In Europe, there are nowadays, more than 588 940 citizens under the custody of the prison service. Every day more than 203 772 prison officers all over the 28 EU member states work to ensure safety to society and to provide opportunities to inmates that will ease their reinsertion process back to society.
Regardless of their engagement towards this noble mission, the organization of the prison system is dependent of a multiplicity of actors that compel to a continuous balance of apparent conflicting needs, objectives and interests (psychologists, educators, psychotherapists, social workers, administrative staff, teachers, trainers, workshop masters, nurses and doctors to prison officers – military or civilians – prison governors and their deputies. The co-existence of different sub-cultures and different visions of the penitentiary treatment is often the origin of internal conflicts (explicit or latent) between prison directors, re-education staff and security staff/prison officers (the majority of staff in prison systems).
As in hospitals, in which the organization of the work developed and the qualification of its experts has a direct consequence in the life-death or wellbeing of patients, the work and specific action of prison professionals has a direct impact in inmates’ life, their attitudes and behaviors while in prison and after release. The full article can be found here: http://justice-trends.press/challenges-profile-competencies-and-training-of-the-european-prison-officer-of-the-21st-century-a-quick-view-over-the-po21-sector-skills-alliance/
