The Soviet Legacy: Crime and Punishment in Latvia

Abstract

The overall aim of this paper is to explore the operation of the Latvian penal system and to examine the impact of physical prison conditions on social relationships among prisoners and key stakeholders, such as prison officers and administration staff. Specifically the research aims to explore how prison conditions affect the interpersonal relationships and social order among prisoners and prison staff. If prison’s overriding goals of reform and rehabilitation are to be achieved, prisoners as well as prison staff need to be asked how this can be accomplished better (redesigning the prison environment, receiving adequate assistance throughout the sentencing and appropriate help after release). Therefore, one of the envisaged outcomes of this research is not only to understand how the current prison physical conditions affect the relationship building and the maintenance of order within Latvian Central Prison, but how inmates and prison staff could also provide valuable input in future prison strategy design and implementation.