Psychological well-being of prisoners as a factor in penitentiary reform

Abstract

The classical approach to the analysis of positive social climate follows on the scope of criminal psychology. However, it has a wider perspective. After all, the criteria presented on this scale affect not only the psychological well-being of the convicts but also serve as a benchmark for real change in the conditions of holding the convicts, which is in the focus of attention to penal law and criminology. At the same time, the aim of the paper is to study the development and modern state of implementation of international standards for the treatment of convicted persons. The aim of this paper is to study the development and modern state of implementation of international standards for the treatment of convicted persons. It is also the task of the article to choose the most appropriate scale for assessing the social climate in Ukrainian prisons. This will allow contributing to the improvement of human rights in Ukraine, improve the state statistics, and help to understand the real needs of convicts. The article explores the importance of an effective prison crime prevention system. In order to assess the condition of detention according to international standards, the PSC scale is proposed. According to this scale, the current situations in Ukrainian prisons, as well as the penitentiary practice of Ukraine, is analyzed. This paper concludes that the concept of PSC is an effective mechanism that is recommended for implementation in Ukrainian penitentiary practice. PSC system is generally suitable for its application in Ukraine. However, architectural factors should be additionally considered, as the quality of the prisons’ buildings is unsatisfactory in Ukraine.