Project Partners

Name of the organisation:	Criminal Sanctions Agency
Address:	Albertinkatu 25 A, Helsinki, Finland
Tel:	+358 29 56 88500
Fax:	+358 29 56 65440
Web site:	http://www.rikosseuraamus.fi/16019.htm

Name of the contact person:	Kirsti Kuivajärvi (CSA)
Function:	Development Director
Tel:	+358 50 3216965
Fax:	+358 29 56 65440
E-mail:	[email protected]

Name of the contact person:	Sanna Kohvakka (CSA)
Function:	Assistant Director / Community Sanctions Office of Helsinki
Tel:	+358 2956 80042
Fax:	+358 2956 80009
E-mail:	[email protected]

Name of the contact person:	Riitta Kari (CSA)
Function:	Senior Officer
Tel:	+358 5053 92123
Fax:	+358 2956 65440
E-mail:	[email protected]

Name of the contact person:	Petteri Autio (CSA)
Function:	Senior Coordinator
Tel:	+358 505 884 775
Fax:	+358 295 687 779
E-mail:	[email protected]

Name of the contact person:	Tiina Vogt-Airaksinen (CSA)
Function:	Senior Specialist
Tel:	+358 5053 09610
Fax:	+358 2956 65440
E-mail:	[email protected]

Fields of action:

Public Authorities

DESCRIPTION
OF THE ORGANISATION

CRIMINAL SANCTIONS AGENCY (Prison and Probation Service)

The Criminal Sanctions Agency belongs to the administrative field of the Ministry of Justice. The Department of Criminal Policy in the Ministry of Justice draws the strategic guidelines for the field.

The three criminal sanctions regions are the Criminal Sanctions Region of Southern Finland, the Criminal Sanctions Region of Western Finland, and the Criminal Sanctions Region of Eastern and Northern Finland.

The criminal sanctions regions have a regional administration, which includes a regional centre and an assessment centre.

Central Administration

The Central Administration of the Criminal Sanctions Agency is located in Helsinki and comprises five units: the Management Support, the Administrative Unit, the Operation Development and Quality Unit, the Financial Unit, and the Judicial Unit.

Health Care Unit

The Health Care Unit of the Criminal Sanctions Agency includes the following common services that are provided nationwide: the Medicine Dispensary, the Prison Mental Hospital (Turku and Vantaa), the Prison Hospital and the polyclinics situated in prisons as well as the dental care services.

Training Institute for Prison and Probation Services

The Training Institute for Prison and Probation Services is responsible for the degree education related to the criminal sanctions field as well as the in-service training that maintains and improves vocational proficiency.

Personnel

The Criminal Sanctions Agency employs 3 200 officials, who take care of the enforcement of remand imprisonment, prison sentences and community sanctions.

EXPERIENCE IN PREVIOUS PROJECTS

The Criminal Sanctions Agency participated in the DOMICE project as a partner in 2010-2011.

The Criminal Sanctions Agency Participated in the Transition Facility Twinning Project "Parole Supervision - Enhancement of Effective and Professional Practice between Judicial Agencies. The project was coordinated by the Ministry of Justice of the Czech Republic in 2005-2006.

EXPERIENCE AND EXPERTISE OF THE ORGANIZATION IN THE PROJECT’S SUBJECT AREA

The primary duty of the Criminal Sanctions Agency is to see that the sentences passed by the courts of law are enforced lawfully and safely in Finland. The agency operates under the direction of the Ministry of Justice and implements the criminal policy defined by the Ministry. The Criminal Sanctions Agency consists of three criminal sanctions regions, the Central Administration, the Health Care Unit, and the Training Institute for Prison and Probation Services. The criminal sanctions regions all have their regional administration, which includes a regional centre and an assessment centre. Prisons and community sanctions offices operate under the direction of regional centres.

The criminal sanctions field has undergone a major reform at the beginning of 2010 when the Criminal Sanctions Agency, the Prison Service, and the Probation Service, which have previously been operating as independent authorities were united into one organisation called the Criminal Sanctions Agency. Criminal Sanctions Agency provides knowledge of how Prison and Probation services can work hand in hand in order to enhance the safety of society by decreasing sentenced offenders’ risk of reoffending.

A gradual, controlled release is one of the basic concepts of the Imprisonment Act in Finland. The safety aspect of society also supports the releasing of prisoners via open prisons and supervised probationary freedom. Major actors in the release process besides prisons and community sanctions offices are regional assessment centres. The CSA can provide knowledge of methods which enable a controlled release and support a life without crime in the best possible way.

CONTRIBUTIONS THAT CAN BE PROVIDED TO THE PROJECT

The expertise of Finnish members participating in the project, both from the Ministry of Justice and the Criminal Sanctions Agency is the main contribution to the project.

CONTACT PERSON’S EXPERIENCE AND EXPERTISE

Kirsti Kuivajärvi works as a Development Director in the Criminal Sanctions Agency, Finland. She has graduated as Master of Education from the University of Turku in 1980 and Licentiate of Social Sciences from the University of Helsinki in 1991. She has a long experience in prison administration both in Ministry of Justice and Prison and Probation Service Headquarters and she has also worked in probation service. She has previously worked among other things as a district director of prison service, prison director in Helsinki, project manager in Criminal Sanctions Agency and as a ministerial adviser in the Ministry of Justice.

Riitta Kari works as a Senior Officer in the Criminal Sanctions Agency, Finland. She has graduated from the University of Tampere in 1988. She has previously worked in prisons and in Criminal Sanctions Region of Western Finland.

Sanna Kohvakka works as an Assistant Community Sanctions Office Director in Helsinki, Finland. She has graduated from the University of Jyväskylä in 2003. She has previously worked as a social worker in the municipality of Vantaa and in two different projects to develop networking and community sanctions work with conditionally released prisoners.

Petteri Autio works as Senior Coordinator and Team Leader in the Assessment Centre of Eastern and Northern Finland. He has previously worked as psychologist in several psychiatric units and health centres. He is Master of Social Sciences from the Universitys of Kuopio and Clinical Psychologist from the University of Joensuu. He is also a licensed psychologist.

Tiina Vogt-Airaksinen works as senior specialist in the Criminal Sanctions Agency, Finland. She has graduated from the university of Helsinki in Political Science with a lower degree in 1988 and a Master’s degree in 2009. After graduating she has worked as Social Worker and Assistant Director in Helsinki and Vantaa Community Sanctions Offices. Her main area of expertise has been juvenile delinquents. Since 2005 she has worked in Criminal Sanctions Agency. Her areas of expertise among others are working with released prisoners in community settings, community sanctions for juveniles and minors and programme work in prisons and community sanctions.