DOI: 10.11118/978-80-7701-082-5-0297

Reintegration and Respect: the Social Climate as the key to Modernising the Czech Prison Service

Tereza Raszková ORCID...¹, Petra Zhřívalová ORCID...²

¹ Police Academy of the Czech Republic in Prague, Lhotecká 559/7, P.O.Box 54, 143 00 Prague 12 - Kamýk, Czech Republik

² Institute of Criminology and Social Prevention, Náměstí 14. října 12, 150 00 Prague 5, Czech Republik

The staffing situation in the Prison Service of the Czech Republic is a long-standing problem that fundamentally affects both the internal running of prisons and their ability to fulfil their security, rehabilitation and inclusive functions. The lack of qualified staff, high staff turnover and inadequate financial remuneration lead to the destabilisation of the working environment and reduce the effectiveness of the service. This paper focuses on the social climate in prisons, which plays a key role not only in the professional lives of employees and officers but also in the process of reintegrating prisoners. Particular attention is paid to the need to reflect the principles of social inclusion and diversity, which should be an integral part of the professional culture of the Prison Service. Staff must be prepared to work with diverse groups of prisoners, including those from different cultural, social or health backgrounds. The aim of the paper is to highlight the need for systemic changes that would lead to stabilising the personnel situation, strengthening staff competencies in the area of inclusion and creating a supportive environment for all actors in the prison system.

Keywords: Prison Staff, Social Climate, Inclusion and Diversity, Reintegration of Prisoners

pages: 297-305, online: 2026