot abandon stereotypes in the perception of prisoners. The objective reasons are, first of all, that the entire penitentiary policy of the Russian Federation is focused on punitive and repressive principles in relation to prisoners. The results of this are obvious: over the past 40 years, 40 million people have been in Soviet and Russian correctional institutions, and in the future we are seeing a further criminalization of society. To bring the penitentiary system out of crisis, it is necessary to reform the fundamentals of penal policy. Correctional labor institutions should become a kind of social clinics, where the organization of the pedagogical process of re-education, “treatment” of socially neglected prisoners will take place. Utkin V.A., Lecture course on Criminal Executive Law. A common part. - Tomsk, 1995. - 94 p.
1 Schneider G.J. Criminology - M.: “Progress” - Univers, 1994. - 502 pp., p.10.
In our opinion, such a solution is possible and mandatory, but it must be supplemented by the participation in penitentiary activities of specialists - social workers, focusing their activities primarily on moral and humanistic principles in relation to prisoners. Experience foreign countries This clearly shows: in countries where the activities for the re-education of convicts are based precisely on humanistic principles, the percentage of recidivism and the general level of crime in society are the lowest. Examples include countries such as Sweden, Norway, Switzerland, and Denmark.
1.2 Theoretical justification for the activities of social workers in the penitentiary sector
The most intensive development of social work in Russia began in the 90s. years of the 20th century At the present stage of development of social work in Russia, the development of its theoretical foundations is of great importance.
There are several models of theoretical justification for the practice of social work in society. All these models can be reduced to three main ones:
1) Psychologically oriented
2) Sociologically oriented
3) Complex-oriented
The theoretical basis for various areas of social work in society has been developed to a greater or lesser extent. For example, a study of sources on the theory of social work showed that while social work with the disabled, children, the elderly, women, the unemployed and other categories of the population has a fairly well-developed theoretical basis, then the theory of social work in the penitentiary sphere is not actually considered in domestic science. Perhaps because for a long time it was believed that convicts cannot be clients of social work, since they are not full members of society and are serving a well-deserved sentence without the right to the help of social workers, i.e. in essence, the phenomenon of crime was considered from the standpoint of morality and emotion. Society views criminals as groups of alien elements standing outside society. “Criminals are seen only as “monsters.” By doing this, society treats criminals the same way they treat their victims.” Schneider G.J. Criminology - M.: “Progress” - Univers, 1994. - 502 pp., p.10. However, based on the analysis of data on crime and criminal individuals, it can be argued that crime is a type of human behavior, and criminals are deviants. Offense is one of the forms of antisocial behavior, non-standard behavior that differs from the norms established in society both legally and in the moral and ethical sphere. “There is a so-called deviant subculture, which is a system of values, norms and forms of behavior that is recognized by a certain group of antisocial elements and builds their relationships with each other on it. This subculture behaves relatively alienated within society, which gives rise to the existence of a conflict with society.” Right there. The activities of a social worker should be aimed specifically at overcoming and preventing such a conflict and the maximum possible elimination of such a deviant subculture. Some aspects of the theory of penitentiary social work are discussed in various aspects of law, pedagogy, psychology, psychiatry, sociology, however, nevertheless, there is no single theory of penitentiary social work. In our opinion, the theoretical justification of penitentiary social work also comes down to psychologically-oriented, sociologically-oriented and complex models. In our opinion, the most effective model of penitentiary social work is a comprehensive one. There is also a certain feature of penitentiary social work, which lies in the fact that it, more than all other areas of social work in society, is isolated from this society. And it is regulated by legal norms in accordance with the criminal and penal legislation of the Russian Federation, while all other areas of social work are based mainly on civil, administrative and social law. This fact, undoubtedly, should be taken into account when preparing a specialist in penitentiary social work, both professional and moral and ethical. It is necessary to develop special training programs for the training of social workers in the penitentiary sector, in which the main emphasis should be placed on the legal education of future social workers
Also, within the framework of the general theory of social work, it is necessary to develop a unified theoretical justification for penitentiary social work; this is required by the practical activities of the penitentiary system, the transformation of which and the restructuring of the very principles of penitentiary policy from repressive to humanistic-oriented, through the efforts of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation alone is impossible. Public institutions are needed that could effectively regulate the penitentiary system. One of these institutions is social work. To develop the theoretical foundations of Russian penitentiary social work, it is possible to turn to international experience. In Western European countries and the USA, the institute of social work in the penitentiary sector is quite developed and well-grounded in theory. However, it is necessary to take into account the specifics of the situation in the penitentiary system of modern Russia. This, of course, is the stereotypes regarding convicts that have developed in our society, and the economic situation.
The prospects for the development of social work in the penitentiary sphere in our country are very great, since penitentiary social work combines knowledge from various branches of the sciences about society and man, because, as we know, social work is interdisciplinary in nature, allowing the use of methods of various sciences in its activities. What is especially important in penitentiary social work is that it is universal in nature, allowing us to most accurately and correctly consider the problem of each client and build the optimal way out of this problem for him, which neither psychology, which considers only psychological aspects, nor law, which considers only legal aspects, can do. side of the problem.
Social work allows you to see the full range of conditions necessary to help a client.
The institute of penitentiary social work is also important because often, a person who is free can solve his problem by discussing it with various specialists, whom he can turn to at any time as soon as he wishes, convicted due to a significant restriction of his rights and freedoms simply unable to turn to anyone for help. Thus, it can be argued that social work in the penitentiary system plays a very important role in providing the necessary conditions for people in prison, that is, in the penitentiary system of the Russian Federation
2. Principles of activity of a social worker in the penitentiary sphere
The principles of social work are both elements of scientific theory and fundamental rules of empirical work. They are divided into general philosophical, general scientific (organizational and activity-based, socio-political, psychological and pedagogical, etc.) and specific principles of social work. Specific principles of social work are: the principle of universality, the principle of protecting social rights, the principle of prevention, the principle of social response, the principle of client-centrism, the principle of self-reliance, the principle of maximizing social resources, the principle of confidentiality and tolerance. See: Theory and methodology of social work. Tutorial. M.: “Union”, 1994. - At 2 o’clock. All these principles are also the principles of penitentiary social work, as part of social work.
However, based on the analysis performed, it can be argued that social work in the penitentiary sphere has several more specific principles, these are: humanism, legality and justice.
The principle of legality in the activities of social workers in the penitentiary sphere has deep moral foundations. The social worker must help bring the convicted person to law-abiding behavior. The most general content of the principle of legality follows from Part 2 of Article 15 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation: “Government bodies, local governments, officials, citizens and their associations are obliged to comply with the Constitution of the Russian Federation and laws.” Persons serving sentences are obliged to strictly comply with the requirements of the laws that determine the procedure and conditions for the execution of punishment. In accordance with the new edition of Article 10 of the Correctional Labor Code, convicts must be fully explained their rights and obligations, working and rest conditions provided for them by law. The implementation of the principle of legality in the execution of criminal penalties is that: firstly, the legal status of convicts must be strictly observed, and their strict fulfillment of the duties and prohibitions assigned to them must be ensured; secondly, a real opportunity must be ensured for convicted persons or persons representing their interests to use the rights granted by law. See: Utkin V.A. Course of lectures on criminal-executive law. - Tomsk, 1995. 94 p. However, often the application of this principle to convicted persons is predominantly declarative in nature, and the task of a social worker is to ensure and apply this principle to convicted persons in reality. The principle of justice contains the requirement of correspondence between the practical role of various people in the life of society and their social status, between their rights and responsibilities, action and retribution, labor and reward, offense and punishment, people’s merits and their recognition. Inconsistency in these relationships is regarded as injustice. In philosophical literature, it is customary to see two aspects of justice: equalizing and distributive. The first is related to the need to ensure equality of citizens before the law, the second aspect states that: “the punishment or other criminal law measure to be applied to a person who has committed a crime must be fair, that is, correspond to the gravity of the crime, the circumstances of its commission and the identity of the perpetrator.” (Article 6 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation).
The principle of justice should be implemented not only by the implementation of criminal punitive legal restrictions, but also by the application of benefits and incentives to convicted persons. In general, justice is one of the most important principles that must be ensured in the activities of a social worker in the penitentiary field.
The principle of humanism is fundamental in the activities of a social worker. It finds its expression in the Constitution of the Russian Federation, which proclaims that: “a person, his rights and freedoms are the highest value” (Article 2). In accordance with Part 2 of Article 21 of the Basic Law, “no one should be subjected to torture, violence, or other cruel or degrading treatment or punishment.” The principle of humanism is reflected in Article 7 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation: “Punishment and other measures of criminal law cannot be aimed at causing physical suffering or humiliation of human dignity.” Humanism, according to the concepts established in Soviet legal science, has two sides. One side is expressed in “a minimum and mildness of repression.” The other side protects society and allows the most severe punishments, including the death penalty. In our opinion, this understanding of humanism is somewhat outdated, because it essentially justifies the period of the 30s - early 50s. 20th century in Russia, when criminal repression was most severe, and millions of people served their sentences in Stalinist camps and prisons. In our opinion, humanism in relation to a criminal means, first of all, the “human” attitude of the state and society towards him and it is incorrect to reduce it to just all kinds of relief for convicts during the execution of punishment. Humanism is a rejection of the so-called “functional” approach to the convicted person, when he was considered as a “function”, a means of achieving economic, financial, political, etc. by the penal system. goals. Utkin V.A. Decree. Op. Humanism is, first of all, the recognition of the possibility of every convicted person to return to a law-abiding life in society, this is the recognition by employees of the penal system of those convicted as equal to themselves in their human nature and essence. However, at the same time, the principle of humanism does not mean forgiveness; the severity of the punishment regime may even increase, but such measures should not lead to the destruction of humanity in a person, undermine the health of the convicted person, or turn him into an object of manipulation. The principle of humanism is reflected in international documents on the treatment of prisoners. Thus, the principle of humanism refutes the opinion that prison makes a bad person terrible and a good person bad.
A social worker, more than other specialists in the penitentiary system, should be guided by the principle of humanism in his work with convicts, since it is he who understands that by treating convicts as a “lower being” we only cause the worst qualities of his personality to manifest, which he shows in revenge to society. Using repressive measures against a convicted person, we will never be able to ensure that the convicted person looks at the world and performs his actions from the standpoint of humanism and philanthropy. Therefore, the orientation of the penitentiary system precisely towards moral and humanistic principles and the implementation of penitentiary policy in accordance with them is the most important task of modern society. And it is the social worker who must implement these principles in view of the specific features of his professional activity.
3. Functions of a social worker in penitentiary institutions of the Russian Federation
In penitentiary institutions, the most important functions of social workers are: together with convicts and administrative staff, draw up a plan for training and work during the period of imprisonment; to help convicts overcome the psychological crisis due to their being under arrest; assist in their adaptation to the ITU environment; help organize free time and continue studying; protect and ensure that the rights of convicted persons are not violated; provide advice to the prisoner’s relatives in solving problems related to his deprivation of liberty; assist the prisoner in regulating financial issues; prepare the prisoner for release, including, if possible, finding him housing and work; regulate the relationship between convicts and staff, because often correctional institution employees treat convicts as hopelessly incorrigible, which serves as fertile ground for arbitrary government. Also, one of the most important functions remains assistance to the groups and categories of convicts who most need it, who are traditionally the objects of social work even in the wild. These are, first of all, minors, youth, women, the unemployed, pensioners, and the disabled.
One of the most socially vulnerable categories of convicts are people with disabilities. Let us consider the functions of social workers in providing assistance to this category of convicts. According to statistics, about 22,000 disabled people are serving sentences in penal institutions, of which 54.7% have disabilities of groups 1 and 2, 48,000 convicts are over 55 years old, of whom 17.3% are of retirement age.
Execution of punishment in relation to convicts with disabilities and convicts who have reached retirement age has its own characteristics due to the need to take into account the state of their health and physical capabilities, and social status in society. The correctional labor legislation provides for them special conditions, benefits, and sending disabled people, at their request, to homes for the disabled and the elderly. Social workers must help people with disabilities receive all the noted benefits provided by current legislation.
It is also known that a large number of disabled people (71.7%) have chronic diseases or get sick often, 56.6% of them experience difficulties in household services, and 8.2% cannot do without outside help. However, neither the health status of disabled people nor the presence of chronic diseases is actually taken into account when organizing the execution of punishment. Current issues of improving legislation and practice of institutions executing punishment in the context of reform of the penal system. / Ed. IN AND. Seliverstova. - M.: Research Institute of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation. 1996. - P.32. . The effectiveness of the system of professional rehabilitation of disabled people is very low, while disabled people, to a greater extent than healthy convicts, need special rehabilitation programs. The vast majority of disabled prisoners are not only socially maladjusted, but also deprived of social connections.
For 37.8% of convicts, a medical certificate of disability was made in places of deprivation of liberty; those entitled to a pension are forced to go through commissions again, it takes several months to collect certificates, and all this time, without a means of subsistence, such persons are forced to live either on dependent on relatives, or begging. Therefore, in places of deprivation of liberty, special conditions must be created for disabled people to ensure social protection. It is the social worker who must create and monitor the implementation of these conditions; he must also determine the volume and structure of rehabilitation measures on the basis of a medical and social commission conducted jointly with doctors. Ibid., S. 32.
Thus, having considered only one category of objects of assistance, we observe what diverse and numerous functions a social worker should perform in the penitentiary system. At the present stage of development of the penitentiary system, there is a peculiarity of the activities of social workers, which lies in the fact that a social worker must take on the functions of educational, cultural, legal, and sports and recreational workers who have been abolished due to financial difficulties.
That is, we can draw a small conclusion that the functions of a penitentiary social worker are very diverse, ranging from assistance in improving life and living conditions, to psychological counseling of convicts and staff. However, in our opinion, the following are fundamental:
Legal assistance and support for convicts
Psychological and pedagogical diagnostics of the personality of a convicted person
Development, together with the administration of correctional institutions, of programs for socio-psychological and professional rehabilitation of convicts
Adaptation of convicts to the ITU environment.
4. Main areas of activity of a social worker in the penitentiary system
In theory, it is customary to distinguish two main aspects of social work in the penitentiary sphere: legal and psychological. Let's look at each of them.
4.1 Legal aspect of social work in penitentiary institutions
One of the functions of a social worker in the penitentiary sphere is legal support and provision for convicts. Over the years of the existence of the Soviet penitentiary system, the staff and administration of correctional institutions have created stereotypes regarding convicts in accordance with which convicts do not have any rights. Often the rights of convicts were violated contrary to existing legislation, very often prisoners were used as free labor, but “the work of prisoners is not an end in itself. He must only prepare him for life after release, and this is only possible when prison enterprises are equipped like ordinary ones. For labor is not a punishment or a means of reducing the costs of maintaining convicts, but an exceptional factor in the resocialization of convicts. Education through labor only presupposes accustoming one to work, but one must remember that labor is always less effective than education; this is evidenced by practical penitentiary experience. Based on research into the practice of applying punishment in the US federal system, American scientist Daniel Glaser found that long-term education reduces recidivism. Therefore, it is necessary to use educational means and methods in the re-education of convicts” Schneider G.Y. Criminology - M.: publishing house “Progress” - Univers, 1994. - 502 pp., pp. 405-406. .
Everywhere in the Russian penitentiary system, sanitary and hygienic standards for the accommodation of convicts are not observed.” So, according to the results of these public organizations, as of January 1, 1998, 58.8% more people were kept in pre-trial detention centers than required by the state standard. And also 18-20 sq. m. for 38 people, that is, 0.4 sq. m. m. per person.” Filipov V.V. Reforming the penitentiary system: - Minsk, 1998. - 108 p., C39.
The widespread use of repression is largely due to the formation among the population of a unique sense of justice associated with the application of the most severe measures to the convicted person.
This state of affairs is unacceptable; it is necessary to regulate the legal relations between convicts and society. After all, a person is punished by deprivation of freedom, and not by deprivation of conditions for a normal existence. At the same time, it cannot be said that no measures are being taken, especially at the legislative level. About 40 presidential decrees, government regulations and other legal acts were adopted. (Federal Law “On institutions and bodies executing criminal penalties in the form of imprisonment”, “On introducing amendments and additions to the Correctional Labor Code of the RSFSR, the Criminal Code of the RSFSR, the Criminal Procedure Code of the RSFSR”, etc.) The concept of reorganization of the penal system was approved system, there is a program for the construction of prisons and pre-trial detention centers, but in reality the whole state of affairs is deeply different from what is legally established. Thus, in accordance with Article 51 of the Criminal Executive Code of the Russian Federation, material and living support for those sentenced to imprisonment is enshrined, which is a set of organizational measures carried out on the basis of the norms of criminal executive legislation aimed at creating conditions for ensuring the normal life of convicts while serving their sentences. The importance of material and living support for convicts is manifested in the fact that a well-established life contributes to a moral change in the personality of the convict, the consolidation of positive habits, and accustoms him to order and discipline. Material and household support includes the creation of appropriate housing and communal conditions, the organization of meals, clothing supplies and trade services. In correctional centers, the regulation of most of these areas of material and living support is carried out on the basis of the norms of the general legislation of the Russian Federation. Often, convicts cannot protect their rights in the field of material support, and here the help of a social worker is needed, who must monitor the implementation of basic norms of material, living and legal support and ensuring the rule of law in the execution of a sentence of imprisonment, in case of non-compliance with these norms, the social worker must report this to the relevant authorities and institutions. Also, a social worker can communicate between the prisoner’s relatives and the prisoner, monitor the unimpeded sending of correspondence to the convicted person and himself, and help the convicted person in regulating financial issues and issues related to the religious belief of the convicted person. Moreover, it should be noted that the practice of religious worship is very important for many convicts, since every third of the total number of convicts considers themselves a believer. According to data from mid-1995. Among those convicted, Orthodox Christians accounted for 18,300 people, Baptists - 3,900, Muslims - 2,250 people. Thus, the penitentiary system of the Russian Federation contains approximately 34,000 believers (excluding convicts in prisons and colony settlements). The work of religious organizations, introduction to faith, helps to improve relationships, strengthen discipline and order, expand contacts with the outside world, determine the possibility of repentance for what they have done, provide assistance in moral education, organization of everyday life and leisure, and employment. The activities of a social worker should be aimed at maximizing effective cooperation with religious organizations. The responsibilities of social workers also include preparing a prisoner for release from prison, providing housing and work, (if possible) or registering with an employment center. The social worker must monitor the fulfillment of the working conditions of convicts and the receipt of primary vocational education or vocational training by convicts who do not have any specialty. “The work of convicts is mainly regulated by Russian labor legislation. First of all, this is a code of labor laws, according to which convicts, without any restrictions or exceptions, are subject to labor legislation regulating working hours and rest periods, labor standards, wages, guarantees and compensation, labor discipline and labor protection. In accordance with these norms, those sentenced to restriction of freedom have the right to paid leave, temporary disability benefits, benefits provided to women and youth, including those related to training, etc., those sentenced to restriction of freedom are covered by state social insurance.” . Commentary on the Criminal Executive Code of the Russian Federation. /Under. Ed. P.G. Mishchenkova. - M.: “Yurist”, 1997 - 432 pp., p. 31. In accordance with these standards, a social worker is obliged to monitor the fulfillment of all these conditions in relation to the convicted person, as well as to monitor the implementation of the convicted person’s right to a pension for old age, disability, loss of a breadwinner and other cases specified by law. Without any discrimination in relation to convicts.
The functions of a social worker also include monitoring the medical care of convicts. As is known, in Russian penitentiary institutions there are a colossal number of patients with tuberculosis, scabies, sexually transmitted diseases, and the number of AIDS patients is constantly increasing. It is necessary to monitor cases of the disease and provide patients with the necessary conditions for treatment.
In accordance with the current legislation, which states: “Convicts serving restrictions on freedom are guaranteed the right to health care, including receiving medical care (Part 6 of Article 12 of the Penal Code). Treatment and preventive care for convicts is provided in accordance with the legislation of the Russian Federation of July 22, 1993. “On protecting the health of citizens.” Ibid S. 129
Social workers are also required to coordinate the activities of medical services, guide them, facilitate and organize various preventive measures
Thus, this aspect of the work of social workers involves them performing the functions of observers, “advocates”, administrators, controllers and social mediators.
4.2 Psychological aspects of social work in penitentiary institutions
In the activities of a penitentiary social worker, psychological methods are extremely important. As you know, a person entering a correctional labor institution for the first time experiences a feeling of psychological discomfort. Feelings of allegedly committed injustice, personal inferiority, suspiciousness, anxiety, suspicion, fear of the unknown prevail in him; the convict understands that for a long time no one will be interested in his condition. Sustained and pronounced mental overstrain requires release, there is nothing to switch to, convicts commit crimes, about a third of violent crimes in correctional institutions are committed without apparent motives, due to mental release. Many people strive to go to the hospital, where they will be provided with human treatment. Cases of mental disorders in penitentiary institutions are 15% more common than in the wild; people cannot adapt to the new environment; convicts live in a state of chronic stress. It has also been proven that after 5-8 years of imprisonment, irreversible changes in the human psyche very often occur. Therefore, it is necessary to create psychological laboratories and services in the penitentiary system with highly qualified staff of psychiatrists, psychologists and social workers. Currently in Russia, work is underway to create an organizational and methodological base for psychological services. The importance and effectiveness of psychological support for the resocialization of criminals is evidenced by both foreign and domestic experience. Aminev G.A. and others. Toolkit of a penitentiary psychologist. - Ufa, 1997. - 168 p.
The need to create a psychological service at the ITU arose a long time ago, but only in September 1992. it acquired a legislative basis. Psychological laboratories began to be created. Thus, on the basis of correctional institutions of the Saratov, Oryol and Perm regions, psychological laboratories have been organized to study the personality of convicts, the basics of psychological and pedagogical assistance and behavior correction. Socio-psychological problems of organizing the execution of criminal penalties./ Ed. A.V. Pishchelko. - Domodedovo. RIPK Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia., 1996.- 61 p. Modern penitentiary social work determines the principles of individualization when developing the problem of a convicted person and the differentiation of methods of psychological influence, since when developing psychological programs it is necessary to take into account that with an increase in the number of convictions and the time a person spends in an ITU, there is an increase in psychological traits that impede the adaptation of a person’s life in freedom. The functions of a social worker are to diagnose the personality of the convicted person using various psychological techniques, make a conclusion about the personality based on the data obtained, and develop, together with the administration of the correctional facility, programs for re-education, correction and ways of communicating with the convicted person. Social workers should also organize the free time of convicts. In our opinion, G. J. Schneider most correctly describes the tasks of educational influence during leisure time. He says that: “the tasks of educational influence during leisure time come down to creating a prosperous social atmosphere in penitentiary institutions and inducing a craving for meaningful activities leisure after release. Free time in prison should not remain “an object of murder” or be used for preparing, planning, discussing actions for new crimes. It should serve to raise the cultural level of convicts. Successful cultural orientation of prisoners is known to reduce the tendency to recidivate. Properly organized leisure contributes to good rest, restoration and renewal of a person’s physical and mental strength. Leisure plays an important role in the execution of punishment and it cannot be assessed separately from professional and general training; it destroys the monotony and uniformity of the prison, and the loneliness and lack of independence of prisoners has a depressing effect on them.” Schneider G.J. Criminology - M.: Publishing House “Progress” - Univers, 1994. - 502 pp., pp. 405-406. Also, social workers must carry out work to adapt the individual in prison, promote the formation of the maximum possible active life position in him, explain his rights and responsibilities, prepare convicts for release, and encourage those who are imprisoned for life or for a long term to be active, “normal”, adequate view of the world; create psychological auto-training programs. In his activities, a social worker must focus on ensuring that the isolation system does not destroy the socially useful connections of criminals, and help strengthen their family and kinship relationships.
The basis of the approach of social workers to psychological interaction with convicts should be the individualization of the approach and complexity or systematicity, implying an integrated approach that combines various techniques in relation to the convict. A systematic approach to the study of personality is a system of implemented socio-pedagogical and psychological measures aimed at obtaining a comprehensive analysis of information characterizing the personality of the convicted person in order to achieve the most effective application methods, techniques and means of persuasion, correction, re-education and assistance to the convicted person and predicting his behavior. That is, psychological methods of social work should use a systematic approach in studying the problems facing social work in penitentiary institutions. Aminev G.A. and others. Toolkit of a penitentiary psychologist. - Ufa, 1997. - 168 p.
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