If you want to become a correctional officer in Lithuania, you won't find the word "tough" or "overbearing" in a job advert, no matter how pervasive the film-soaked image of a ruthless officer is. Officers at Vilnius Prison stress the importance of communicating with inmates and emphasise that if you try to understand rather than punish, it is easier for everyone in prison.
 

It is important to keep looking for ways to stay free - not to go back
 

Gediminas Plokštys, an officer in the Security Management Unit of Vilnius Prison, works in the Visiting Department. His phone does not go silent during interviews. Just like every day, he receives a number of calls to coordinate meetings with children, friends or other family members. All of them, either live or at a distance, are seeking to meet their imprisoned loved one.
 

"It is important to keep looking for ways to make sure that once a person is released, he or she does not come back," he says.
 

According to the Lithuanian Prison Service, 2,138 new persons were imprisoned in 2022, and for 204 of them, it is not the first time. Within two years of their release, they committed new crimes and were again sentenced to imprisonment.
 

When asked what helps to reduce the number of returnees, Gediminas does not hesitate to say: "The Dynamic Protection Model".
 

"The Norwegians have been trying to find the best answer for 30 years, they have had 7 reforms, so we are trying to learn from them", shares Gediminas.
 

Like 160 Lithuanian officers, he has been trained in the Dynamic Protection Model, which is based on building mutual trust.
 

"While we have to ensure the safety of both the prisoner and the officer, we are not trying to punish them every day for what they have done. When working through dynamic protection with prisoners, you can safely have a neighbour like that and not be afraid that a neighbour who has come back from prison has moved in next door, it's not a cause for concern", he shares.
 

The way you communicate here will help you in freedom
 

The officer explains that in the past, even if an officer wanted to get to know a prisoner better, to have a better contact, in the Lithuanian penal system it was interpreted as an officer's desire to gain personal benefits or even to have a possible non-official relationship.
 

"In the past, there was very minimal communication. For example, if a convoy was taking a prisoner to, lets say, a medical facility, they would not communicate at all on the road. But now they are not afraid to communicate, they are not afraid of being suspected of having a non-official relationship. They know what to talk about with inmates. Officers can't talk about themselves - the whole conversation can only be about them, the inmate", says Gediminas.
 

Officers cannot disclose official information, tell you when a colleague will or will not be working, when he will be on holiday, which car he will be driving.
 

A day-shift officer at Vilnius Prison says that respectful behaviour and constant communication with inmates not only helps them in the penitentiary, but also leaves a strong impact on their lives after they are released.
 

"I was travelling with a correctional officer from Norway, who came to Lithuania to see how the knowledge was being applied in practice. When we hailed a taxi, the driver suddenly said, 'I know you!'," he remembers.
 

The driver who was supposed to give them a lift had previously served a prison sentence in Norway, he says.

"And the officer says to him, 'I know you, you've been there before!'," the officer says in surprise.
 

However, Gediminas stresses that this relationship is primarily built for security. "We, as officers, do not seek to become their friends, their 'buddies', but to get to know them better or to spot risks," shares Gediminas.
 

Convicts also come for the emotional connection
 

Danas Sapitavičius, a colleague of Gediminas and a specialist in the Security Management Unit of Vilnius Prison, is pleased that inmates often come to his office, and not only for business.
 

"Inmates come for all sorts of reasons - from dates, to handing over things, to phone calls, to doctor's appointments, to sending letters, to checking what's available and what's not. And now we have reached a level where they come just to talk. We are their first ears. We try to listen to their problems, others come for the emotional connection," he says.
 

The officer remembers that less than a decade ago, officers supervising prisoners were not only morally but also physically distant from them.
 

The officer explains that before, the inmates used to handle the floor by themselves, so in the real sense of the word, if he sensed a certain risk, he and his colleagues would have to run to the inmates, often too late.
 

"Now we have come directly to the inmates, to their floors, and we have started to solve their problems. Their worries, their domestic issues, their problems have become closer. And the information started to go faster", he shares.

Attention of officers and motivation of prisoners
 

Danas' morning starts with a discussion of the day - reviewing changes in the behaviour of the inmates, what problems have occurred or how to prevent them. Then he goes to help the permanent residents of Vilnius Prison, who are being held there for a variety of offences.
 

"We want to get to know them, to understand them, not to rush to punish them, to find out the reasons. And they also feel that we are watching and representing them. Then they have a goal to change, to correct their behaviour, they have a motivation, in the long run, to get holidays", says the officer.
 

"And I think holidays are the best pedagogical tool. Those who take three days off, go home... It is one of the strongest instruments for me and a motivation for the inmate to change", says Danas.
 

The officer believes that this proximity to the inmates has also given them security.
 

"Of course, everything happens, but much less often. And the reaction to comments is different now. I can notice that a distinctive sign is not worn, and the next time the prisoner apologises - there is respect, mutual respect. It is not disrespectful to be treated with respect," he shares.
 

The officer believes that building trust depends to a large part on an officer's own personal qualities and attitude towards the inmate.
 

 

He believes that a stronger relationship starts when we start to see the prisoner "not with a label, but as a person to whom, simply, you are providing a service. The state has taken away certain rights from them, and you have to give them those rights at the same time."

Text by Urtė Alksninytė
 

The Justice and Home Affairs programme is strengthening the rule of law in Lithuania. Various measures of the programme increase the efficiency of the Lithuanian judiciary and prosecution service, improve the penal enforcement system, strengthen the competences of the judiciary and law enforcement authorities and inter-institutional cooperation in the field of domestic and gender-based violence, and improve the capacity of the police in fighting crime. In total, more than €40 million has been allocated to the programme for the period 2014-2021. The programme is operated by the CPVA and implemented in partnership with partners.