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REPORT
ON THE
THIRD WORKING SESSION IN
LEZHA PRISON
Organized by the Albanian Helsinki Committee
On 23-24 February 2006 Albanian Helsinki Committee (AHC) carried out the third
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 uniform staff in
particular and other prison sectors in general in their treatment provided to
the prisoners; better respect for the rights of the prisoners by providing a
humane treatment. The target groups of this session were the management team,
head of sectors and the uniform staff of this 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, at the same time, expert of the
European Council in Eastern and Central Europe.
Mrs. Edlira Papavangjeli, Programs’
Coordinator was representing Albanian Helsinki Committee in this activity.
The working session focused on three main
very important issues in managing prisons, namely
main concepts and conditions on treatment
provided to the prisoners by all prison staff but particularly by uniform staff
with reference to European Prison rules and international standards;
categorization of prisoners giving special attention to vulnerable groups in the
prison as a necessary mechanism to prevent problems and tensions in the prison
and accommodate the right treatment for these prisoners in the daily programs;
contingency plans which should be based on the regulations already in force in
the prisons; mechanism of request and complaint in the prison and the right of
prisoners to their correspondence and last but not least brainstorming on ideas
and suggestions regarding the policy to be used in prisons regarding labor of
prisoners. Case studies and group discussions were the methods used in this
session.
The recommendations of this working sessions to the senior and middle management
teams of this prison as well as to the General Directorate of Prisons to have
this in mind for other prisons were the following: The conditions for preventing
and managing different challenging situations in the prisons, incidents and
crisis is to have clear and functional protocols which should be at the disposal
for easy use for each member of the staff in the prison regimes. Prisoners as
well should have knowledge on these protocols. Ongoing training from the basic
to the middle level of the staff is needed to make these protocols translated
into practice. Handy brochures should be produced based on the contingency plan
rules to be easily assessed by the staff in their work. A transparent mechanism
of complaints and requests is another guarantee to know the problems in the
prisons and prevent situations, so high and middle management in the prison
should pay attention to this mechanism for the benefit of the good climate in
the prisons. The local staff in different prisons should be included in the
development for the labor in prison and most important in providing feedback on
the right policies of how labor will be organized in prisons in the near future.
In addition, it should be the governors of the institution and its staff who
should be responsible for the selection of the prisoners to be employed and all
other organizational aspects of organizing work in prisons. The development with
the legislative framework regarding labor in prisons should go hand in hand with
the implementation policies and last but not least preparing and training prison
staff on such an important issue.
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