Three Countries, Three Uniforms, Three Cultures, One Common Goal - To Improve Correctional Facilities

ICPA2023 Presentation by Ole Geir Arefjord, Catalin Olaru, Oana Paicu and Ewa Pysz (ICPA2023-PID109)

Authors

Ole Geir Arefjord

Prison officer, Bergen fengsel, Directorate of Norwegian Correctional Services, Norway

Ole Geir Arefjord graduated from the University College of Norwegian Correctional Service in 2009. Since then he has worked as a correctional officer in Bergen high security prison in Norway. During his carrier, he has served 18 months in South Sudan as a Commander of a UN holding facility. He is trained as instructor in use of force and he is leader of the smoke diving team in his facility. In 2023 he got a position in the Ambassadors program ran by the Directorate of the Norwegian Correctional Service.

Catalin Olaru

Head of International Cooperation and Programs Department, National Probation Directorate (NPD), Romania

Head of the International Cooperation Department within the Romanian prison system. With 12 years of experience as a correctional officer, including 8 years at Timisoara Penitentiary, my career has been dedicated to improving our correctional system.

Since 2014, I've been leading key projects, including the "4NORM-ality Improving the Correctional Services in Romania by Implementing the Normality Principle" project, funded by the Norwegian Financial Mechanism. In this role, I've managed teams across various penitentiaries collaborated with the National Probation Directorate to enhance our correctional services and infrastructure.

I'm also currently overseeing four pre-defined projects of the National Administration of Penitentiaries, which is acting as a Project Promoter. These projects involve partnerships with Romanian institutions and Norwegian entities, further strengthening our commitment to reform and improvement within the correctional system.

My mission is to continually improve the Romanian prison system for the betterment of incarcerated individuals and society at large.

Oana Paicu

Probation counsellor, Iasi Probation Office, National Probation Directorate (NPD), Romania

Law graduate, working in the probation system since 2001
Former head of service (2012 - 2013 and 2016 - 2018)
Trainer on "Case management in supervision – community sentences"
Expert on "Risk management and ethics in probation"

Ewa Pysz

Prison officer, Specialist Regional District in Katowice , Central Board of Prison Service, Polish Prison Service, Poland

Kpt. Ewa Pysz – psychologist, Polish Prison Service officer. After obtaining a master's degree in psychology she used to work with children in a school and with adolescents in an orphanage. She has joined Prison Service in 2010. For the first 12 years, she served as a psychologist in a pretrial detention facility, providing psychological care and diagnosis to pre-trial detainees and also to convicts. She conducted social rehabilitation programs in the field of counteracting domestic violence and addictions. Since march 2022 she has been working as a specialist in Regional District of Prison Service in Katowice coordinating and supervising the work of educators and psychologists of penitentiary departments from 13 prison.

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