Minister orders review of prison officers’ resilience after inmate relationships

Lithuania’s justice minister, Rita Tamašunienė, says officials will assess whether prison officers have sufficient psychological resilience after romantic and intimate relationships between staff and inmates were uncovered at Vilnius Prison, LRT reported.

She said inmates often use manipulative schemes, making it important to determine whether officers are prepared to deal with such situations.

“We want to gather information and assess whether our officers currently receive sufficient psychological resilience training,” Tamašunienė told BNS this week.

Because officers and inmates interact frequently, prisons need to provide appropriate training, she said. The training must be ensured by the management of each prison and the central leadership of the Lithuanian Prison Service, she added, so officers can perform only the duties assigned to them, including control and resocialisation.

The Lithuanian Prison Service said last Monday that two female officers had left their jobs in July because of close, romantic or intimate relationships with inmates. A catering company employee also lost permission to enter the prison.

After risks were identified, the head of Vilnius Prison and officers from the Criminal Intelligence Board initiated inspections of the prison’s premises. A large quantity of prohibited items was found, including mobile phones, a knife and other unauthorised objects in inmates’ cells. Inspectors also found cases in which inmates possessed more items than permitted.

Tamašunienė said officers regularly face attempts to pass prohibited items to inmates in various ways. She said the discovery of the items showed that control mechanisms were working and violations were being identified.

Officers encounter “very inventive” methods of passing prohibited items during visits by relatives and other visitors, she said, including shooting items over the prison fence from outside.

The minister said each such case leads to an internal investigation to establish the officers’ responsibility and determine whether they can continue in their positions.

The Lithuanian Prison Service also plans to review the activities of the officers who were dismissed in connection with the Vilnius Prison incident, to determine what actions they may have taken for the benefit of inmates.