Knowledge Management System

Yes. They are prison officers that works in particular units in each prison that take care of the individual file of each offender. Their main task is to update all the information produced, either by the prison administration or by the courts related with the legal mandates corcening the stay in a prison of an offender. Of course, one of their main duties is to ensure that there are, at any stage, legal basis for adminting someone to a prison and for maintaining in it.

They receive and in coming training about the main procedures that they may follow, and in the context of the continous training they receive updates or new regulations. In the recernt past the main challenge was to transform the files on paper into electronic ones.

To be sure that there is not any mistake that creates the three most risky situations:

a) To admit in a prison someone who has not a judicial order indicating its incarceration
a) To retain in prison someone who has been released (letting him or her to present an Habeas Corpus
c) To release someone from prison without a specific judicial order in this sense

Yes, in the Romanian penitentiary system there are staff dedicated to the record of detainees. It belongs to the category of operative personnel (agent, officer) and has the same profile as this, namely:
• minimum of 18 years;
• Romanian citizenship and domicile in Romania;
• responsibility and good self-control;
• good physical form;
• increased resistance to stress;
• discipline, ability to accept rules;
• psycho-physical abilities to deal with incidents that may involve physical danger;
• ability to easily relate to all categories of people, tact and communication skills;
• ability to work effectively as a team member, but also in individual work;
• the desire for continuous improvement.

The training of the employees responsible for the record of detainees is done in the same way as for the other categories of staff in the operational sector, namely:
1. Initial training of new employees, which ensures the acquisition of the minimum professional skills necessary for the fulfillment of the specific duties of the profession;
2. Continuous training, after initial training, which ensures either the development of professional skills already acquired or the acquisition of new skills, in order to improve the quality of individual professional activities, through the following activities:
- training activities of personnel on specialized line regarding legislative novelties with impact on the field of activity;
- courses and other forms of training;
- personal safety training programs, specialized intervention and first aid measures addressed to prison officers who work in direct contact with persons deprived of liberty, regardless of the field of activity;
- professional training programs in the field of communication, psychology and personal development addressed to prison officers who work in direct contact with prisoners, regardless of the field of activity;
- specific training for personal safety, specialized intervention and physical training, only for personnel in the detention safety sector and penitentiary regime - quarterly training sessions with a duration of 8 hours, according to the schedule drawn up by the deputy director/head of the detention safety and prison regime, in collaboration with the training officer of the unit.
3. Job shadowing programs (familiarization activities carried out in a new field of activity by a permanent prison officer, with execution function, or for the acquisition of new skills and abilities in the field in which he carries out his activity, under the coordination of a tutor (prison officer with recognized experience, skills and specific competencies, appointed for the purpose of directing the penitentiary officer definitively, according to a prior planning and based on specific criteria, during the tutelage or job-shadowing program;
4. Mentoring programs (interactive process between two persons in management positions (mentor and mentee) whose purpose is to transmit information and to form and develop skills; (mentor - experienced prison policeman, holding a managerial position and having specific recognized skills and competences, designated for the purpose of professional guidance of a prison officer in a leading position (mentee - prison officer in a leading position, newly employed or changing their field of activity or work profile and undergoing a mentoring program);
5. Participation in specialized convocations, organized at national level;
6. Participation in the training courses carried out on the national e-learning platform.

N/A

Yes, a staff dedicated to the prison registry is provided. The Penitentiary Police staff is in charge of this function under the terms and the methods provided by Art. 19 of the 2002-2005 National Framework Agreement signed on 24/03/2004 by which the “specialization” of the “matricolista” (the Italian term for the person in charge) has been established in accordance with Art. 11 d.P.R. 164/2002.
The specialization course mentioned above course is open to all those who “have at least one year and six months' continuous experience at the registry office of an institution namely of a continuous experience of at least two years and six months at the operating sectors of Offices II, III, N and VI of the Directorate General for Detainees and Treatment in the corresponding services of Superintendencies and Juvenile Justice Centres", according to the provisions of Article 2 of the Decree of the Minister of Justice 09/11/2009.
The selection of such personnel on the basis of qualifications is related to the overall judgment over the last three years, to the length of service of no less than five years, to the absence of criminal proceedings in progress for which committal for trial has been requested, to the absence of criminal conviction, to the absence of sanctions more severe than deploration.
Levels of selection on the basis of school/university qualifications and legally recognized certificates proving knowledge of a foreign language are also included.

The "specialization" provided by Article 19 of the National Framework Agreement 2002-2005 signed on 24/03/2004 and regulated by the Decree of the Minister of Justice on 09/11/2009 defines as follows:
- The training course for the achievement of the “Matricolista” specialization with direct access having a total duration of two weeks is held at the Training Schools of the Administration or at decentralized locations. The course is divided into didactic modules of a theoretical-practical nature, resulting in a final evaluation by a Commission.
- The training course for the achievement of the “Matricolista” specialization with access by selection on the basis of qualifications lasts three months and is held at the above-mentioned locations and under the above-mentioned modalities, with the exception of an internship lasting no less than one-third of the training course at the place of service or in operational structures suitable to support the training of the trainees. At the end of the course there is a selective examination consisting of a written and an oral tests aimed at verifying learning outcomes. The methods and contents of these tests are determined by a Commission appointed by order of the Director General for Personnel and Training.

The main issues and challenges arose from the fact that:
For a long time, this function has been assigned to personnel who, even having carried out this task for a long time because of the office necessity, had not received the title of “matricolista” due to the succession of changes to the text of the law, which inevitably has affected the timing of the selections, preventing those who were entitled to it from being able to submit their applications and the subsequent qualification, demonstrating an obvious penalty for them. This unfortunate situation was remedied by the reconnaissance of the personnel who had already been appointed as “matricolista”.
The selection process arises the necessity for some of them need to attend special preparation courses at specialized centers because of the difficulties encountered in studying some or all of the subjects on which the examinations were based. Moreover, the average time for answering the questions should not be rigid, since the time spent solving the questions varies according to their difficulty. It should be borne in mind that, for the same amount of time, it is better to do more easy questions than to do fewer with more complex resolution.

Within the prison administration, there is no “prison registry” sector (ie agents recruited specifically to this mission). Prison registry officers are made up of administrative staff and surveillance staff.

The procedures for organizing the training of agents assigned to prison registry services are described in an internal administrative note of March 2022. In the absence of a specific course for prison registry officers, training for staff assigned to these services is based on the continuous training offer, with the exception of staff assigned/recruited to profiled registry positions (manager/deputy manager/head of unit) who must follow a mandatory adaptation training of 4 months. This training is based on the principle of alternation with cycles at the ENAP and internships in prison registries and in a judicial registry.

Regarding continuous training, a real training course has been set up consisting of 3 distinct levels.
Level I of the professionalization course is a “simple” legal approach that lays the foundations for the registry. It aims to propose methodological tools adapted to the management of the day-to-day activities of registry services, more particularly with regard to the formalities of detention, release from detention, the processing of requests and the files of detainees, as well as extractions. It offers practical exercises on the dedicated software used by the agents assigned to the services.
Level II of the registry professionalization course aims to optimize the day-to-day autonomy of personnel assigned to prison registry by deepening their knowledge of judicial mechanisms and providing them with the tools necessary for the proper management of criminal situations. It covers all the phases of the procedure: from pre-trial detention to the execution and adaptation of sentences. It offers practical exercises on the dedicated software based on the creation of a criminal situation.
Level III of the prison registry professionalization course (intended for the most experienced staff) offers training sessions in registry in the field of the execution of sentences and the application of one-week sentences for each theme. During these improvement sessions, interventions by magistrates are organised.
On the basis of the partnership with the French national school for registrars, continuous training sessions common to both schools are also offered.

The prison registry services, within prison facilities, have a strategic place. In fact, the personnel assigned there guarantee the respect of the fundamental rights of detainees (liaison with the judicial authorities, prevention of arbitrary detention) and the safeguarding of public order (prevention of early releases and monitoring of special detention programmes).
Prison registry officers are responsible for the legality of the detention of incarcerated persons and the permanent updating of their administrative and penal situations. As such, they are in contact with the judicial authorities and the privileged interlocutors of the probation services.
This key player in the criminal justice chain is faced with an overload of work linked to an increase in the prison population and the management of specific cases. These working conditions increase the risk of incidents such as early release or arbitrary detention.
More specifically, the registry service must deal with the following issues:
1. the heavy workload weighing on registry officers correlated with the lack of staff;
2. a significant turnover observed. The agents assigned to the prison registries sometimes have a feeling of lack of recognition and lack of appreciation for their daily actions. This turnover prevents agents from acquiring the expertise that would be necessary in the performance of their missions.
3. the increasing complexity of missions linked to the increase in regulatory and legislative reforms to be implemented (both on the professional and legal aspects);
4. the increase in the number of detainees and the flow of entries and exits.
Added to the complexity of all of these missions is the risk exposure for agents of having criminal or administrative liability incurred (articles L.5 of the Penitentiary Code and 432-5/432-6 of the Penal Code).

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There are several different categories of staff working in the prison registry. There are officers in charge of ensuringe the legality of the detention and administrators ensure the administrative follow-up of the prisoners’ penal/criminal status until their final release.

There are some training of knowing computer applications incorporated in the basic education for all prison officers. Those officers and administrative staff in charge of legality of detention etc. go through further in-service education in both legal frame framework and regulations as well as computer applications.

It´s hard to pinpoint any specific issues or challenges for these personnel categories.

The staff who deal with the storage and entry of information on prisoners are employees of the Regime Sector in the General Directorate “Execution of Sentences”(GDES). They are assigned to the post of 'technical assistant (file analyst)'. Their main activity is the processing of files and registration cards of prisoners and detainees under the Code of Criminal Procedure.

Their direct duties are related to the clerical work, the work on the personal files and the report cards at GDES. They record the changes in the personal files - regime change, new sentences, total sentences imposed, pardon in full and with the remainder of the sentence imposed, calculation of the sentence served, transfer, interruption of the execution of the sentence and release from custody. Application and calculation of prisoners' credited working days, application of credited detentions. Attach documents - characteristics, orders, transfer letters, release equivalency and other files related to prisoners. Back up materials and documents related to the inmate's file. Arrange alphabetically the report cards received for inmates, defendants, and accused in custody under the Code of Criminal Procedure. They also fill the following information in the reporting cards of prisoners - transfers, interruptions of the execution of the punishment, new sentences received, general punishments determined, pardon in full and with the remainder of the imposed punishment, date of release from prison, amount of probation after release on the basis of Article 70 of the Penal Code, change of address registration and names. Prisoners' records are consulted. References and notification letters to the investigative bodies, judicial and other authorities at their request are prepared on the prisoners' sentences served, periods of detention in places of deprivation of liberty, etc.

In 2014, when the electronic information system(EIS) was first introduced, the training was conducted by the company providing the service. There were no specific rules and no fixed duration for this training.

Currently, there are no new recruits in the sector.

The main problem is the large volume of information and documents they are confronted with on a daily basis.
As a challenge we can point to the transition to electronic document management, possible future linking and cooperation with other state institutions.