Halfway house opened its door to inmates in Tauragė
On Monday, a new place was introduced to the map of inmate resocialization – a halfway house was opened in Tauragė. A transitional facility is the seventh of its kind in the country, where inmates get prepared for release from prison and re-entry into the labour market and community.
The facility may accommodate up to 27 persons at a time. Four staff members from Lithuanian Prison Service and three from Lithuanian Probation Service are employed at the halfway house: they will assist inmates in planning their weekly routines and tasks, employment activities, visits, leaves outside the halfway house, provide counselling, different social assistance and carry out supervision. Psychologists, representatives of NGOs and volunteers will also come and provide counselling to inmates.
“This halfway house, despite being the seventh of its kind in the country, is an outstanding one as there were no penitentiary facilities in the Tauragė district so far. As part of our efforts to build a modern system where reoffending is reduced, we need to encourage inmates to communicate with their families, who can reach them much more easily here. Both the foreign practice and the Lithuanian experience revealed that the positive halfway house environment ensure the reduction in reoffending over time,” highlighted Ewelina Dobrowolska, the Minister of Justice.
“Halfway houses are one of the most successful best practice projects adopted from the Kingdom of Norway. Careful selection of inmates to be relocated to halfway houses and ensuring their continued employment and necessary social support allow proper preparation for re-entry into the community. Seven years of experience in Lithuania prove that inmates who have been relocated to and released from halfway houses successfully reintegrate and practically do not reoffend. Our society feels safer,” said Virginijus Kulikauskas, Director General of Lithuanian Prison Service.
“It is encouraging to note, that the project of the Ministry of Justice and Lithuanian Prison Service reaches beyond the limits of the capital city and is further developed in the Lithuanian districts thus creating new jobs, as such houses need to be staffed by guards and social workers. That's how the regional policy should be promoted,” said Dovydas Kaminskas, the Mayor of Tauragė district municipality.
In an open-type institution - halfway house, inmates may use money without restrictions and buy food, clothing, footwear and hygiene products on their own. Persons benefit from being able to reintegrate into society closer to their homes, families and jobs. At weekends, they may leave for home or visit their families.
Inmates may be relocated to a halfway house, an open-type place of imprisonment, in line with the provisions of Art. 37 of the Code on the Enforcement of Sentences, and who need intensive pre-release preparation. Persons in conflict with the established procedure or having committed an administrative offence may be returned to a semi-open place of detention following the provisions of the same Art. 37 of the Code. A person can also be removed from a halfway house if he/ she is not working or studying, or if he/ she is posing a threat to society.
The total cost of a halfway house in Tauragė estimated to € 790.000, including equipment. The financing was allocated within the framework of the Project Development of Quality Based Lithuanian Correctional Service System(PDP 3) implemented under the EEA and Norwegian Financial Mechanisms programme Justice and Home Affairs 2014-2021.
Halfway houses have been set up in six locations so far - Alytus, Marijampolė, Vilnius, Pravieniškės, Panevėžys and Šiauliai.
Last updated: 22-04-2024
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