"Enhancing the capacity of prison staff, building a pilot prison facility, connected to a training center and improving the rehabilitation of prisoners"

The Bulgarian penitentiary system has faced serious challenges in recent years with material conditions, medical care and the provision of meaningful activities for prisoners to strengthen their reintegration and capabilities for social inclusion back into society.The chronicle shortage of funds for improvement of the conditions and the lack of sufficient staff are also covered in the periodic reports of the Committee Against Torture. In this regard, the General Directorate “Execution of Sentences” developed a project to support the measures related to the implementation of penitentiary reform in order to meet the new challenges and international commitments of the Bulgarian state and to achieve real and long-term results. In the last 80 years, no new prison has been built in Bulgaria and those facilities that are in operation do not meet standards and architectural solutions that guarantee the security and safety of prisoners and staff.The project is composed of three components connected in a common concept. It envisages to establish a pilot prison facility with a capacity for 400 persons, connected to a new training centre for 100 people and half way house. New rehabilitation programs for reintegration of prisoners will be developed, in parallel with new curriculum for training of staff, with know-how from Norwegian partners. With the implementation of the project pilot prison facility with a new training centre for the prison staff and half-way house will be established, the capacity of the prison staff and social competence of prisoners will be enhanced, programmes for reintegration of prisoners will be developed and implemented, new training strategy and initial and follow-up training curricula will be introduced, the treatment of vulnerable groups of prisoners, including Roma will be improved and cooperation with civil society and stakeholders will be enhanced. The role of the penitentiary system in the criminal justice chain will be strengthened.

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