850 rub. - this is how much in Russia those released from correctional institutions receive at a time from the Federal Penitentiary Service (FSIN). In addition to money, they receive tickets to the city where they are officially registered. Further, regional authorities are responsible for supporting former convicts, since there is no federal probation service in Russia.

A criminal record creates significant barriers to employment. The employer is required to check whether the applicant has an outstanding criminal record, as this is a legal barrier to employment in some positions. But not only that: employers often ask in their job application form whether the person has ever been brought to criminal or administrative liability. A positive answer cannot be a legal basis for refusing employment, but in fact this often happens. Without the opportunity to earn a living through legitimate work, people recently released from prison may commit new crimes. Recidivism is a big problem: 63% of convicts who are in correctional colonies (and this is the main place for serving their sentences for those sentenced to imprisonment) are repeat offenders.

State social support for former prisoners is called upon to break the vicious circle of “crime – inability to find work after release – a new crime.” What kind of help do former prisoners need? Many of them need temporary housing, especially when there is no family support, and this is not uncommon: according to the 2009 prison census, 83% of all those arrested were unmarried or divorced during the legal process. Save money for future life in a correctional institution with a salary of 2000 rubles. per month after all deductions is also almost impossible. In addition, former convicts need help finding work, restoring documents; it happens that they do not even have enough money for clothes and food.

In order to understand how state social support for former convicts works, the Institute of Law Enforcement Problems at the European University in St. Petersburg, together with the Center for Strategic Research, conducted a study of the situation in 14 Russian regions with the largest number of colonies based on information received in response to requests to official organs.

There is no special federal law that makes it possible to effectively help former convicts establish normal lives. There is also no single specialized program to help such people throughout the country. If the region does not have its own additional assistance programs, former prisoners can only qualify for assistance for the homeless, unemployed, low-income or disabled - and then only if they can prove that they belong to one of these categories of people in need.

At the regional level, there are two government services to which released convicts and people with a criminal record can turn: social adaptation centers (CSA) and employment centers. At the CSA, homeless and low-income people can live for six months and receive free food once a day. However, more often than not, CSAs cannot provide temporary housing to everyone. Thus, in 2017, 30% of those released from prison applied to the CSA of the Krasnoyarsk Territory, and only 21% of those who applied received temporary housing. In some regions there is no DSA at all.

Employment centers also provide employment for former convicts. By law, the administration of a correctional institution must notify employment centers six months before the release of prisoners about where they plan to live, and provide information about the number of people in need of assistance in finding work and living arrangements. However, on average, 16–18% of citizens released from prison turn to employment centers. Most of the vacancies for former convicts involve unskilled labor. Thus, in the Chelyabinsk region, the most common types of employment for former convicts are auxiliary workers, cleaners, loaders, watchmen, car washers, conductors, packers, animal care workers, road workers, timber fellers, and maids.

Employment centers provide the opportunity to undergo vocational training, but this mechanism does not work well: on average, employment centers send about 7% of the number of former convicts who apply for training. But vocational training does not guarantee employment: less than a third of those sent for training get a job. In other words, only every 50th former convict who applies to the employment center will undergo training and find a job in a new specialty. In general, finding a job through employment centers for non-convicts is approximately 2 times more effective than for former convicts. In 2016, 64% of those who applied to employment centers across Russia got a job, while only 28% of former convicts did. Those former prisoners who were unable to find employment receive benefits, the amount of which depends on their previous earnings. Since those who served prison terms did not work for a long time, the benefit is very small.

To increase the efficiency of employment centers with former convicts in several regions (for example, in Tatarstan, Chelyabinsk region), employers were obliged to allocate jobs to such applicants in exchange for benefits and subsidies. However, few such jobs are created, but in some regions not all reserved jobs are occupied (for example, out of 38 such jobs in Tatarstan in 2017, 14 were occupied - less than half). Under regional laws, employers are required to create vacancies, but are not required to fill them. In addition, these jobs often involve harsh working conditions.

The regions fail to fully meet the needs of those released from prison. A solution to this problem, according to experts from the regions, could be the creation of a unified probation service for former convicts. It will be easier for the FSIN to cooperate with such an organization, and former convicts will always know where to turn. In addition, the adoption of a federal framework law on the social rehabilitation of such people would help the regions organize assistance. These are the first steps necessary to reduce the proportion of recidivists in correctional colonies.

The author is a research intern at the Institute of Law Enforcement Problems at the European University in St. Petersburg

Why is the federal probation service needed?