Readiness for action in emergency circumstances in professional activities of penal system employees

Abstract

Correctional facilities are created to implement penalties for persons who have committed criminal offences. Consequently, persons held in them are often socially dangerous, criminally infected and inclined to deviant behavior. At the same time, the isolation, restriction of discretion and movement, the need to stay for a long time in a certain group of people are triggering factors and cause such conditions as boredom, irritation, apathy, depression, emotional instability. These circumstances do not exclude the occurrence of emergencies caused by a violation of standards and rules of conduct by persons sentenced to imprisonment, as evidenced by the facts recorded in penitentiary practice. Working in such conditions imposes special requirements to employees. In respect thereof, particular attention is paid to the need for penal system employees to be ready for emergency circumstances. This type of readiness is complex and includes motivationally interdependent will, cognitive and activity components. The formation of the given components depends on a number of external and internal factors. While preparing staff for professional tasks in emergency circumstances, it is rather important to pay attention not only to personal, but also to the collective readiness of staff units. The staff readiness to emergencies contributes to the effective service tasks execution, increases the sense of self-confidence in staff and their authority among colleagues, and affects the nature of professional communication.