In the modern world, the leading trend in the penitentiary area is systematic preparation of convicts while they serve their sentences and social adaptation after completion. The reason for this is primarily the awareness of the impact which former convicts may have on the state of public security, public health and economy: terms of sentences associated with isolation are becoming shorter and return to crimes is quite expensive.

Reintegration of an individual into society is a serious challenge for most European countries which adhere to the basic rule: preparation for release should begin from the first day of serving a sentence. In Ukraine, issues relating to adaptation of persons after their release from penal institutions have been integrated within the limits of penitentiary probation according to the Law of Ukraine “On Probation”. More than 4 years have passed since this statutory act has entered into force, but penitentiary probation is still the least developed as compared with the pre-trial and supervisory ones, and without a high-quality policy of the State regarding social assistance to convicts and released persons it is unlikely that the penal and correctional system will function to its utmost.

The purpose of the article is to review and analyze the current state of introduction of penitentiary probation, and to present the author’s vision of its development in Ukraine.

After processing of international rules and provisions and foreign experience, universal stages in the implementation of penitentiary probation measures are formulated: assessment of risks and needs of convicts, planning of case work with them, selection and application of reintegration programs, implementation of measures related to preparation for release, social adaptation of convicts after release.

Based on the experience of the pilot project, the conditions required for a fully-featured functioning of penitentiary probation are outlined. Thus, this may include improvement of everyday living conditions in which convicts serve their sentences in correctional facilities, integration of penitentiary health care into the general health care system, enhancement of HR potential, and involvement of volunteers.

Penitentiary probation alone is incapable of curing the systemic problems of crime or reducing the rate of socially dangerous diseases. At the same time, preparation for release and adaptation after it have a significant impact on public safety and the public health system, with a particular extent of this impact depending on the quality and coverage of social services provided to convicts and released persons.

Bibliography

Authored books

1. Cretenot M and Liaras B, Prison conditions in France (Antigone Edizioni 2013) (in English).

2. Hawley J and Murphy I and Souto-Otero M, Prison Education and Training in Europe: Current State-of-Play and Challenges (European Commission 2013) (in English).

3. Kladoczny P and Wolny M, Prison conditions in Poland (Antigone Edizioni 2013) (in English).

4. Koulouris N and Aloskofis W, Prison conditions in Greece (Antigone Edizioni 2013) (in English).

Edited books

5. Barash Y and Rudnytskykh M (ed), Introduction of probation in Ukraine (FOP Kandyba 2018) (in English).

6. Vovk V ta inshi, Pidhotovka do zvilnennia osib, yaki vidbuvaiut pokarannia u vydi obmezhennia abo pozbavlennia voli na pevnyi strok, u tomu chysli nepovnolitnikh [Preparation for the Release of Persons Serving Sentences in the form of Restrictions or Deprivation of Liberty for a Specified Term, Including Juvenile Offenders] (Verso-04 2012) (in Ukrainian).

Journal articles

7. Barash Ye, ‘Zarubizhnyi dosvid sotsialnoi roboty zi zasudzhenymy’[‘Foreign Experience of Social Work with Convicts’] [2016] 1(11) Naukovyi visnyk Instytutu kryminalno vykonavchoi sluzhby 10 (in Ukrainian).

8. Storchak N ta Zabrodska N, ‘Vprovadzhennia v zakonodavchu bazu osnovnykh poniat, shcho stosuiutsia problem postpenitentsiarnoi adaptatsii osib, zvilnenykh iz mists pozbavlennia voli’ [‘Implementation in the Legislative Base of the Basic Concepts Concerning the Problems of Post-Penitentiary Adaptation of Persons Released from Places of Imprisonment’] (2014) 1 Zbirnyk naukovykh prats studentiv NUK Ekonomika ta upravlinnia pidpryiemstvamy 80 (in Ukrainian).

Websites

9. Introductory Handbook on the Prevention of Recidivism and the Social Reintegration of Offenders, (United Nations Vienna, December 2018) <https://www.unodc.org/ documents/justice-and-prison-reform/18-02303_ebook.pdf> (accessed: 27.05.2019) (in English).

10. ‘Rezultaty doslidzhennia hromadskoi dumky ta doviry do upovnovazhenykh orhaniv z pytan probatsii’ [‘The Results of the Public Opinion and Confidence in the Competent Authorities on Probation’] (Probatsiia Ukrainy, 2018) <http://www.probation.gov. ua/?page_id=60> (accessed: 27.05.2019) (in Ukrainian).