P107 - Treatment competences: prison staff assessment and self-assessment

• In Event: Poster Session & Ice Cream Social

Abstract

According to the UNODC, there were 11.2 million people in prison worldwide at the end of 2021 (UNODC, 2023). The rehabilitative potential of prison sentences has been questioned for decades. Therefore, treatment staff with appropriate competences (values, knowledge, skills) is an important factor for the rehabilitation of offenders (MacLachlan & et al., 2011; Tadič, 2022). The aim of this study is to gain an insight into the competences of treatment staff in the Croatian prison system and to determine the differences between the required and self-assessed competences in general, but also in terms of length of service.
54 employees (approx. 36% of the total treatment staff) of the treatment department of penal institutions in Croatia participated in the study (M=47.53; SD=9.16), with an average length of service in the penal system of 13 years (SD=10.96). An instrument consisting of two parts was developed for the purposes of the study. The first part relates to competences (required and self-assessed) and the second part to socio-demographic and employment-related data.
The research questions to be answered on the poster are: (1) How do treatment staff assess and self-assess treatment values, knowledge and skills; (2) Are there differences between required and self-assessed treatment values, knowledge and skills; (3) Is there a significant relationship between treatment values, knowledge and skills and length of service?

Authors

• Martina Pleško, University of Zagreb Faculty of Education and Rehabilitation Sciences, Department of Criminology

• Irma Kovčo Vukadin, University of Zagreb Faculty of Education and Rehabilitation Sciences, Department of Criminology