Improving the correctional services in Romania by implementing the normality principle - 4NORM (—ality)
National Administration of Penitentiaries ·Romania
About this project
<p>The project aims at contributing to a better social reintegration of convicts by reintegration programmes in three Romanian prisons. The activities include staff training; developing a new study and research department in the National Administration of Penitentiaries; strengthening the existing research department in the National Probation Directorate; improving detention conditions and ensuring better working conditions for inmates; setting up an activity office at one prison; appropriate training for prisoners to better their chances of employment in the current job market; developing an accountability programme for inmates, based on recommendations from the Council of Europe. As regards improvements in detention conditions, the project envisages the building of 240 new detention places that will be in line with the COE standards in terms of size. The project is explicitly advancing the issues of Roma inclusion and empowerment and the social inclusion of vulnerable groups other than Roma through the development and implementation of the accountability programme, training of prison staff and other post-release reintegration measures. Gender equality, anti-discrimination, transparency and anti-corruption are tackled as cross-cutting issues throughout the project. </p> <p>Alternative measures to prison will be taken into account in the project.</p>
Bilateral cooperation results
Romanian and Norwegian prison and probation staff participated in two study visits in Ireland and Iceland, where they learnt about the implementation of the normality principle in other correctional systems and best practices in this field in order to best adapt it to national context. Moreover, the Ambassadors Programme, in which the Romanian and Norwegian correctional staff were jointly trained as trainers and have already cascaded the knowledge during 14 training sessions, also addresses the principle of normality.
Project partners
- The University College of the Norwegian Correctional Service (KRUS) Donor project partner· Norway
- Hedmark prison Donor project partner· Norway
- Ploiesti Prison Project partner· Romania
- Poarta Alba Prison Project partner· Romania
- Craiova Prison Project partner· Romania
- National School for Training Prison Agents (in Tårgu Ocna) Project partner· Romania
- National Probation Directorate Project partner· Romania