|
Report on the fifth working session in Lezha prison
Organized by the Albanian Helsinki Committee
 18.07.2006
On 10-11 July 2006
Albanian Helsinki Committee (AHC) carried out the fifth
working session in Lezha prison premises. This activity
took place in the framework of the AHC’s project “Prison
Reforms and the Role of the Civil Society in Albania”
aiming at the enhancement of the awareness and
recognition of human rights and rule of law by Albanian
prison administration. Specific objectives of this
activity were raising professional capacities of the
middle management staff of the penitentiary institutions
in the process of managing prisons with special focus on
the uniform staff in Lezha prison as well as the
evaluation of all the working sessions with the prison
administration in Lezha prison.
The expert invited by
AHC to offer his expertise in this session was Mr. Jan
van den Brand, Director Portfolio and Coordinator of the
External Relations in the Dutch National Agency of
Correctional Institutions in the Netherlands.
Mrs. Edlira
Papavangjeli, Programs’ Coordinator was representing
Albanian Helsinki Committee in this activity.
 The
working session focused on some very important issues
such as the role of the middle management security staff
within the communication structure of the penitentiary
institution. The structure can be the top down,
bottom-up or a combination of both these structures
where the role of the middle management is very crucial
in including the basic level staff input and bringing
this input to the high management teams of the
institution and reflect that in the process of policy
making and well- management of the institution.
Alongside with the communication structure, the role of
the middle management is very important in fulfilling
the responsibilities towards convicts, operational and
daily duties and responsibilities towards the staff
which includes their input in the recruitment of the new
staff, the training and further professionalism of the
basic role staff and the input in their career
prospective. From the discussions with the participants
it was highlighted that this prison made use of a
combination of the communication structure and a good
work is done by the middle management and basic role
staff in fulfilling their responsibilities towards the
convicts and the operational working plans but still
there is room to see the increase of the contribution of
the middle management in recruitment and staff
development processes.
 The
outcome of the evaluation of all the fifth sessions done
by AHC with the prison administration in Lezha was very
positive.
Some
specific recommendations of this working session for the
Lezha institution is a) keep the staff in prison and
pre-trial regime stable, thus avoiding the frequent move
of the staff from one regime to the other. This will in
turn increase their experience in the regimes as well as
will contribute to an effective comprehensive structure
within the regimes; b) increase the contribution of the
middle management security staff in the recruitment and
further training of the basic role staff in the
institution. In this context a specific recommendation
to the General Directorate of Prisons is to include
psychological tests and oral interviews arranged in the
penitentiary institutions in the process of recruitment
of the new staff alongside with the evaluation of the
files of the potential candidates in fulfilling the
defined requirements and criteria.
|
