The court recently found two detained persons guilty of assaulting prison officials in Sliven. The incident took place on 20.12.2022. in the cinema of the prison, when, after a proper order, one of the inmates attacked a supervisor. Other inmates intervened in the conflict, which resulted in minor injuries to two officials, Viktoria Stancheva - Warden of the 2nd degree and Marieta Stoyanova - Warden of the 2nd degree. What is it like to be a warden in a women's prison… Victoria Stancheva and Marieta Stoyanova speak to FACTS (b.r. – both do not want to be shown). Tsvetan Mihailov, a member of the Board of Directors of the Union of Prison Employees in Bulgaria (SSZB), is also included in the conversation.
- Mrs. Stoyanova, Mrs. Stancheva, how challenging is it to work as a warden in a women's prison?
- Marieta Stoyanova: There are many challenges. The biggest challenge is adjusting to the environment, which is very different from what you had in mind before starting work in prison. You need desire, you need communication skills, discipline and a number of other qualities, but above all a strong psyche.
Viktoria Stancheva: Yes, it is a challenge. Especially the first steps (a year or two) when you encounter the law breakers. I saw a contest announced, I decided to try, and so it's been six years. I never thought I would work as a warden. However, this turned out to be a profession that I would also learn from.
- How did fate connect you with this profession?
- MS: Definitely working in a prison was not my childhood dream. But that's how the circumstances of my life came together, and after reaching a conscious age and searching for professional fulfillment, I turned to this profession.
- How many years have you been in the system?
- M.S.: I have been in the system for five years.
- V.S.: I have been in the system for six years.
- Day to day is not the same in life, and this is especially true when you are a prison officer. How does a shift go?
- M.S.: In general, the work is organized. We work strictly according to a previously prepared schedule. A dynamic environment. Changes can always occur, but you have to be flexible and react quickly to any situation that arises. We have a lot of responsibilities. Convicted persons have the right to visits with their relatives, meetings with defenders, vacations, outdoor time, meals, medical care, work and others. Many courses and group events are held. They attend a school near the prison. All this as part of their daily life happens with our participation.
- V.S.: That's right. It is now less and less common for duty to pass peacefully, specifically without verbal and physical aggression. Very often in the last two years, we also work with reduced staff, which is a prerequisite for reduced security. We have to take on additional duties, the work is unscheduled and the hectic everyday life in case of mistakes, in prison is not accepted as an excuse.
- How many guards are you and how many prisoners do you guard?
- MS: The number varies depending on the post we are assigned to. Most often, we work alone on a floor and are responsible for two groups of inmates, which total up to 50-60 people. Depending on the workload, we are assisted by other colleagues. The security of the convicts is not out of place. We are on the move and in constant contact with them. In many cases, we have to intervene because of conflicts between them, and sometimes the aggression is also directed against us.
- And to take you back to the date December 20, 2022, when you were attacked. What happened?
- M.S.: It was a day for disinfecting the wards. All the prisoners had to be taken out of the prison building and moved to the movie theater during that time. In routine actions to maintain order, first insults and threats were directed at us. This was followed by the refusal of some inmates to comply with an order and then an attack by one of them against us, resulting in punches in the breast area of a female colleague. When the convict was being handcuffed, another inmate prevented her from being restrained by pulling my arm and pulling my hair in the commotion that ensued.
- V.S.: On that day, an action plan was drawn up regarding insecticide prophylaxis. A large number of prisoners were brought to the cinema. When obstructing a violation and after refusing to comply with an order, certain inmates showed physical and verbal aggression against us, which also led to bodily injuries qualified afterwards as occupational accidents and personal injuries. There followed the routine of reporting the accident, clarifying the situation, investigation and a case, which finally ended with a conviction against the female inmates involved.
- Is a prisoner afraid of a new sentence?
- M.S.: Every person deprived of liberty and regardless of the number of sentences he has served, wants and makes plans for a life of freedom. I think a new sentence would weigh heavily on him.
- V.S.: Given their characteristic data, I personally do not think that they are afraid of a new sentence. This is not the first case in which an inmate has been sentenced by an officer. But it doesn't have much effect. Convicts are becoming more and more daring and allow themselves things that colleagues with more experience say they could not afford years ago.
- During the day in prison, in the evening at home. How do you cross the line from work to home duties?
- M.S.: We spend not only days, but many nights and holidays in prison, far from our families. The line is very thin and easily crossed once you cross the prison barrier. Especially after a quiet duty and with the many domestic duties that a woman has and which are unavoidable.
- V.S.: It is different for everyone. For two years, we have had a changed schedule and the shifts are more frequent. Sometimes it is quite difficult to “shake off” and to enter home with a “clear head”. Over time, I learned to draw a line between work and home duties. I can say that on a personal level my family also supports my decisions and that helps me.
- How does the family accept the work? How many times have you heard…. Come on, enough?
- M.S.: I have never heard such words from my family. They have always supported me and have been the main strength and motivation to move forward.
- What are the reasons for the aggression against employees? (note – here the floor is taken by Tsvetan Mihailov, member of the Management Board of the Union of Prison Employees in Bulgaria (SSZB)
- Color M.: The reasons are complex. From our point of view – as employees and representatives of a trade union organization, we have spoken on the subject more than once in order to draw attention to the matter. Incidents in which physical aggression against employees is allowed, speak of mistakes in the organization of work. Since I am not aware that the issue has been studied in depth in our country, I will allow myself to say that there is reason to look for weaknesses in the selection of employees, the quality of training, the ratio between guarded – guards, staff workload, etc. If we add that in institutions that are considered a social dump and in which reside a huge number of people with mental illnesses, various addictions and low self-control, at first glance the list of reasons seems to be exhausted. But on the other hand, as a phenomenon, verbal and physical aggression in our prisons in some broader sense can also be explained by the transition from a system, primarily with repressive functions - as prisons were years ago, when order and discipline were achieved by means of force, to one of a modern type, in which the emphasis is not so much on punishment as on the re-education of the prisoners and their humane treatment. However, a high percentage of workers are of the opinion that the authorities do not take into account the special cultural, civilizational, technological and social differences, for example, between the reality in Bulgaria and the Scandinavian countries - especially Norway, from where this model was borrowed. That is, the officials who are most connected with its implementation accept that the state is putting the “cart before the horse”, and the system is not ready for the introduction of this know-how. And so it creates conditions - a working environment where their safety is not a priority. Starting from the fact that violence in prisons starts from outside, it is a continuation of the failure of the state to step in and solve the problem of violence against police officers, doctors, teachers, public transport drivers and other professional communities. I was thinking about the different prison population in our country, compared to Norway, which we take as an example. The accelerated combined passage of laws that increased the rights of inmates, but also made our system lenient to cases of disorder and discipline in all its forms in places of deprivation of liberty. And to the talk of prisoners' rights by countless organizations concerned with their protection and zero support for at-risk prison officers. This trend raises the question of whether the state is capable, if the system fails to subdue, to make those people who have committed crimes to observe the order and discipline in the institution, so that they allow themselves to continue to commit crimes and it over employees? And to guarantee the safety of citizens, our children, our loved ones after these people are released again…
- What should be done?
- Color M.: First of all, the problem must be recognized without hypocrisy. The attack on anyone should not be treated simply as news. To investigate cause and effect relationships. And to make decisions about institutional measures. And before that, regarding the measures, a series of initiatives should be carried out with the participation of a wider range of experts, and not as we did more than a year ago in a working group with the participation of representatives of the political and professional managements and unions, from which nothing came of it. But this requires time and politically committed institutional representatives with a mandate of at least several years. It's just that matter is such that it does not imply quick but efficient solutions. But the other thing, which is not a question of time and money – the lack of moral support, of protection within the framework of what is now permissible, the lack of understanding of employees not only as staff, but also as individuals who are exposed to risk every day. Employees who are subject to daily aggression. Colleagues share that they feel like people who do not receive support and recognition, and this cannot continue like this. Let them stop the “experiments” to work in a reduced composition with fewer than the number of people in order to save money. Let the politicians, the senior managers of the systems in the “Security” to take responsibility and send clear public messages that they will not allow anyone to attack, hit, insult, pull and tear the uniform of Bulgarian guards and policemen when they conscientiously and legally perform their duties. And this remains without an adequate answer. Someone should start by signaling that there will be bold interventions that will have the power to deal with harsh reality.