The Issues on Reforming the Penitentiary Systems in the Context of COVID-19
Abstract
The criminal justice process includes: discovering information about
the committing criminal offense; investigation; arrest of the suspect;
imposition of a sentence; in many cases the enforcement of imprisonment
and finally the reintegration of the former prisoner. The citizens’ sense
of security depends on the completeness of this process because it is in
the common interest of members of societies that released ex-prisoners
do not jeopardise the order of peaceful coexistence within communities.
Nonetheless, during the analysis of the security challenges of prisons
amplified by COVID-19, the law enforcement profession has very little
engagement with the imprisonment and the reintegration of detainees.
This is a huge mistake, because prison systems are in a global crisis
and have been for more than 40 years – and the COVID-19 epidemic
has only exacerbated this original ongoing crisis – so the effectiveness
of prison systems has never been more questionable than it is at this
moment. It can be stated that the COVID-19 infection affected the continents
and certain geographical areas to varying degrees, resulting in
the unfortunate outcome of prison riots breaking out in some of the
most infected countries in Europe due to the uncertainty of the convicts
and the restrictive measures taken. This paper will describe and analyse
the typical causes of the both the original ongoing crisis of the prison
systems and the new health crisis, then propose measures to improve
the situation. The proposals are based on the international literature and
positive experiences in Hungary.