Organisation

Johtokunta = Board

Johtaja = Director

Johtoryhmä = Steering Group

Talous, henkilöstö- ja yleishallinto = Finance, Human Resources and Administration

Tutkintokoulutus ja rekrytointi = Degree Programmes and Recruitment

Täydennyskoulutus = Continuing Education

Kirjasto-, tietopalvelu- ja julkaisutoiminta = Library, Information Services and Publishing

The Training Institute for Prison and Probation Services (RSKK)

The Training Institute for Prison and Probation Services collaborates with other schools and institutions in offering the highest-level vocational education in prison and probation services in Finland. The Training Institute for Prison and Probation Services has an active part in the development of working life in the field of prison and probation services as well as in the training, development and evaluation of programmes designed to reduce reoffending.

The Training Institute for Prison and Probation Services is a Nordic information centre for prison and probation services which participates systematically and actively in the international cooperation pertaining to the training and education of the field.

The Training Institute for Prison and Probation Services offers degree studies in the field of prison and probation services as well as continuing and further education for prison and probation services staff.

Profession: Prison Officer

Prison officers usually work in shifts, which means that if you want to become a prison officer, you will have to be prepared to work in the evenings, at night and during weekends.

The duties of a prison officer can be categorised as follows:

• Security
• Counselling
• Care and support

The job description of a prison officer in the Finnish Prison Service has become much more varied and complex than before, and the prison officer has an increasingly important role in the everyday life of the offender.

Prison officers today have a more personal role and take more responsibility for decisions that are made about the offender while in custody. In addition, the prison officer is a member of a multiprofessional team at work.

Prisoners need rehabilitative treatment during the prison term, because the majority of them have a history of serious alcohol and drug misuse as well as a number of other personal problems. The basic duties of a prison officer in Finland today include taking an active part in rehabilitation programmes and providing support so that the offender has a better chance of coping after custody. The Prison Service offers programmes in e.g. non-criminal life styles, alcholol misuse prevention, problem-solving skills and emotions management.

The work of a prison officer is guided by the laws, regulations and instructions governing the Prison Service. As a civil servant, the prison officer follows the general administrative judicial principles and the special provisions applying to the work of civil servants. The rules of procedure of each prison give a detailed description of the prison officer’s duties.

The daily work duties mainly consist of seeing to the smooth running of everyday prison life, supervising the offenders and providing support. The prison officer oversees the normal routines of the prison, such as wake-up and breakfast, other mealtimes, work, studies, cleaning, and transportations.

The prison officer’s duties involve especially securing the enforcement of sentences and maintaining order. Prison officers conduct searches on the offenders, the premises the offenders have the use of, the housing sections and work rooms. The quality and quantity of supervisory and security duties vary from prison to prison.

In many prisons, the prison officers also take part in rehabilitation programmes, supervising the offenders in workshops and on their free time. Some prison officers work in healthcare and education in prison, e.g. in the prison emergency room, the prison library, or the prison school.

The prison officer receives the offenders in the prison and advices them about life in prison. He/she gives advice and guidance and supervises the prisoners in the housing sections. Of all the employees of a prison, it is the prison officer who has the most contact with the offender. The prison officer transports the prisoners outside the prison, e.g. to court and hospital, and acts as escort on leaves when needed. The prison officer supervises the prisoner’s visits from his/her family. The prison officer helps and guides the various authorities, volunteers and other people who visit the prison, making sure for his/her part that the purpose of the visit is fulfilled.

Basic Examination in Prison Services

The professional competence required for working in supervisory and security duties in the Prison Service is provided by the Basic Examination in Prison Services, which is an entry qualification for the position of prison officer in the Prison Service.

The Basic Examination in Prison Services consists of 53 study weeks or credits (79,5 ECTS points). The degree programme is divided into study periods, two of which are given at the Training Institute for Prison and Probation Services (RSKK) and the rest in training prisons. The structure of the degree programme, the length of the study periods, the legal position of the students, and the place of study are shown by the figure.

August                              1^ststudy period                                                           Student status,

September                       Initiation in the training prisons 2 study weeks    RSKK

October

November

December

January                            Practical placement 1                                                Officer trainee

February                                                                                                                 status, prison

March                               2^ndstudy period                                                          Officer trainee

April                                                                                                                         status, RSKK

May

June                                Practical placement 2                                                Prison officer,

July                                                                                                                          prison

August

In the autumn term, the focus is on the core content of the work of prison officers and the multidisciplinary basis of prison services studies. Relevant themes are knowledge about prisoners and the Prison Service as an organisation, among other things. Other subjects are foreign languages and IT and communication studies. The autumn term includes a two-week initiation period in the training prison.

The goal of the practical placement period is getting to know prisoners and learning the central duties of a prison officer in the real working environment.

The studies in the spring term concentrate on deepening and completing core skills and knowledge. During the summer, the students work in prisons as substitute officers. The students are entitled to financial aid from Kela (the Social Insurance Institution of Finland) pursuant to the Act on Financial Aid for Students. Kela gives advice on application and eligibility. The major part of prison services training is paid training.

SALARIES

Prison officers with formal competence provided by the Basic Examination in Prison Services are generally ranked on job demands levels 5 and 6 in the new performance-based pay system. On Level 5, the task-related salary is 1510 euro per month and on Level 6, 1561 euro. The personal work performance component of the salary amounts to maximum 36 % of the task-related salary, thus 18 % in average.

A maximum of 12 % of the salary can be composed of the work experience component, which is granted as follows:

5 years of experience = 3 %, 11 years = 7 %, 15 years = 12 %.

The average salary without a work experience component amounts to approximately 1800 euro per month, in addition to which are paid increments for incovenient work hours.

With a full work experience component and an 18 % performance component, the total salary amounts to approximately 1960 euro. For prison officers who are entitled to a full work experience component, the monthly salary usually varies between 1960 and 2060 euro. Increments for inconvenience generally amount to 300-400 euro per month.

Student admission

1. The next period of application is in January 2008 . At the end of the period, all eligible candidates are invited to a written entrance examination.
2. The written entrance examination is arranged in Vantaa, Turku, Kuopio and Oulu. There is no fee for taking the examination. The examination includes questions on set literature, an essay and psychological tests, among other things. Admission to the next phase in the process is based on the total points scored in the written examination, but the result of the question on the set literature always has to be 5 points minimum.
3. Next, the selected candidates are invited to physical tests arranged at RSKK in Vantaa, Tikkurila.
4. The candidates who pass the physical tests are then invited to a personal interview . The interviews take place in Helsinki, Turku, Kuopio and Oulu in May. A statement from the employer is acquired if the candidate is an employee of the Prison Service.
5. The candidates receive a letter informing them about possible admission into the training programme at the beginning of June.

The students receive more detailed information about the training programme and student benefits before the training begins. RSKK also publishes a student guide.

Additional information can be obtained from:

The Training Institute for Prison and Probation Services (RSKK)

P.O. Box 41 / Vernissakatu 2 A

FIN-01301 Vantaa

Tel. 358-10-36 65 000, 358-50-310 49 46

Fax 358-10-36 65 020

email: anne-maria.roksa@om.fi

BACHELOR’S DEGREE

A bachelor’s degree in prison and probation services can be obtained through a degree programme offered jointly by the Training Institute for Prison and Probation Services and Laurea University of Applied Sciences. The degree earned falls under the heading of Social Services and Healthcare at Laurea. The degree programme consists of 210 credits (ECTS points) and takes approximately 3.5 years to complete.

The degree programme begun in 2002 as a programme for adult students who were already employed by the Prison or Probation Services. The idea was to offer an opportunity to update one’s previous education to bachelor’s degree level. The basic prerequisites for the programme are either the Basic Examination in Prison Services or a degree/certification in the field of social services. Applicants are also required to have at least two years of post-graduate experience in the field. If the degree is earned through the adult programme, it takes about two years to complete, depending on previous studies. So far, students have been admitted into the adult programme biannually. The regular bachelor’s degree programme (210 credits) began in 2004. Admission is granted through the Finnish joint application system in the spring.

The goal of the degree programme is to produce professionally qualified individuals for supervisory and expert positions in the field of prison and probation services. The programme is devoted to promoting the goals of the Finnish Prison and Probation Services in that the employees of the Services shall:

-         for their part contribute to the safety of the Finnish society by maintaining a legal and safe system of the enforcement of sentences and

-         assist in reducing reoffending and breaking the cycle of alienation that leads to criminal behaviour.

Graduates from the bachelor’s degree programme take up various supervisory and expert positions in the field of prison and probation services. The degree also qualifies for work in related fields and organisations.

The degree programme in prison and probation services is not the only means of obtaining a position in prison and probation services: there are and will be graduates from alternative degree programmes, such as commerce and administration and social and healthcare services, working in the field.

Continuing education

The Training Institute for Prison and Probation Services has the task of providing the kind of education and training needed in prison and probation work that is not offered elsewhere. The content, goals and methods of the continuing education study units offered by RSKK are designed to promote the key areas of work in the field. They contribute to both the professional growth of the staff and the development of the work community. A new employee in the field can get a start on his/her path of learning by participating in e.g. the Basics of the Prison and Probation Services study unit. The educational needs of each employee are assessed in consultation discussions every year, and a superior’s recommendation is a condition for admission into training.

The continuing education offered by TIPPS is divided into themes and further, into study units inside the themes. These normally consist of at least 1.5 credits (ECTS points). 1.5 credits equal approximately 40 hours of work by the student. The students can select among study modules and combine them to suite their needs or concentrate on deepening one area of expertise. The study themes are:

1 Client-oriented work

2 Organisation, initiation

3 Programmes designed to reduce reoffending

4 Security

Continuing education is available for all the employees of the Prison and Probation Services. The students receive a certificate of all completed studies and it is possible to receive accreditation for them in future studies. Certain study units are also open to people outside the prison and probation services field. These are marked “Open to all” in the study modules menu.

The Criminological Library

The Criminological Library is located in the premises of RSKK. RSKK also produces publications. The Criminological Library is a scientific library specialising in crime science, particularly in the enforcement of sentences, prison services, criminology, probation services, crime prevention and victim studies. The Library’s collection holds approximately 23.700 volumes and it subscribes to some 200 periodicals.

The Criminological Library primarily serves the prison and probation services organisation in Finland, namely the staff of the Criminal Policy Department of the Ministry of Justice, the Criminal Sanctions Agency, the Training Institute for Prison and Probation Services, the prisons and the Probation Service. Secondarily, the Library offers services for outside information seekers.

RSKK produces publications in order to

a)   introduce the research and education of the field to the general public, to relevant fields and to the staff of the Prison and Probation Services.

b)   Produce research publications and promote training and education.

c)   Produce structured penological information to support teaching and learning.

The Criminological Library observes the growing need for translations and digital publications when developing its publishing activities.

RSKK has four publication series:

a)    Acta Poenologica, a series of scientific studies in the fields of criminology and criminal policy

b)    Prison Culture, publications on cultural products about prison and probation services, e.g. prisoners’ biographies and poems, prison officers’ depictions of their work, dictionaries and glossaries, reports on prison culture and the prison as a workplace, etc. Art (music, the visual arts, writing, reading, other creative activities) is also included in the Prison Culture series, as are criminal subcultures, the prisoner community, body art or tattoos, etc. 

c)   The Textbook series consists of literature aimed at improving the professional competence of the people working in the field. Example titles include thePrison Officer’s Guide to Fire Arms, Fire Prevention in Prisonand theGuide to Self-Defence(CD-Rom).

d)    Treatises and Reports is a series on which are published the most accomplished final papers of the bachelor’s degree programme graduates as well as other reports, usually in digital form.

Publications can be purchased at the Criminological Library.