Uniform ideas originating among entire peoples unknown to each other must have a common ground of truth. -- Giambattista Vico (1688-1744)

In the previous three years I have had the opportunity to visit the prison systems of eight countries in diverse regions of the world: Eastern Europe, South Africa, and the People's Republic of China. The intended purpose of my visits to these prison systems was to conduct a comparative analysis of the operational mandate and mission in the administration of the prisons. The emphasis of these comparisons was on the quality and control of prison staff, including administrative, supervisory and line custodial correctional officers. Initially, I anticipated marked differences between the correctional systems of these diverse places. But as I explored their respective environments and spoke to staff and inmates, I was struck by common concerns expressed by those involved in the correctional systems.

More the Same than Different

The inherent political character of prisons in any society both compounds and enlightens these comparisons. Everywhere there was desire for developing an improved professional standing for prison service personnel and operations. As in the United States, I found the occupational field hungry for professional development and a respected and legitimate identity as a public safety occupation. Here are some of the concerns expressed:

No public constituency

Unlike public safety officers such as police and fire fighters who interact with the public on a daily basis, prison officers operate behind the walls and are, essentially, out of sight and out of mind. Their problems and concerns are rarely a matter of public interest. They find it difficult to lobby for improved salaries, benefits, and working conditions and are often viewed with the same disinterest as the prisoners they supervise. As one officer from the Czech republic commented, "We, too, [are] isolated. We are really just doing time with the confined."

Severely inadequate budgets

Over and over again, I heard the same expressions of frustration from administrators and staff. Most had innovative ideas and wanted to provide programs for the inmates to relieve idleness and tension, but were unable to do so because the resources were simply not available. They were greatly distressed over the lack of literacy and vocational training, the poor medical services, and the absence of recreational programs for inmates. They were equally concerned about impact of budgetary restrictions on their welfare and opportunities for advancement.

Poor recruitment

The changing governments of Eastern Europe and South Africa have had a dramatic effect upon the correctional workforce. In Eastern Europe, every country has dismissed thousands of "old regime" prison officers. And despite the high unemployment rate, the prison service continues to have difficulty attracting quality personnel. The negative legacy of the prison system under the communist governments and the low salaries offered prison personnel continues to have an impact upon the recruitment of qualified men and women. Fortunately the situation is changing and, increasingly, professional people who could not locate work in other areas are entering the prison service. Most of these correctional systems are attempting to change their image by providing new uniforms and improving the recruitment and public relation strategies.

Inadequate training

Interestingly, the training of staff in all three regions was formerly developed and, in some cases, of longer duration than in the United States and other Western democracies. However, these curricula essentially involved structuralist duties such as security, custody, and control. There was equal concern expressed for expanding curricula to include interpersonal relations skills-negotiation and conflict resolution, anger management and stress awareness, officer-officer relations, and cultural awareness. The ongoing training of veteran personnel, supervisory and leadership training was also a matter of high concern. According to a correctional supervisor in South Africa, "the most important thing we need is understanding how to manage change."

There is encouraging change, however, in these perspectives. In June 1994, I joined the director general of the national prison administration of the Czech Republic, in sponsoring a bilateral symposium: "The Recruitment, Retaining and Training of Correctional Personnel." This symposium, attended by 60 prison administrators also included representatives from the United Nations, HEUNI, and examined trends to improve the training and deployment of prison staff.

No retention strategies

The retention of personnel is a perennial problem in correctional systems. The prison service has difficulty competing with less demanding and more attractive job opportunities. Little is offered to correctional personnel that improves their self-esteem and sense of contribution to society. One officer from the People's Republic of China lamented, "We only have each other to mirror our world."

Infrastructure improvement

As in the United States during the last decade, it became apparent that the physical plants of most prisons were antiquated, inadequate, and in need of repair. In past regimes, prison construction and repair was handled by prisoners. New legislation now restricts inmate labor in these areas and has caused the physical plants to further deteriorate. This situation coupled with the budget crisis in most of these countries is causing a new awareness of the conditions of confinement for inmates and condition of work for officers. As one officer in the Slovak Republic said, "Neither one of us, prisoner or staff, can 'escape' the conditions here."

New facilities

The idea and the reality that new prisons will have to be built is a matter of active discussion among prison officials in the countries I visited. There was a keen awareness of the massive prison construction in the United States and other parts of the world including the development of private prisons. The most common inquiry concerned juvenile facilities and prisons for women. There was a great desire to visit these facilities and observe them in operation. The large-scale free movement of inmates in the prisons in the United States is a matter of interest among international correctional officials since most of their facilities are operating on a custodial lock-down model.

Environmental health and communicable diseases

These visits have clearly revealed that overcrowding is a problem for most prison systems. Within these populations, inmates are less healthy and many are infected with contagious diseases such as tuberculosis. Emotional and mental health problems are rising and the correctional staff urgently need assistance in coping with this health crisis. A young female gypsy inmate in Hungary pointed out a chicken farm across from the prison compound and noted that the chickens at least had a yard and some sunshine of their own. Most of the prison medical clinics were sparsely staffed and ill-equipped during the time of my visit. In many places inmates avoid the prison "hospital" as a place to "get sick."

Prisoner rights

This is an area of encouraging development. The United Nations minimum standards to improve the conditions and legal status of persons in pretrial detention and sentenced facilities have become increasingly essential to the credibility of governments. Even though these standards have yet to be fully adopted in most places, nonetheless they serve as a point of reference for prison officials, legislators, the press, human rights associations and concerned citizens. There is an interest in understanding how lawyers represent correctional systems vis-a-vis how lawyers represent inmates in the United States. A keen interest in the disciplinary process, inmate grievances, and due process proceedings is gaining. As a correctional administrator in South Africa noted, "Our new penal code v-ill greatly assist in clarifying the appropriate relationship between the keeper and the kept."

Conclusion

This journey has reaffirmed my belief that the best way to approach a dialogue is to make one's primary purpose and mission as attempt to understand the mind and argument of the other person-not that of enlightening him or her with one's own solutions. Although the United States has better resources than the countries I visited, the problems I encountered were not unlike those found at home. I am now firmly convinced that solutions to some of our most intractable problems in correctional services in the United States may be found in the current development of correctional services in these regions of the world. These laboratories of correctional reform will be addressing and finding answers to many of the problems we face in this country. If we desire to make our correctional system humane and effective, we need to watch and support their efforts and find the common ground of truth.