12-03-2020 13:14
Best practices in the construction of new prison facilities and training centres were discussed by representatives of the General Directorate Execution of Penalties /GDEP/ and their partners from the Norwegian Correctional Service.
The workshops took place in Lillestrøm, Kingdom of Norway, where the Directorate of the Norwegian Correctional Service and its University College are located.
The Norwegian Correctional Service Academy is the only training institution for prison officers. It accepts about 200 students a year, with 1200 applicants. The training is two years long, divided semester by semester into theory and practice. The College interacts with 11 prisons which accept trainees.
In Bulgaria, only the GDEP Training Centre in Pleven, established in December 1992, is currently operational. It runs mainly initial vocational training courses lasting 3 months. Half of the time is devoted to training at the centre and the other half to an internship. The building was renovated extensively in 2015, with the financial support of the NFM. The total capacity is 40 beds.
Under the NFM 2014-2021 project “Enhancing the Capacity of Prison Staff, Construction of a Pilot Prison linked to a Training Centre to Improve Offender Rehabilitation”, of which GDEP is the beneficiary, a “pilot prison” linked to a staff training centre is to be constructed.
The objectives of the project also include updating and modernising the concept of staff training and building a knowledge-based organisation.
The new training centre and pilot prison are planned to be in the village of Samoranovo, near Dupnitsa.