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Welcome to the EuroPris Knowledge Management System. The table below shows questions and responses from European National Agencies. Select a question for more information or use the filters on the left to narrow down questions based on Agency or Category.
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Introduction:
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The DPPS primarily uses the following procedures/ steps: All staff and management have access to a management information system, which contains performance indicators on a number of different areas such as rules, laws and regulations. The management information system is primarily used by management to ensure compliance. Supplementary to the automatic generated statistical information, the DPPS generates manual statistics in different areas. This will be the case in new areas, where the statistics are not yet automatically generated or in peripheral areas of interest. In different areas the DPPS goes through a large number of samples to ensure efficient oversight. This is the case when quality of action plans for clients annually are evaluated e.g. In different varying areas, the DPPS, carries out management audits. This could be with special focus on one or more institutions, one or more specific areas e.g. In addition it is a general management responsibility to ensure compliance in the area, where the manager is responsible. There are also forums of partnerships, where all the top managers of client casework or finance and budgets e.g., are responsible for and works together to ensure common practices and compliance to these.
What problems are encountered in compliance oversight due to the increasing number of regulations and need for operational transparency?The DPPS encounters different problems regarding this. An increasing number of regulations means a potential overload for managers with a risk of loosing insight in different important areas. This means, that there is an increasing need to prioritize the different areas. It also means a risk of staff spending too much time to conduct registrations rather than do their important work with the clients. It is important to be aware of the balance between these important tasks for staff.
Do prisons adopt the use of consolidated and harmonized sets of compliance controls to ensure that all necessary compliance requirements are met without the unnecessary duplication of effort and activity from resources?In general prisons do adopt, but it is important from the central office to inform of the importance of registrations and compliance, which is easier, when purpose is clear for all involved.
Special Remarks or CommentsThe Prison Director bears the main responsibility for illegal practices within prisons. There are three main procedures or mechanisms in place to prevent and address omissions of policies, rules, laws and regulations. One procedure is the oversight exercised through the prisoner's right to appeal. The prisoner's appeal is sent to the Region Direction (exceptionally to the Central Administration Office) in the event he or she is dissatisfied with a decision that has been taken regarding the implementation of his or her sentence. Furthermore, the lodge of appeal may be issued to the Administrative Court and the Supreme Administrative Court. According to the Administrativv Procedure Act there is additionally the possibility to complain against any action or omission carried out by an official or public authority. These complaints are primarily directed to the Region Director, the Central Administration Office or the Parlimentary Ombudsman of Finland. Particular complaints may also be directed to national supervisory authoritites such as the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the Data Protection Ombudsman and National Institute for Health and Welfare. The inmate may as usual also make a report of an offence. The second mechanism is the inspections done by external and internal representatives. The Central Administration Office makes regular inspection, which includes meetings with the prisoners. The Parliamantery Ombudsman of Finland functions as the national external inspector and has the right to make inspections on his own initiative with or without notice. In addition to the national inspection, the Finnish prisons are subject to the inspections done by the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment and the International Committee of the Red Cross. The remarks and recommendation of all representatives are an important part of the compliance oversight as they are dealth with seriously. Lastly, the lawfulness and regulator compliance of the penitentiary institutions is being supervised all through the highest level at the ministry of justice to the prison units. In addition to legislative compliance, the compliance of different indicators and performance targets are being supervised.
What problems are encountered in compliance oversight due to the increasing number of regulations and need for operational transparency?The encountered consequences of overregulation are the weakening of an overallview of the compliance oversight and overlapping in the monitoring. The increasing number of regulations certainly disintegrated the expertise and informational flow within the organization. This makes developing the compliance monitoring, including the making of relevant and up-to-date policies difficult.
Do prisons adopt the use of consolidated and harmonized sets of compliance controls to ensure that all necessary compliance requirements are met without the unnecessary duplication of effort and activity from resources?Yes, prisons adopt the sets of copmliance controls given by the high-level authority.
Special Remarks or CommentsTo ensure regulatory compliance, efficient staff selection process and training is in place. Understanding of the mission – to help offenders become social citizens. Modern prisons for safer society. Values of staff – humanity, professionalism, humanism, safety and security, rule of law, purposefulness and sense of responsibility.
What problems are encountered in compliance oversight due to the increasing number of regulations and need for operational transparency?We have to face continuous development of joint comprehension and implementation of unified action, as well as working towards inclusion of control mechanism into the managerial system of collective quality.
Do prisons adopt the use of consolidated and harmonized sets of compliance controls to ensure that all necessary compliance requirements are met without the unnecessary duplication of effort and activity from resources?Controls are implemented on different levels; they do not overlap, but only supplement each other.
Special Remarks or CommentsThe Directorate of Norwegian Correctional Service is responsible for the supervision of five regional offices and their professional practice, herein their legal and ethical practice. The regional offices have the responsibility of supervising the prisons' and probation offices’ practice within their jurisdiction. The supervision is conducted both by notified and un-notified inspections, as well as case reviews. The overarching authorities are also acting as appeal instances, and are thus in a position were they are able to monitor the underlying unit’s compliance to policies, rules, laws and regulations. Additionally, both the Directorate and the regional offices closely review reports and handled single cases from the Ombudsman's office, as well as the appointed local Supervisory Boards in each of the regional districts. The Directorate regards these reports and handled single cases as very useful in the process of monitoring regulatory compliance. Finally, it is established an internal control system within the Norwegian Correctional Service (KIKS). KIKS is an electronic system where all employees can report any inconsistency within the prison organisation, i.e. within the areas of health and safety, violence and threats, legal practice, the handling of the inmates and more. The system is mainly intended to discover inconsistency and faults within the organisation, but it is also an important tool in order to monitor the whole organisation’s compliance to policies, rules, laws and regulations.
What problems are encountered in compliance oversight due to the increasing number of regulations and need for operational transparency?Based on the above, one of the obvious problems is that the Directorate and/or the regional offices monitoring is limited to the practice/cases that are in fact appealed by the inmates/their representatives or reported by the Ombudsman’s office or the Supervisory Boards. On the other hand, the Directorate’s/regional offices' own supervision is intended to uncover any wrong practice or incompliance that is not made noticeable through appeals and external inspections and reviews.
Do prisons adopt the use of consolidated and harmonized sets of compliance controls to ensure that all necessary compliance requirements are met without the unnecessary duplication of effort and activity from resources?The above mentioned KIKS-system seems to have been embraced by the prison staff. Even though most of the reports concern technical or health/safety issues, an increasing number of them are related to what is considered to be inconsistencies in legal practice
Special Remarks or CommentsThis content is only available to registered members of EuroPris.
Compliane within the Scottish Prison Service is measured using a variety of methods: Recently SPS has introduced an annual delivery from which establishments have developed their own specific plans showing how they will deliver against six strategic priorities; Monthly Performance submissions by Establishments to Headquarters showing performance against set targets; Quarterly Business Reviews every 3 minths with the Director to discuss performance; Self audits by establishments measuring performance against standards on topics designated by Headquarters; SPS has an audit and assurance team who visit establishments to conduct audits on specific areas of performance and they will check the self audit process from above at the same time; SPS is also subject to independent scrutiny by regulatory Government bodies against set standards e.g. Information Comminssioner / Surveillance Commissioner.
What problems are encountered in compliance oversight due to the increasing number of regulations and need for operational transparency?Local establishment self-reporting systems can be subjective; Turnover of staff can lead to lack of experience in conducting the assurance process however this is discussed at Business Reviews and HQ attempt to support in these situations.
Do prisons adopt the use of consolidated and harmonized sets of compliance controls to ensure that all necessary compliance requirements are met without the unnecessary duplication of effort and activity from resources?The newly introduced Corporate Annual delivery Plan has been introduced to mitigate against duplication; There is a set agenda for Quarterly Business Reviews that focuses on the key performance indicators and service agreements.
Special Remarks or Comments