Prison law and human rights in post-communist Romania: Staff attitudes toward change
| Author | Alina Thiemann,Valentina Pricopie,Cristina Dâmboeanu |
| Published date | 01 May 2021 |
| DOI | 10.1177/1477370819850128 |
| Date | 01 May 2021 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
https://doi.org/10.1177/1477370819850128
European Journal of Criminology
2021, Vol. 18(3) 325 –344
© The Author(s) 2019
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DOI: 10.1177/1477370819850128
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Prison law and human rights
in post-communist Romania:
Staff attitudes toward change
Cristina Dâmboeanu
Institute of Sociology, Romania
Valentina Pricopie
Institute of Sociology, Romania
Alina Thiemann
Institute of Sociology, Romania
Abstract
Previous research has documented the crucial role that the perceptions and attitudes of prison
staff play in everyday prison practice and the treatment of prisoners. The current study follows
this contention in order to investigate how prison staff in Romania perceive the outcomes of
the recently adopted prison law advocating the principle of humanization and the protection
of prisoners’ rights. Specifically, drawing from Jacobs’ (1980) early study on the impact of the
prisoners’ rights movement, the effects of the prison law on: (1) prisoners; (2) prison practice
and management; and (3) prison staff are investigated from the perspective of a sample of
approximately 300 staff members. Whether these perceptions vary across specific socio-
demographic groups, occupational categories and groups defined by their level of job satisfaction,
punitive attitudes and commitment to custodial role is also examined. We conclude by arguing
that, although time is needed to thoroughly assess the prison law’s effects, surveying prison
staff’s opinions and perceptions about its outcomes is nevertheless legitimate, because how staff
members feel, experience and perceive these outcomes and whether the balance inclines toward
the positive aspects or toward the negative ones are crucial for the success or, on the contrary,
the failure of an ongoing implementation of those reforms.
Keywords
Prison policy, prison staff, prisoners’ rights, Romania, staff’s perception
Corresponding author:
Cristina Dâmboeanu, Institute of Sociology, Academy House, Calea 13 Septembrie, no. 13, Bucharest,
050711, Romania.
Email: cdamboeanu@gmail.com
850128EUC0010.1177/1477370819850128European Journal of CriminologyDâmboeanu et al.
research-article2019
Article
326 European Journal of Criminology 18(3)
Introduction
A long-established line of research in criminology and prison sociology has focused on
the prison staff perspective. Nevertheless, with few exceptions (for example, Tewksbury
and Mustaine, 2005), staff perceptions of prisoners’ rights have been rather ignored – a
gap that this article tries to address. Research on prisoners’ rights has either surveyed –
from a legal perspective – the developments in European legislation and jurisprudence
and their impact on various domestic prison legislations (Van Zyl Smit and Snacken,
2009; Zinger, 2016), or investigated – from a criminological/sociological perspective –
prisoners’ perceptions of living conditions, human rights deprivations (Drenkhahn et al.,
2014), the prisoner–staff relationship and procedural justice (Molleman and Van
Ginneken, 2014; Wooldredge and Steiner, 2016). Some studies have also examined pris-
oners’ perceptions of the extent to which staff members support and treat them with
respect, humanity and fairness (Beijersbergen et al., 2015; Liebling, 2004), and others
have focused on public perceptions of prison conditions and amenities (Roberts and
Hough, 2005).
However, the way in which prison staff members perceive prisoners’ rights deserves
more attention because it plays a crucial role in the successful implementation of penal
policies. As the literature posits, staff members are ‘the face of the state behind the wall’
(Shannon and Page, 2014: 631) and ‘one of the primary actors in the penal system and
the individuals who are directly responsible for implementing new penal policies’
(Vuolo and Kruttschnitt, 2008: 309). In a similar vein, Kifer et al. (2003: 48) argued that
‘correction personnel determine or shape, in part, the way the system runs, the quality
of services that inmates receive, and the way inmates are treated’. Considering thus that
prison staff members are the main actors responsible for the enforcement of prison law,
their opinions, attitudes and perceptions on this matter cannot be ignored. As Cullen
et al. (1989: 33) argued, ‘the fabric of life within the correctional system is shaped inti-
mately, and daily, by the system’s employees. Achieving a more adequate understand-
ing of how these employees view the nature and purpose of their work thus seems a
worthy enterprise.’
Such claims become even more relevant in prison contexts facing paradigmatic shifts
in penal policy and practice. This is the case in Romania, which has been moving from a
punitive culture, marked by the legacy of the communist dictatorship, to a European
policy based on the social inclusion of prisoners, aiming to change prisoners’ status from
‘social death’ to ‘prisoners as citizens’ (Easton, 2011). Since the mid-2000s – the period
preceding accession to the EU – Romania has made efforts toward humanizing prison
conditions in line with the modern principles of European penal standards. Currently, a
progressive prison law is in force, emphasizing prisoners’ rights, respect for human dig-
nity, and the prohibition of torture and discrimination. However, given the domestic
historical, political and economic context, the implementation of the European principles
and values remains a very challenging task for the Romanian prison authorities, raising
the question of whether the discourse on prisoners’ rights is an ‘empty promise’ (Hafner-
Burton and Tsutsui, 2005). For instance, the fact that Romania still has higher rates of
imprisonment and longer prison sentences than the European average (Aebi et al., 2017:
53 and 92) cannot be ignored. These contradictions between modern European penal
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