DESISTANCE AND VICTIM PROTECTION IN ROMANIA: COLLABORATION BETWEEN PROBATION AND PRISON FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF THE PROGRAMME ‘REDUCING THE RISK OF RELAPSE’

Authors

  • MARIA SANDU Ph.D. Associate Professor, “Alexandru Ioan Cuza” University of Iași, Faculty of Philosophy and Social-Political Sciences, Department of Sociology and Social Work, Iasi, Romania

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.47743/asas-2021-1-628

Keywords:

Desistance, Probation, Prison, ‘Reducing the Risk of Relapse’ programme, Victim’s protection

Abstract

Criminologically, the psychosocial and educational perspectives on the person who commits acts of aggressiveness, including sexual abuse, are based on several theoretical models of intervention, which are included in the bio-pathological, psychological and sociocultural perspectives. This is the very premise of the assisted desistance as a succession of stages developed within the criminal trial, and taking risk management as the fundamental principle applied in the custodial and probation system. Firstly, this article starts from a case study conducted in the Romanian probation system, which is presented at the “Fifth International Conference Multidisciplinary Perspectives in the Quasi-Coercive Treatment of Offenders. Probation as a field of study and research: From person to society” (2016). Secondly, it reflects the collaboration between prison and probation in the primary and secondary desistance using the programme ‘Reducing the Risk of Relapse’ (RRR) after prison, which uses the complementary ‘risk, needs and responsivity’ (RNR) model with the “Good Life Model” (GLM) based on combining the principle of individual responsiveness with that of social responsibility. Our arguments are – in the sense of highlighting the importance of individualizing the sanction – focusing on the contextualized narrative identity, from secondary desistance to ensure the continuity of the post-sentence rehabilitation and the protection of the crime victim.

References

Amza, T., & Amza, C. P. (2008). Criminologie. Tratat de teorie politică criminologică [Criminology: Treatise on criminological theory and politics]. Lumina Lex Publishing House.

Andrews, D. A., & Bonta, J.L. (1995). The Level of Service Inventory. LSI-R [Revised. Manual]. Multi-Health System, Inc.

Balahur, D., Littlechild, B., & Smith, R. (Eds). (2007). Restorative Justice Developments in Romania and Great Britain: Sociological-juridical enquiries and applied studies of social work. „Alexandru Ioan Cuza” University Press.

Barras, V., & Bernheim, J. (1990). The history of law and psychiatry in Europe. In Bluglass, R., & Bowden, P. (Eds.), Principles and Practice of Forensic Psychiatry (pp. 103-109). Churchill Livingstone.

Becker, H. S. (1973). Outsiders: Studies in the Sociology of Deviance. The Free Press.

Bonta, J., & Andrews, D. A. (2007). Risk-Need-Responsivity Model for Offender Assessment and Rehabilitation. Public Safety Canada.

Blumer, H. (1963). Symbolic Interactionism: Perspective and Method. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Bohm, R. M., & Haley, K. N. (2002). Justiția penală. O viziune asupra sistemului american [Criminal Justice: A vision of the American system]. Expert Publishing House.

Bonta, J., & Andrews, D. A. (2007). Risk-Need-Responsivity Model for Offender Assessment and Rehabilitation. Public Safety Canada.

Champion, D. J. (1994). Measuring Offender Risk: A criminal justice sourcebook. Greenwood Press.

Chapman, T., & Murray, D. (2015). Restorative justice, social capital and desistance from offending. Journal of Social Work, 4, 47–60.

Cioclei, V. (2019). Handbook of Criminology. All Beck Publishing House.

Dâmboeanu, C. (2011). The phenomenon of relapse in Romania. The Quality of Live Journal, 3, 295–312.

Dâmboeanu, C., Pricopie, V., & Thiemann, A. (2019). Prison law and human rights in post-communist Romania: Staff attitudes toward change. European Journal of Criminology. doi/10.1177/1477370819850128

Dunea, M., & Mărculescu-Michinici, M. I. (2019). Consideration upon a side of restorative justice: the mediation in criminal cases in the Roumanian law. Scientific Annals of ”Alexandru Ioan Cuza” University of Iaşi (new series) ”Sociology and Social Work”, 2, 59–72.

Durnescu, I. (2002). Estimating the risk of relapse. In Durnescu, I. (Ed.), Handbook of Social Reintegration and Surveillance Counselor (pp. 335-345). Themis Publishing House.

Durnescu, I. (2006). The Phenomenon of Recidivism in the Field of Patrimonial Crime, PhD thesis. “Alexandru Ioan Cuza” University Press.

Durnescu, I. (2009). Asistența socială în penitenciar [The Social Work in the Penitentiary]. Polirom Publishing House.

Durnescu, I. (2019). Work as a drama: The experience of former prisoners in the labour market. European Journal of Criminology,18(2), 170-191. doi/10.1177/177370819838718.

Durnescu, I., Lewis, S., McNeill, F., Raynor, P., & Vanstone, M. (2009). Reducing the Risk of Relapse after Imprisonment. Lumina Lex Publishing House.

Franț, A. E. (2017). Conceptual delimitations regarding the role of education in preventing crime. Acta Universitatis George Bacovia. Juridica, 1, 147–168.

Gassin, R. (1990). Criminology. Dalloz.

Gheorghe, M. C. (2018). Desistance from Criminal Behavior: Probation as an agent to support the desistance efforts, PhD thesis. Cluj-Napoca: „Babes Bolyai” University.

Giordano, P. C., Cerncovich, S. A., & Rudolph, J. L. (2002). Gender, crime and desistance: Towards a theory of cognitive transformation. American Journal of Sociology, 4, 990–1064.

Gonclaves, L. C., Endrass, J., Rossegger, A., Grace, R. C., & Dirkzvager, A. J. E. (2019). Assessing prison adjustment among young adult offenders: Changes, correlates, and outcomes. European Journal of Criminology, 18(3), 366-385. doi/10.1177/1477370819850944.

Hare, R. D. (1997). The Hare psychopathy checklist – revised (PCL-R). Multi-Health System.

Iacobuţă, A. I. (2002, 2006). Criminology. Junimea Publishing Press.

Jenkins, A. (2009). Becoming Ethical: A parallel, political journey with men who have abused. Russel House Publishing.

Law no. 211 of 2004 on measures to ensure the protection of the victims of crime, updated. Available at: https//www.law-no-211-2004-on-some-measures-for-insurance-inform-support-and-protection-crime-victims (accessed 15 May 2021).

Law no. 123 of 2006 on the status of personnel services of probation, updates. Available at: http://legislatie.just.ro/Public/DetaliiDocument/71519 (accessed 15 May 2021).

Law no. 192 of 2006 on mediation and the organization of the profession of mediator, updated. Available at: http://legislatie.just.ro/Public/DetaliiDocument/71928 (accessed 15 May 2021).

Law no. 252 of 2013 on the organization and functioning of the probation system, updated. Available at: http://legislatie.just.ro/Public/DetaliiDocument/150667 (accessed 15 May 2021).

Lazăr, C. (2002). Elements of criminology. In Durnescu, I. (Ed.), Handbook of Social Reintegration and Surveillance Counselor (173-215). Themis Publishing House.

Loghin, I. C. (2019). Restorative justice concepts and models in penitentiary social work. Scientific Annals of „Alexandru Ioan Cuza” University of Iaşi (new series) Sociology and Social Work, 2, 73–87.

Mannis, J., & Harris, P. W. (2011). Contagion and repeat offending among urban juvenile delinquents. Journal of Adolescence, 34, 951–963.

Maruna, S. (2011). Reentry as a rite of passage. Punishment & Society, 13, 3–28.

Maruna, S., & Farrall, S. (2004). Desistance from crime: A theoretical reformulation. Kvlner Zetschrift fur Soziologie und Sozialpsychologie, 43, 171–194.

Maruna, S., & Mann, R. (2019). Reconciling ‘Desistance’ and ‘What Work’. HM Inspectorate of Probation: Academic Insight.

McNeill, F. (2006). A desistance paradigm for offender management. Criminology and Criminal Justice, 1, 39–62.

Mihai, C. (2018). The Severe Personality Disorders in Persons Deprived of Liberty. Ars Longa Publishing House.

Mihăilă, M. M. (2012). The social and legal protection of children whose parents serve custodial sentences. Scientific Annals of “Alexandru Ioan Cuza” University of Iaşi (new series), Sociology and Social Work, 2, 34–52.

Mihaila, M.M. (2016). The parental responsibility and the religious values transmission through family. Scientific Annals of ”Alexandru Ioan Cuza” University of Iaşi (new series), Sociology and Social Work, 1, 99–110.

Mihaila, M. M. (2018). Medical-legal and social premises regarding the individualization of taking and performing medical safety measures applicable to both psychiatric and non-psychiatric patients. Journal of Forensic Research, 9, 412, doi/10.4172/2157-7145.1000412

The National Strategy for the Social Reintegration of Persons Deprived of Freedom, 2019–2024. Available at: https://sgg.gov.ro/new/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/ANEXA-14.pdf (accessed 15 May 2021).

Oancea, G., & Durnescu, I. (2011). Modele de practică în sistemul corecțional [Models of practice in the correctional field]. In Durnescu, I. (Ed.), Probațiunea. Teorii, legislație și practică [Probation: Theories, legislation and practice] (pp. 249-262). Polirom.

Poledna, S. (2014). Women inmates’ narrative identities and family life projects. Contemporary Issues Facing Families: An Interdisciplinary Dialogue, 3, 363–381.

Poledna, S. (2016). Researching practice and practicing research in probation: Some reflections. In Tomita, M. (Ed.), The Fifth International Conference Multidisciplinary Perspectives in the Quasi-Coercive Treatment of Offenders. Probation as a Field of Study and Research: From person to society. Filodiritto Editore, 178–182.

Poledna, S., & Bujan, L. (2004). Delinquent Behaviour: Risk and protective factors. Research Report. Didactic and Pedagogical Publishing House.

Poledna, S., Sandu, M., Berne, A. L., Foca, L., & Palaghia, M. (2009). Training Manual on Working with Convicted Persons to be Released from Prison. Lumina Lex Publishing House.

Rec (2010)1 on the European Probation Rules (EPR): Work with victims. Available at: https://www.pmscr.cz/download/mezdoken_European_Probation_Rules.pdf (accessed 15 May 2021).

Rex, S. (1999). Desistance from offending: Experiences of probation. The Howard Journal of Crime and Justice, 38, 366–383.

Robert, P., & Lascoumes, P. (1974). Youth gangs, a theory of segregation. Paris: Éditions ouvrières.

Rusu, C. (2016). Minors in the probation system: Control and intervention for desistance. In Visu-Petra, G., Buta, M., & Visu-Petra, L. (Eds.), Child Psychology in Judicial Context: Theoretical and applicative foundations (pp. 327-366). Association of Cognitive Sciences in Romania (ASCR) Publishing House.

Sandu, M. (2008). Family violence: Risk factor in juvenile delinquency. Journal of Social Research and Intervention, 23, 63–82.

Sandu, M. (2011). Supravegherea și asistența postpenală [The surveillance and post-criminal assistance]. In Durnescu, I. (Ed.), Probațiunea: teorii, legislație și practică [Probation: Theories, legislation and practice]. Iasi: Polirom, 372–386.

Sandu, M. (2016a). The victim’s perspective in psychosocial assessment of the aggressional behaviour. In Tomita, M. (Ed.), The Fifth International Conference Multidisciplinary Perspectives in the Quasi-Coercive Treatment of Offenders. Probation as a Field of Study and Research: From person to society (221–227). Filodiritto Editore.

Sandu, M. (2016b). The Effects of Secularization on the Parent-Child Relationship: Case Study: The city of Iasi. „Alexandru Ioan Cuza” University Press.

Sandu, M. (2017). Social Reaction about Crime: Surveillance and post-criminal assistance. Pro Universitaria Publishing House.

Sheridan, C. (2016). Foucault, power and the modern panopticon. Trinity College Digital. Available at: http://digitalrepository.trincoll.edu/theses/548 (accessed 6 August 2020).

Stănoiu, R. M. (1998). Criminology. Oscar Print Publishing House.

Ward, T., & Brown, M. (2004). The good lives model and conceptual issues in offender rehabilitation. Psychology, Crime & Law, 3, 243–257.

Ward, T., & Marshall, B. (2007). Narrative identity and offender rehabilitation. International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology, 51, 279–297.

Ward, T., Mann, R., & Gannon, T. (2007). The good lives model of offender rehabilitation: Clinical implications. Aggression and Violent Behaviour, 12, 87–107.

Weaver, B., & McNeill, F. (2007). Desistance. In Canton, R., & Hancock, D. (Eds.), Dictionary of Probation and Offender Management (pp. 90–92). Willan Publishing.

Webster, C., MacDonald, R., & Simpson, M. (2006). Predicting criminality? Risk factors, neighbourhood influence and desistance. Youth Justice, 1, 7–22.

Additional Files

Published

26-07-2021