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Q1. EuroPris:
Could you tell us about your career path? Why have you chosen to work in the prison and correctional field?
Firstly, even if it might sound “old fashioned”, it is important for me to underline that I am honoured for the trust placed in me, both by Dan HALCHIN, the general director of the Romanian Prison System, and by the other members of EuroPris. As an EuroPris board member, I am excited for the work we do to facilitate the advancement of corrections. On the other hand, I must admit that most of the times I would rather speak about my work, than about myself, because I think more people would be able to relate to it.
I could present myself through a set of expertise areas: i.) prison management and administration, knowing the system from the inside, with 19 years of continuous work in this field (at both middle, and top level management); ii.) expertise in mental health care, treatment of inmates, and rehabilitation, and, equally important, iii.) the academic perspective, holding a PhD in Psychology.
Throughout almost two decades of experience in the Romanian prison system – as director of the Social Reintegration Department (2010-2014, 2015-2017, September 2022 – present), deputy general director (2014-2015, 2017-2022), general director ad-interim (February – April 2021), head of the Psycho-social Assistance Service (2006-2010), psychologist (2004-2006) – I have been focused on streamlining the correction process. In the management positions I have held over the years, one of my priorities has been to enhance correctional policies with civic-oriented actions that can bring a wider positive and sustainable impact on society. I’ve always been inspired in my work by Churchill’s (1910) belief that “tireless efforts to uncover regenerative and curative processes, and an undisturbed belief that all this is a treasure, if you find it in the heart of each individual, these are the symbols that, in the treatment of crime and offenders, make their mark and measure the strength of a nation, and are the sign and proof of the virtue in which the nation lives.”
As such, the elaboration and adoption of policies/norms targeting rehabilitation and reducing the re-offending represent a main objective in my work. This professional field – creating policies, programs, methodologies, guidelines for the treatment of offenders – entails both my expertise (on prison management, education, rehabilitation, organizational psychology), and my personal advocacy inclined towards humanitarian approaches, which are at the core of why I chose this career path. Thus, going back to your “why” question, the unsophisticated, but authentic way of explaining why I chose this field, and, even more importantly, why I persevere along the same professional path, would be that I believe in treatment & rehabilitation, and I aspired to affect ground-breaking change, in close collaboration with my colleagues.
In my view, prison activities must always be carried out in accordance with the rule of law, in compliance with international standards, while also fostering humanitarian approaches, all for the greater good. To that end, I have been actively involved in building capacity and contributing to the development of the national legal framework (e.g. individual sentence planning, risk and needs assessment, mental health care), policies, programs, guidelines, and procedures. I contributed to a number of innovative projects, relevant not only from the intra-institutional perspective, but also from the inter-institutional cooperation point of view. I can highlight three of the flagship initiatives implemented under my coordination at the level of the penitentiary system:
i.) Romania’s first strategy focused on the social reintegration of persons deprived of liberty.
The National Strategy for Social Reintegration represents a programmatic document that sets up a strong, articulated inter-institutional mechanism designed to ensure the continuity and efficiency of intervention at all stages of the social reintegration process. It has an impact on the common interest of all institutions with responsibilities in assisting persons at risk of social exclusion. This strategy was approved by Government Decision in 2015, where my involvement was part of its implementation process. At the end of the strategic cycle 2015-2019, with the support of the Ministry of Justice, we pursued the elaboration and adoption of a second Strategy for another 5 years (2020-2024), which was adopted by the Government in 2020. I remain confident that this second strategic document further improves the social reintegration process.
ii.) The first regulation of the prison system regarding the organization and conduct of rehabilitation activities and programs for inmates.
This regulation was adopted, for the first time in the Romanian penitentiary system, by Order of the Ministry of Justice. This helped establish the rules for conducting standardised educational activities, psychological aid and social care activities in a single regulatory document. Consequently, the standards and rules for ensuring a better assistance for each inmate are implemented in the activities of all prison units and educational/detention centres throughout Romania.
iii.) The adoption of an innovative instrument of conditioning inmates’ behavior in a pro-social direction – The Credit system for participation in rehabilitation programs and lucrative activities
The foundation of this motivational mechanism is based on the psychological conditioning of human behavior, starting from the premise that direct intervention on the motivational factor is a favorable premise for behavioral changes.
To wrap up, having said all of this, I believe, above all, that the most important consideration is to never forget the human dimension of our work! And I hope my professional achievements and good deeds will speak louder and harder in this regard than the words written above. What made my path sustainable is actually the fact that why I joined the prison system, and why I decided to continue the work in this professional line, continues to be aligned with my values, and my strong belief in servant leadership “When you are called to lead, you are called to serve, and you must be willing to place the need of others above your own” (Gifford Thomas).
Q2. EuroPris:
What benefits do you see being linked to an organisation such as EuroPris?
Effective management of places of detention, in compliance with international recommendations, targeting inmates’ successful transition to the community, and reducing the recidivism rate, constitute, beyond doubt, an extremely complex mission. Therefore, European (and international) best practices should be shared and distributed, for the benefit of the criminal justice system. From my perspective, this is the main benefit to being linked to an organisation such as EuroPris. EuroPris brings together practitioners in the prisons arena with the specific intention of promoting ethical and rights-based imprisonment, exchanging information and providing expert assistance to support this agenda. Even more so, the organisation serves as an interactive platform aiming to improve co-operation among European prison and correctional services, with the aim of improving the lives of incarcerated people and their families, enhancing public safety and security; reducing re-offending; and advancing professionalism in the corrections’ field.
Undoubtedly, specialists with great passion have the power to make a significant difference and bring added value to the public service, through dedication, strong civic spirit, problem-solving skills, and leadership abilities. And this is the very reason why an organisation like EuroPris exists! …and I firmly believe it remains a conducive environment for sharing expertise on how to respond to common challenges that European prison systems have to face.
Q3. EuroPris:
In your opinion, what are the biggest challenges for the European prison and correctional services at the moment?
It is widely acknowledged that once a citizen is convicted and sent to prison, the state, through its public institutions and authorities, accepts, at the same time, responsibility for his safety, health and education. However, the main purpose of the sentence is the process of re-socialization and rehabilitation, which facilitates the social and professional reinsertion of former incarcerated persons. So, taking these aspects into consideration, and being consistent with my area of expertise, I will answer the question exclusively from the perspective of the rehabilitation work.
Through the range of assistance services provided to inmates, the prison institution must shape their personalities and behaviors in such a way as to achieve positive results, as it is obvious that, to a certain extent, each case of incarceration reflects a certain failure of the school, family, support environment and society as a whole. Streamlining the rehabilitation process, through the cooperation of different stakeholders and institutions, is among the priorities of any prison system at European level. Moreover, the recent challenges related to the COVID-19 pandemic underline these imperatives, all the more so with regard to prison administration.
Being part of the penitentiary system for so many years, I understand how important it is to develop correct, sustainable and healthy correctional policies that contribute consistently to advancing society as a whole. Addressing inmates’ educational and psychological needs, through activities and humanitarian interventions, such as school, vocational training, programs, is essential for the development of competencies and skills that facilitate inmates’ successful transition to community. Equally important, from the human dimension perspective, each successful case of a reintegrated ex-inmate means that the social mission of the prison is effectively working for the benefit of the community towards a more secure country.
Unequivocally, given the essential social role of the penitentiary institution, the basis of an effective prison system is dependent on progressive approaches and efforts towards the assistance and rehabilitation of the detainees, in compliance with international standards. Thus, to answer your question, in a nutshell, the focus in the next years should be on making the transformative programming more effective, and, as integral part of these, increase the public engagement in the creation and revision of the policies related to re-entry, including affordable housing. Trauma informed care, adverse childhood experiences, and, in general, all evidence-based practices are pivotal considerations in facing challenges related to the rehabilitation process of formerly incarcerated persons. It is imperative, especially in our field, to establish and implement research and performance measurement systems to serve as the foundation of organisational decision-making.
From the managerial approach, and through the lens of my experience, I strongly believe results will improve inherently through practicing servant leadership at every level within the prison administration. So it is critical to continue investing in growing and developing staff to build high performing teams. In an increasingly complex world, with undeniable impact also on the prison life and its settings, values-driven leaders who are generating positive, lasting change are vital in any penitentiary organisation.
It is crucial to maintain a progressive approach and to be innovative while adapting continuously to the dynamic and ever-changing characteristics of the prison population, and, equally important, to the evolution of the outside world, inclusively from the perspective of the constant development of technologies, and A.I.. Ensuring that this endeavour is progressive and realised, is not only an institutional responsibility, but also one every specialist working inside the prison system should be very aware and committed to.
Q4. EuroPris:
Could you elaborate on the progressive approach and how you tackled individual limits, from your own experience?
Being aware of my limits and of the imperative of professional improvement through continuous learning and shared experiences, I decided, with the approval of the institution’s leadership, to pursue an international professional development program. A year later I was selected, among thousands of candidates worldwide, as one of the 156 recipients of such a fellowship dedicated to mid-career leaders in public service, also called the Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowship Program. While in U.S, I am particularly interested in getting more insight in the following areas: strategic and tactical approaches; management of prison dysfunctional phenomenology; prioritizing re-entry and staff training; cooperation of institutions for an effective justice system, among others. During the Humphrey Fellowship, I am improving my leadership skills and learning about innovative approaches to criminal justice and prison administration. This will help me improve policies and programs related to rehabilitation of incarcerated people back home in Romania. Through the professional and academic experience that this Fulbright exchange facilitates, I am gaining knowledge and skills that I will use in the management & policy making I will pursue in the field of rehabilitation when I come back to my country.
Being on this fellowship opens up doors for future cooperation with international stakeholders who are also working in corrections. Their wisdom and expertise serve as my compass in contributing to the rehabilitation field, without forgetting the importance of adapting my learnings and takeaways to the unique context and specific prison population in my country.
Q5. EuroPris:
If you could be remembered for one thing whilst being in charge what would it be?
I strongly agree with Joel Barker’s assessment that “Vision without action is just a dream. Action without vision just passes the time. Vision with action can change the world.” A significant part of my professional life dealt with the rehabilitation and assistance of persons deprived of liberty. My background as a psychologist has made a significant contribution to this and definitely reflects both my professional and personal opinions and beliefs.
Over the years, I had the opportunity to advocate for the importance of custody and assistance aligned to human rights, international, and European standards. I was able to make my voice heard, as head of the Romanian inter-institutional delegation for the public hearing of Romania at the UN Office in Geneva on enforcing the Convention against Torture and Ill Treatments (2015); as a member of the Romanian inter-institutional delegation for the public hearing at the UN Office in Geneva on enforcing the Convention on Children’s Rights (2017); as Romania’s representative attending the Council for Penological Co-Operation of the Council of Europe meetings (2018, 2019, 2020, 2021); and, as representative of the prison administration in the Romanian delegation for the meeting of the Committee of Delegations of Ministers in Human Rights format (CM-DH) dedicated to overseeing the execution of the judgments of the European Court of Human Rights (2019, 2020, 2021). Also, as Eastern Europe Regional Representative of the “European Prison Education Association” (2012-2019), I strongly promoted the importance of the education of inmates in order to support their rehabilitation path.
It is only natural for people to aspire for individual success, but what I consider more important – and even more so, absolutely necessary in this line of work – is to find ways through which one can contribute to everlasting positive change that could even transcends borders.
Given all of these, the endeavours to advancing the rehabilitation dimension of the corrections work and contributing, even a bit, in close cooperation with the team of the Romanian prison administration, to reducing re-offending, is what I would aspire to be remembered for, years from now, at the end of my career . However, there is still so much work to be done and improvements to be achieved. As Mark Twain said “Continuous improvement is better than delayed perfection,” so I am confident that progress can be realised, but further efforts are needed.
Those incarcerated will return to our communities, and setting them up for success undoubtedly contributes togreater public safety. For the Romanian Prison System, 2022 represents the year with the most reduced percentage of recidivists in the general population of the prison system[1]: 36.90 % (2022), decreasing from 45.87 % (2011). In addition to advances in treatment & rehabilitation, all the other efforts of the Romanian prison administration were definitely conducive (e.g. infrastructure, regime, programs, assistance) for such a (historical) low percentage to be achieved.
Decidedly, any progress of the penitentiary system is also reflected in the evolution of the society, as a whole, as reducing the reoffending rate contributes to citizen safety, as well as to the development of social responsibility and civic sentiment. To be remembered for something is great, but to contribute incrementally to everlasting positive change is even better. And this can only be achieved through team effort.
[1] According to the official data (National Administration of Penitentiaries, 2022).