The Council of Europe Project “Towards More Humane Conditions of Detention and Reduced Reoffending in Ukraine” (DECOPRIS) continues to support systemic changes aimed at improving working conditions and psychological well-being of penitentiary staff.
As a follow-up to the work of the Working Group on Burnout Prevention (28 February 2025), a large-scale research initiative was conducted to assess professional burnout among personnel of penitentiary institutions and pre-trial detention centres of the State Criminal Executive Service (SCESU) of Ukraine. A total of 8,823 employees from all regions of Ukraine respondents included staff from pre-trial detention facilities, correctional colonies of all security levels, facilities for prisoners of war, as well as central and regional structural units of the SDECS.
The results revealed that 71% of respondents reported overall satisfaction with their work in the penitentiary system. However, the study also uncovered alarming indicators of staff well-being: 82% of personnel showed critically low levels of psychological well-being, marking a high risk of both professional and personal exhaustion. In addition, more than 60% of SCESU staff were identified as operating under high or moderate organisational stress, typically associated with low levels of psychological well-being.
In response to these findings, on 4 June 2025 the DECOPRIS project presented a Burnout Management Programme for SCESU personnel. The proposed programme includes modules on understanding professional burnout, building resilience and psychological recovery, developing psychoemotional regulation and emotional intelligence, achieving work-life balance through self-preservation strategies, and implementing organisational measures for burnout prevention and psychological safety in the workplace.
This initiative marks a significant step toward establishing an effective and sustainable system for burnout prevention. By combining data-driven diagnostics with practical tools and expert support, DECOPRIS is helping to build a more resilient, motivated, and healthy penitentiary workforce.
The Council of Europe project “Towards More Humane Conditions of Detention and Reduced Reoffending in Ukraine” (DECOPRIS) is implemented within the framework of the Council of Europe’s Action Plan for Ukraine “Resilience, Recovery and Reconstruction” (2023–2026). DECOPRIS aims to enhance the protection of prisoners’ rights by improving prison management practices and advancing rehabilitation efforts.
