therapeutic system for drug addicted prisoners in poland andrzej majcherczyk penitentiary office...
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therapeutic system for drug addicted prisoners in Poland
Andrzej Majcherczyk
Penitentiary Office
Central Board of Prison Service
Legal provisions
Polish Penal Code established three systems of execution of imprisonment punishment:
• regular
• program’s impact
• therapeutic
Various types of therapeutic units
p sych ic d is fu nc tio n a n d m en ta lly d isa b ledto ta l nu m b e r: 22ca pa c ity: 15 67
a lcoh o l a d d ic tedto ta l nu m b e r: 18
ca p ac ity: 5 90
d rug ad d ic tedto ta l nu m b e r: 12
ca p ac ity: 4 47
th e ra p e utic u n its
Distinctive features of therapeutic unit
• Place
• Special rules
• Base for therapy
• Therapeutic team
• Programme
Base of the therapeutic system for drug addicted prisoners
12 therapeutic units (capacity: from 24 do 50 places)
Total number of places within the system: 447
Total number of therapeutic staff: 57 full-time positions
Needs for therapy
• 1022 convicted inmates were waiting for therapy (24% increase in comparison with the previous year)
• average period of awaiting therapy - 11 months (3 months longer than in the previous year)
Placement of therapeutic units in the country
Lubliniec Prison
Characteristics of programme
• Drug-free
• Cognitive-behavioural
• Time limited (6 months)
• Endorsed by General Director of Prison Service
Criteria for acceptance
• Characteristic of the target group of offenders
• Goals and objectives
• Model of change
• Methods
• Intensity, sequencing, duration
• Scope of education
• Draft of an evaluation
• Characteristic of a base
• Staffing pattern
• Financial means necessary to run the programme
Content of a programme
1. Orientation to treatment
2. Cognitive skills
3. Interpersonal skills
4. Criminal lifestyles
5. Relapse
6. Wellness
7. Transition
Benefits for inmates
• Knowledge
• Skills
• Motivation
• Not to waste their time spent in prison
The scale of operations
• 800-1000 drug addicted inmates undergo therapy every year
• about 80-85% of them finish the program
Challenges
• Insufficient number of places• The need to refine existing drug-free programmes• Lack of well-performed effectiveness studies• Continuation of the therapy• The need to extent the scope of offer (develop
programmes besides therapeutic units, programmes of different kind, harm-reduction programmes in every prison, etc.)
