Funkcje społeczno-terapeutyczne systemu penitencjarnego oraz sugestie de lege ferenda

Abstract

The paper makes a reference to social therapy centres operating in Germany, whose aim is to substitute prisons. Social therapy proves to be an indispensable element of rational criminal policy and should be offered to certain categories of those sentenced to imprisonment. In Poland, apart from their regular role, such centres might also become a factor with which the whole of the penitentiary system would be humanised. An approval of penitentiary principles on which the draft of the criminal code of 1994 is based and today's knowledge about the functioning of the institution of social therapy and their results today, allowed us to formulate eight postulates of criminal policy included in the paper which also contains de lege ferenda proposal (in the 'optimistic'variant and the 'minimum'variant).