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Prison Achievement Award 2023

Congratulations to the Centre Penitenciari Quatre Camins & the Centre Peniteciari Mas d’Enric – Catalonia (Spain) for the development of ‘Immersive Virtual Reality in Intimate Gender Violence Rehabilitation Programs in Prison’. Virtual reality (VR) allows the user to be immersed in environments in which they can experience situations and social interactions from different perspectives by means of virtual embodiment. In the context of rehabilitation of violent behaviors, a participant could experience a virtual violent confrontation from different perspectives, including that of the victim and bystanders. This approach and other virtual scenes can be used as a useful tool for the rehabilitation of intimate partner violence (IPV) perpetrators, through the improvement of their empathic skills or for training in nonviolent responses.

 

This project is about the use of this tool in a prison environment for the rehabilitation of IPV perpetrators with a particular focus on practical aspects based on our experience. If you like to learn more about this project, please visit their website here. Read more about this project in the article from Frontiers Journal here. Justice Trends also released an article on the use of Virtual Reality in Catalan prisons and its challenges and opportunities, focusing on this project, click here to read the article.

Shortlisted Candidates of 2023

‘Without prejudice’ is a pioneering project designed and implemented by professionals from the Ocaña prison in 2020. It seeks a paradigm shift in the treatment of mentally ill inmates. It departs from the traditional model of intervention, granting a co-protagonist role in the treatment to surveillance officers and incorporating different external prison agents (NGOs,socio-sanitary entities, universities…).


The treatment is carried out in a group format, working each year around a theme that guides the intervention: in 2020-21 it was “the stigma” and in 2021-22 “the signs”. At the end of each year, those contents proven useful for recovery were included in a magazine in order to disseminate, inside and outside prison, the idea that seeing these inmates in a new light is possible. The project has managed to involve a large number of inmates and surveillance officers, reducing conflicts and raising the awareness of extra-penitentiary agents, thus obtaining more external resources for these inmates. For further information about this project in a presentation format, click here. the project was also mentioned in Without Prejudice Magazine. Mental Health in Prison. “Signs; Do we know how to see them?” (in Spanish) click here.

The ‘Chance for Re-entry’ project represents a complexity ranging from the change of physical renovation, the subsequent material equipment of the premises of a certain part (sector) of the prison Ilava, through new technologies (digitalization – Webex Board, kiosks + HOLUP app), the approach of specific prison officers/civil employees, up to a very important area i.e. “intellectual property” – know how (especially resocialization and educational training programmes; counseling; curricula; several tools – screening, evaluation, planning; as well as post-penitentiary links within an innovative platform “Mosty”).

 

The setting up, implementation and evaluation of innovative systems of complex support for convicts has an overlap in proposals for legislative changes in general binding legislation and also into the preparation of a system-wide implementation to all prisons. Concerning post-penitentiary care, it is about linking and building cooperation with relevant actors from the public, private and third sectors. To read more about the ‘Chance for Re-entry project’, on the project website here. On this page here there is more information about the Ilava prison.

In autumn 2019, a cooperation agreement was concluded between the Ministry of Justice in Rhineland-Palatinate and the Federal Employment Agency – Regional Directorate Rhineland-Palatinate/Saarland. The cooperation should facilitate the integration of prisoners after prison. The pandemic reached us! An attempt was made to find a solution to make it possible for prisoners to apply for benefits and thus gain a little security in uncertain times. The project “Online application for ALG-I for prisoners during imprisonment” was born.

 

With a lot of commitment, a feasible and secure procedure was sought to enable electronic access to information. Since autumn 2020, prisoners have been able to register online as jobseekers 4 weeks before their release, apply for benefits, write applications and contact the relevant case worker via their online account.

 

The pilot project at Diez Prison has set a milestone in preparing prisoners for release and implementing the idea of resocialisation, which is now to be implemented throughout Germany. An article about the work was published in the “FS Forum Prison – Journal for prison and criminal assistance, duty or privilege? Work and social security in prison, No. 4/21” click here to read it. In the article by Mike Lengwenus and Daniela Wüst from the JVA Diez (Rhineland-Palatinate), you can find out how ALG I applications and job seeker registration can be submitted with the help of Elis. Click here to read it forum from the Forum No 4/21 edition.

In the A Lama Penitentiary Center (Pontevedra) there has been a radio station (broadcasting throughout the prison and around 5 km close to it) for several years and which has enabled thousands of inmates during all this time to have been able to do, listen and above all feel the magic of the radio. In this station, in March 2022 a new program was born: ‘They improvise’.

 

In this program, on Wednesdays, a group of female inmates from different modules accompanied by professionals from the center sit around the study table and from a single word, that they are unaware until the moment the “ on air” light comes on and the microphones open (hence the name of the program), they embark on a journey through their past, present and future lives. With a single word they are able to express emotions, feel, laugh, cry, love, communicate, release… And all this is transferred to another nearly 900 inmates of the prison. (803 men inmates and 57 women ). The result is the collective creation of a liberating energy that brings out the best in each of the attendees and generates very positive bonds in the group.

 

A letter written by an inmate was sent to a journalist Mara Torres about the radio program. In her interview with the educator in her El Faro program it became known to all its audience (more than 800,000 listeners) that the radio program is carried out by female inmates at the A Lama prison, click here to listen to the program (minute 10). This brings as a consequence that two months later, in El Faro the journalist announces that she is going to carry out her program in the A Lama Penitentiary Center in a few days, click here to listen.

Explore Past Award Editions

 

You can view the former editions of the Prison Achievement Award below. Each page includes summaries of past winners, the top five candidates, and additional details about that year’s award.

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