Correctional work as a type of criminal punishment, Article 50 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation

An exhaustive list of types of criminal penalties is given in Article 44 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. One of the types of criminal punishment is correctional labor (Article 50 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation).

Correctional work involves:

forced labor for a certain period of time;
attracting to work persons who have a main place of work, as well as those who do not have one;
departure to the main place of work or to places determined by local government bodies in agreement with the penal inspections in the area of residence of the convicted person;
deduction of a certain share of the convicted person’s earnings to the state.

Correctional labor is a more severe type of punishment than compulsory labor and is assigned only as the main type of punishment.

The procedure and conditions for the execution of punishment in the form of correctional labor are regulated by the norms of Chapter 7 of the Criminal Executive Code of the Russian Federation (Articles 39 - 46 of the Penal Code of the Russian Federation).

What happens in case of malicious evasion?

Wherever the convicted person lives, he is obliged to fulfill the mandatory conditions of the IR. Otherwise, the court may reconsider the sentence and then the person will lose such a comfortable sentence. The main violations that are not allowed are:

avoiding work for 5 consecutive days;
refusal to attend the inspection;
systematic absenteeism;
carrying out work activities (visiting an inspection) under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

If a person has committed one of the above offenses, he will be given an appropriate warning. But when a subject who already has a written warning violates the conditions of serving the sentence again, this is regarded as malicious evasion.

This means that the court will replace the IR with another punishment provided for in a specific article. That is, impose forced labor or a prison sentence. If the convicted person fulfills all the conditions, the inspectorate may apply for a mitigation of the conditions. Even when a person has a maximum sentence, it can be reduced.

IR can take place at the place of main work, if the offender has one. It's quite difficult psychologically, but much better than prison

Therefore, it is important to comply with all inspection requirements and wait until the deadline. The maximum is prescribed quite rarely, but even then the period will be only two years

Responsibility for evasion

About one tenth of people serving sentences evade responsibility and go into hiding.

The following is considered a violation:

absence from work;
failure to appear at the place of employment;
showing up to work drunk;
absenteeism.

In case of violations, the following measures are applied:

A written warning, according to which he may be subject to a more severe punishment.
Strengthening control with an increase in the number of visits by the inspectorate inspector. This measure is used for additional control over a convicted citizen.

In case of repeated violations, the inspector sends documents to the court to petition for a more severe punishment.

Correctional labor is prescribed as a humane punishment for crimes that do not pose a high social danger. However, the work must be done in good faith and with the understanding that violations may result in more stringent legal action.

A new type of alternative criminal punishment - forced labor in correctional centers:

https://youtube.com/watch?v=RyUoM3T0yNQ%3Fecver%3D1

Didn't find the answer to your question? Find out how to solve exactly your problem - call right now:

Share with friends:

Did you like the article? Follow site updates or.

Comments:

Serving order

Immediately after the verdict enters into legal force, a copy of it is sent to the penal institution at the district level. Employees of this institution participate in the execution of all types of imposed punishment, with the exception of imprisonment.

The convicted person is registered and a personal file is opened on him. The order of execution is as follows:

No later than 30 days from the date of announcement of the verdict, an inspector will visit the convict’s place of residence and hand him a summons. It will indicate the date and time for appearing at the criminal correctional inspection for registration.
On the day of appearance, a conversation is held with the convicted person and his rights are explained, finding out what activities he can perform.
Next, the convict receives a referral to the selected organization where he will work. The appearance is carried out within 5 days.
On a certain day, the inspector checks the citizen’s attendance by calling the appropriate organization.
The inspector keeps records of the hours worked by the convicted person, as well as the amount of payment. At the end of correctional work, he makes a note about the end of his labor activity.

What is the difference between correctional labor and compulsory labor? Find out the answer right now.

Correctional work. To whom, for what, how:

https://youtube.com/watch?v=akylHIx35Gs%3Fecver%3D1

The procedure and features of serving the sentence

After the sentence enters into legislative force, a copy of it must be sent to the district inspectorate, whose employees are directly involved in the execution of such types of punishment. The citizen is then registered and a personal file is created for him.

The procedure for the formation and execution of punitive measures as labor involves the following steps and tasks:

An inspector's visit to a citizen. This is important for delivering a notice with the date and time of appearance at the inspection.
Dialogue with a convicted citizen on the day of his appearance.
Giving the convicted person a written referral to the company in which he will serve his sentence.
A call from the inspector to the company to confirm the appearance of the defendant and record the start of work under a contract or officially.
Receipt by the inspector of a report card and other information indicating working hours and wages.

If during work a citizen’s situation worsened (the appearance of children, alimony, deteriorating health and other reasons for non-payment), he has the right to apply directly to the judicial authorities with a request to reduce the interest paid to the state.
The inspector and the one who offers the work have the right to do this, but in practice there have been no such cases. After the term ends, the convicted person will be deregistered, however, within a calendar year from this date he will be a convicted person. This is also noted by sources of Russian penal legislation.

Application of compulsory work in practice

Local authorities have the right to determine the organization and form of work execution. As a rule, such work does not require high professional skills. In most cases, city authorities provide labor activities aimed at improving public places.

As practice shows, the main types of work are:

Planting green spaces on the streets.
Digging up trees in parks, alleys, squares.
Loading and unloading materials.
Painting borders.
Garbage collection at public transport stops, sidewalks, and along the sides of roadways.

The form of ownership of the enterprise or organization where the convicted person carries out the court decision does not play any role. Assignments are given taking into account age, physical development and the presence of contraindications for general health.

Examples of the use of compulsory labor are the facts of court decisions under Article 49 to supporters of A. Navalny. Courts in several Russian cities applied this rule to proxies of opposition representatives. The reason was campaigning in support of his candidacy for the post of head of state.

Protests took place in several regions of Russia. Seven supporters were punished with labor ranging from 20 to 120 hours. The court sentenced one protest participant to 20 hours of compulsory labor for ignoring the payment of a fine.

How, when and where are performed

What does serving a sentence involve? How is it processed?

After the verdict enters into legal force, the court sends an order to the criminal-executive inspection.

After this, the inspection is given 15 days to attract the convicted person to work.

The inspectorate coordinates with local government bodies the types of work to which a convicted person may be assigned. Then the documents are sent to the selected organization.

When choosing an organization and type of work, the person’s place of registration, place of work, his work schedule, state of health, and professional skills are taken into account.

The administration of the institution where the convict was sent issues a decree on his employment, keeps a time sheet for the time worked, and familiarizes him with the internal regulations and safety rules. Then the person is given appropriate instruction.

The convicted person must:

Comply with the organization's labor regulations.
Conscientiously perform the duties assigned to him.
Complete the work in full.
Warn the administration about a change of residence.

If a convicted person receives disability groups 1 and 2 while performing work, the inspectorate sends a proposal to the court to release him from punishment.

If pregnancy occurs, a petition is sent to the court with a request to defer the sentence.

What are mandatory works and where are they performed? About this in the video:

https://youtube.com/watch?v=7bGcgkhjW-I%3Fecver%3D1

Kinds

There are several types of correctional work. They can be assigned for an administrative offense or serve as a substitute for imprisonment.

The decision made by the court on this issue is made on a case-by-case basis, depending on the circumstances and the extent of the violation.

Administrative punishment

Mandatory work for administrative violations is assigned in court.

This type of work involves a citizen who has committed an offense performing free work that benefits society.

The duration of assignment of works cannot exceed more than two months.

While serving work, up to 20% of the salary is deducted from the violator’s basic earnings in favor of the state. Thus, the actual amount of the deduction depends on the citizen’s earnings.

Deductions are not made from benefits received, pensions, as well as payments of a one-time nature.

This type of punishment is used for minor offenses. These include:

petty hooliganism;
malicious disobedience to a lawful order;
systematic drinking of alcohol in public places.

Substitution of imprisonment

Replacing the unserved part of the sentence imposed on a convicted person with correctional labor is used when serving a term in a disciplinary military unit or when undergoing forced labor.

Article 80 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation allows for the replacement of the unserved part of the sentence for persons deprived of liberty, but who have shown ideal disciplinary behavior while in prison.

The decision to replace the unserved part of the sentence with correctional labor can only be made in court.

In recent years, there has been an increase in the number of prisoners who received a more lenient sentence in exchange for imprisonment. The court has increasingly received petitions from convicted persons wishing to receive a commutation of their sentences.

A petition to replace the unserved part of the sentence with correctional labor is a sample.

Calculation of deadlines and under what conditions the work is carried out

According to the laws of the Russian Federation, the punishment period is determined from 2 to 24 months. After a year, the convicted person, on a general basis, is entitled to take a leave of absence, which is paid for by the organization where he works.

In addition, correctional labor may be replaced by imprisonment if:

malicious evasion of execution of a sentence
violation of conditions, absences from work, sabotage
moving to live elsewhere without warning

Lawyers, changing the punishment, recalculate the deadlines, which is equal to one in three. One day of imprisonment is added for three days not worked.

The first absence or going to work drunk is only condemned; if the misbehavior is repeated, the time comes to replace it with another punishment by revising the previous sentence.

Procedure for carrying out punishment

Coordinates the execution of punishment - the Criminal Enforcement Inspectorate. The competence of the employees of this service includes monitoring how accurately the regime of serving the sentence is observed. The administration of the enterprise and the official employer also monitor the thoroughness of the execution of the assigned work. In addition to the executive inspector, the administration can also carry out educational measures in relation to the convicted person.

In order to prevent the commission of new crimes, the person brought to justice is prohibited from being outside his home - from 11 pm to 7 am. It is prohibited to leave the city on weekends and holidays. A minor offender is obliged to register with the Penal Inspectorate twice a month.

In case of violation of serving the sentence, tougher measures will be taken against the convicted person. The offender will be sentenced to imprisonment, arrest and sent to a correctional facility if:

after the warning letter was issued, he failed to appear again at the police inspectorate without a good reason;
does not show up for work or has absenteeism;
appears at work under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

The judge can change the assigned restriction, not only for the worse, but also for the better for the convicted person. According to Art. 93 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, the convicted person and his defense attorney may submit a corresponding petition to the criminal executive inspection. If the petition is approved, as it is justified by good behavior and conscientious fulfillment of assigned duties, the person may be released from further execution of the sentence or the term of its serving may be reduced.

Punishments in this form are used to correct a person who has committed an offense for a long time. The fact is that a person’s psyche is greatly influenced by the judgmental and unfriendly views of people from his environment - colleagues, acquaintances, neighbors and subordinates. A huge number of citizens value the opinions of their environment and other people. That is why, once finding himself in such an awkward situation as performing correctional work, a person forever loses the desire to break the law again. When fulfilling this form of responsibility, a person is not completely isolated from society, he leads a normal life with certain restrictions that give him the opportunity to think about his behavior.

If correctional labor is assigned to people as a mitigation of punishment. They provide an opportunity for the criminal to atone for his guilt before society, to do something useful for fellow citizens, instead of a previously committed violation, which entailed adverse consequences. In any case, this type of punishment is considered one of the most loyal and effective for criminals who have committed an offense for the first time.

Consequences for draft dodgers

Sometimes judges, when considering offenses, consider that for the first time it is enough for the offender to work with deductions from his salary in order to atone for the offense.

The comfort of being free and working under the same conditions may cease if the accused does not understand the seriousness of his situation in the following cases:

5 days pass at the workplace selected by the inspection
ignoring marks from the controller
absenteeism
alcohol and drug use at work

A malicious evader is considered to be a person who does not respond properly to warnings, repeating his offenses, despite written notifications.

The main purpose of labor punishment is to direct people on the right path, to give the opportunity to atone for guilt in freedom, not in prison; the convicted person only needs to lead the lifestyle of a law-abiding citizen.

Who cannot serve a sentence of correctional labor

According to the rules and regulations established in Russia, correctional labor as a criminal punishment cannot be legally imposed on the following citizens:

Disabled people from the first group.
Women with pregnancy.
Women with children under 3 years of age.
Conscripts.
Contractors.

In court practice, there are cases in which people from this list were assigned work to correct themselves and realize their guilt. Sometimes we are talking about judicial inaccuracy or the fact that some data and circumstances of the case became known too late. However, when new information becomes known, the sentence is overturned, and this applies to all such cases.

Example: a citizen was sentenced to work for a year and a half and withhold 10 percent of her income in favor of the state. After the verdict came into force, it became known that the defendant was pregnant. The defendant was explained that she had every right to go to court and file a motion for a delay. The application was granted by the court.

An important point: there is a rule of three days, during which the judicial authorities are required to send the verdict (copy) to the inspectorate. In reality, this rule is not followed or is only implemented in rare cases. This is where events appear that influence the final verdict.

Responsibility for certain offenses can also arise from the age of 14, and then age and characteristics of work activity in the code are taken into account. This is light work, shortened hours and other rules under which citizens 14-16 years old can work. Other minors (age 16-18) may be involved in work on a general basis.

Execution of a court decision on correctional labor for a criminal offense

When choosing correctional labor as a measure of criminal punishment, the court always takes into account the nature of the crime committed.
This measure of adequate punishment is usually chosen if the crime is of medium or light gravity.

The following may be convicted:

persons who have violated the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.
persons over 16 years of age, in some cases for murder or rape, and 14 years of age.

But at the same time, the court thoroughly checks the mental state of the defendant, whether he could be aware that he is committing a crime.

If the defendant's insanity is proven, a sentence of correctional labor will not be imposed.

Such a penalty after the court hearing can be immediately included by the judge in the sentence.

Or he introduces it later, as a mitigating punishment after imposing a more serious one, that is, as a replacement for imprisonment.

The legislation of Russia also clearly defines persons who cannot be punished by correctional labor.

This:

pregnant women;
mothers of young children (under 3 years old);
disabled people of the first degree who have official confirmation of this;
conscripts or contract soldiers who hold a position as a private or sergeant, if at the time of sentencing the period of conscription service has not expired.

That is, such a penalty does not apply to persons whose work activity is temporarily limited.
Immediately after the verdict is pronounced and it enters into force, the convicted person is required to register with the criminal-executive inspectorate at his place of residence.

See here how and within what time frame you can challenge a court decision by filing an appeal.

All aspects of carrying out enforcement work as a criminal punishment are regulated by Article 7 of the Criminal Executive Code of the Russian Federation.

An officially employed convict notifies the inspectorate of his place of work, a notice is sent there, and as soon as it is received by the administration, the execution of the sentence begins.

If the convicted person is not employed, the penal inspectorate chooses a place of work for him.

It is written in more detail how to register with the employment center.

Explanations of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation on the assignment of correctional labor

Issues of the practice of imposing criminal punishment in the form of correctional labor are explained in paragraphs 14 - 16 of Resolution of the Plenum of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation dated December 22, 2015 N 58 “On the practice of imposing criminal punishment by the courts of the Russian Federation.”

The specifics of assigning correctional labor to minors and replacing this punishment are explained in Resolution of the Plenum of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation dated 01.02.2011 No. 1 “On the judicial practice of applying legislation regulating the specifics of criminal liability and punishment of minors.”

Characteristics of punishment

Not many people know what correctional labor is under the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation; in most cases, a person becomes familiar with this term when he has already broken the law. The Criminal Code of the Russian Federation positions correctional labor as one of the types of criminal punishment. Their essence is to forcefully attract a guilty person to work. This type of punishment is assigned to a convict who has a primary work activity and does not have one.

This type of punishment is imposed for a period of two months to two years, depending on the nature of the crime committed. For minors who have committed a crime, the maximum term of correctional labor is 365 days. The minimum sentence for all groups and age categories of offenders is 61 days.

From the criminal’s salary, from 5 to 25% will be collected into the state treasury. When calculating recovery from earnings, taxes and other payments are not excluded. The convicted person is obliged to comply with the procedure for serving the sentence and treat work conscientiously. Corrective work can be carried out at the official place of employment of the convicted person, or in places that will be determined by local authorities. As a rule, these are state-owned enterprises in the region of residence. A sentenced person does not have the right to refuse the work offered to him. While serving a sentence, the Criminal Code prohibits resigning at will.

Few people know, but during correctional work, the term of punishment is counted, even if the subject of the offense is sent on sick leave. In a situation where the offender falls ill, he will still receive money; it is from this amount that regular collections, appointed by the judge, will be made to the state treasury.

If a convicted person evades punishment in every possible way, he can be replaced with imprisonment. Calculation of serving the sentence will be calculated - 1 day of imprisonment for 3 days of correctional labor.

Corrective labor ordered by the court does not oblige lawbreakers to change their official place of employment. The person remains in the same place, but the entry in the work book significantly affects further relationships in the team and career advancement.

It is very important to note the fact that not everyone can be held accountable for a crime committed in this form. According to established legislation, there is a circle of persons who are prohibited from imposing this type of punishment

Among them are:

disabled people of the first group;
pregnant women;
women who have children under 3 years of age;
military personnel.

This penalty is not imposed on persons whose ability to work is temporarily limited. According to part 1. Art. 45 of the Criminal Code of Russia, correctional work, is applied only in the form of the main punishment, but they can replace a fine and other types of liability, except imprisonment. It is important to note that correctional labor can be applied to pregnant criminals who have committed grave and especially grave violations of the law, in view of the deferment of serving the main sentence.

A huge number of people confuse correctional labor with compulsory labor. Evaporation work is carried out by a person at the place of official employment, and funds are collected from him into the state treasury. A person who has committed a crime before the law must perform compulsory work in his free time, and he must carry out this work for free. Funds are also not collected from him into the state treasury.

Forced labor is considered a more severe punishment; it is prescribed for committing crimes - serious and moderate. They can be a substitute for imprisonment. This punishment consists of involving the subject of a criminal offense to work in places determined by the bodies of the penal system. They are appointed for a period of up to five years. This form of responsibility cannot be assigned to minor citizens, in contrast to the two correctional measures listed above.

Where can I work

Legislators determined that correctional work may consist of:

where the criminal has his main place of work
certain heads of self-government, agreed upon with executive organizations at the place of residence of the convicted person

Deductions from wages
If correctional labor is assigned at the offender’s main job, it is essentially a penalty that is gradually paid by the sentenced person.

With the help of psychological influence and limited legal freedoms, they instill respect for legislative acts in a citizen who has broken the law.

Of course, not everything is so rosy for a criminal when he works outside his job.

It is almost impossible to work in the countryside, since there are no necessary organizations there that can effectively use the labor of a convict, and besides, he will have to perform actions in the company of complete strangers.

For what crimes is it assigned?

Places of imprisonment do not in all cases have a positive effect on the correction of a person who has violated the law, and in many cases they only increase the risk of repeating crimes. Labor service can reduce the likelihood of a repeat offense.

Correctional labor is prescribed for crimes of minor or moderate gravity. The court makes a decision on this type of punishment based on the fact that in a familiar environment, a citizen who has broken the law will correct himself faster than in the absence of a work collective.

Crimes of minor gravity include careless as well as intentional acts.

For committing such actions, the punishment leaves no more than three years in prison.

Medium gravity includes crimes committed intentionally, which involve no more than five years of imprisonment or a careless act, a period for which no more than three years of serving the sentence. . The court assigns correctional labor in the following cases:

The court assigns correctional labor in the following cases:

If the sanctions of the article of the Special Part of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, according to which the type of crime committed is classified, there is a punishment by correctional labor, as the only measure of influence or as an alternative to other methods of punishment.
If, in accordance with Article 64 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, the court chooses a more lenient punishment than what is provided for committing a specific type of crime.
When making a decision under Article 80 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, where imprisonment is replaced by correctional labor for the benefit of society.
If a deferment is applied for mothers of young children, as well as for pregnant women.
If there is a malicious evasion of a fine, in this case correctional labor is replaced with a more severe type of punishment.

This type of work can be assigned as the main type of punishment and is not used as an additional measure of influence on a convicted citizen.

Hands up, softer measures: compulsory, executive and forced labor in Russia

Mandatory, corrective, compulsory - what's the difference?

The institution of punishment in the form of compulsory, corrective and forced labor in Russia is extremely young.
Criminal punishment in the form of correctional labor began to be imposed in the Russian Federation since 2003, mandatory - since 2005. Forced labor was introduced into the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation only in 2011; courts began to apply this type of punishment in 2013, although it was officially introduced in 2017. The advantages of court-ordered work are quite obvious. The convict is not isolated from society, he is employed, and has the opportunity to leave the territory of the correctional center during free time from work, weekends and holidays, as well as during annual paid leave (in the case of forced labor). “The more convicts are sentenced to punishments that do not involve isolation from society, the better. It is no secret that places of deprivation of liberty today often not only do not fulfill their function of crime prevention, but also become a school of crime for convicts, transmit social vices and have the property of social contamination. Many of those who have been in these institutions, once outside the prison walls, commit crimes again. Therefore, an increase in the share of punishments, the execution of which does not involve the removal of convicts from the social environment and ensures the preservation of social contacts, is a positive factor,” says lawyer, managing partner of the St. Petersburg office of Pen&Paper, head of criminal law practice Alexey Dobrynin.

However, this mechanism still works with gaps and malfunctions. Before moving on to them, let’s figure out what the difference is between the three types of work.

During compulsory labor (Article 49 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation), the convicted person engages in free socially useful labor in his free time from his main work or study. The type of such work and the facilities at which they are performed are determined by local government bodies in agreement with the penal inspections. Duration of execution – from 60 to 480 hours, no more than four hours a day.

Correctional labor (Article 50 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation) is sometimes called a special form of fine. The convict continues to attend his main place of work, but a certain amount of state income is collected from his salary (from 5 to 20%). The execution period ranges from two months to two years. If the convicted person does not have a main place of work, then he serves his sentence in places determined by local government bodies in agreement with the penitentiary inspectorates, in the area of his place of residence.

While performing forced labor, convicts live in a correctional center and receive wages, of which 5 to 20% also goes to state income. The execution period ranges from two months to five years.

“We assign compulsory and correctional labor for crimes of minor and medium gravity. And forced labor can be imposed, including for serious crimes, if they are committed for the first time and if the court considers it possible to replace imprisonment with such a punishment,” says legal lawyer Igor Pastukhov.

If we talk about specific crimes, compulsory labor is most often assigned for driving a vehicle while intoxicated by a person who has previously been subject to administrative punishment for a similar violation (Article 264.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation). These crimes account for about 40% of all sentences to compulsory labor. Another 20% of convictions are for theft. Among other crimes, compulsory labor is most often assigned for causing minor harm to health, threats to kill, violating the inviolability of a home, drug trafficking without the intent to sell, and insulting a government official.

In more than half of the cases, correctional labor is prescribed for failure to pay child support (approximately 60% of sentences). Among other crimes, correctional labor is most often prescribed for violating the inviolability of the home and insulting a government official.

Forced labor is most often prescribed for theft and failure to pay child support (approximately 25% of sentences). Other common crimes include robbery and driving while intoxicated by a person who has previously been subject to administrative punishment for a similar violation.

It is worth noting that forced labor is used as an alternative to imprisonment. That is, if the court considers that the convicted person can reform without actually serving his sentence in prison, it can replace his sentence with forced labor.

It has already been noted that the system of compulsory and correctional labor was introduced as a milder and more effective measure of punishment, since convicts are not isolated from society and are forced to work. According to Alexey Dobrynin, the introduction of forced labor is connected, rather, with a large proportion of those sentenced to suspended imprisonment who are not involved in labor.

“It seems that the initiators of the introduction of forced labor recalled the Soviet experience of applying such a measure as a suspended sentence to imprisonment with the mandatory involvement of the convicted person in labor. Since the late 70s, suspended prisoners were sent to construction sites of the national economy, mainly enterprises with hazardous working conditions, chemical plants and other industrial facilities. Therefore, such convicts were popularly called “chemists.” Current forced labor is very similar in regulation to this institution,” the expert notes.

It turns out that these punishments are effective, applicable and promising. What are the problems?

Expectation vs reality

1. Sorry, no room available

If we look at the statistics, over the last four years, a total of 20 to 25% of convicts have been sent to compulsory and correctional labor. Less than 1% are still subject to forced labor; in 2021, 908 people received such punishment. According to experts, the issue here is a simple lack of places.

Expectation. In 2012, the Research Institute of the Federal Penitentiary Service wrote that correctional centers designed for 200 convicts would be created in Russia to carry out forced labor. The staff number of such centers will be 30 people. By 2020, it was planned to create 150 such centers.

Reality. “As follows from the official information of the Federal Penitentiary Service of Russia, currently only 15 correctional centers have been created throughout the country. To serve sentences of forced labor, 69 isolated sections of correctional institutions have also been created, functioning as correctional centers. For comparison, in Russia there are 684 correctional colonies, 111 settlement colonies, 22 educational colonies and another 7 correctional colonies for those sentenced to life imprisonment and 8 prisons. Thus, the main problem with the use of forced labor is the lack of infrastructure,” says Alexey Dobrynin.

According to official data from the Federal Penitentiary Service, about 190 thousand people sentenced to imprisonment have formal grounds to submit a petition to replace part of the unserved sentence with forced labor, and the capacity of the centers is about 5,000 people. However, it appears that the courts are playing it safe to such an extent that some correctional centers are not even half full. Igor Pastukhov, in particular, encountered this in his work.

“One of my clients asked to replace imprisonment with work, asked several times, but the court refused him. In my opinion, for this client the punishment was generally wrong; he was convicted without reason. But it is absolutely obvious that the milder the punishment, regardless of whether it is legal or not, the easier it is for the person,” says the lawyer.

In general, the number of people sentenced to forced labor is slowly but still growing, as, indeed, new places for serving their sentences are being slowly built.

“Currently, the provisions of 179-FZ dated July 18, 2019 “On Amendments to the Criminal Executive Code of the Russian Federation” are being implemented, according to which it became possible to create sections of correctional centers at enterprises with convicts living in dormitories created at them,” the press notes. -bureau of the Federal Penitentiary Service.

2. The job is not for everyone.

Expectation. Compliance with the procedure and conditions for serving sentences in the form of compulsory and correctional labor depends on the legal consciousness of each convicted person. Penal inspections carry out individual educational work with convicts, aimed at motivating them to law-abiding behavior, compliance with the conditions and procedure for serving their sentences. Organizations in which convicts serve their sentences are charged with the responsibility of monitoring the convict and notifying the penitentiary inspectorate of violations of labor discipline committed by the convict.

Reality. Correctional and compulsory labor do not imply total control by institutions of the penal system. Moreover, for objective reasons, they are not able to take an individual approach to each of their wards and monitor the quality of the work performed. In fact, according to the legislation of the Russian Federation, the work of the penal inspection is, in principle, limited only to carrying out individual educational work with each convict. Quality control of the work performed is entrusted to the administration of the organization in which the convicted person is employed or is serving a sentence.

“Violations of the procedure for serving sentences by convicts are not uncommon. Convicts are late or do not show up for work at all, do not appear at the penal inspection, change their place of residence without notice, etc. However, the current law provides mechanisms for responding to these violations. If the convicted person demonstrates an unwillingness to work and be under the control of authorized bodies, these types of punishment can be replaced by imprisonment,” says Alexey Dobrynin.

According to the Federal Penitentiary Service, in 2021, in relation to 21% of those sentenced to correctional labor, the punishment was replaced with a more severe one due to malicious evasion of work, 2% were on the wanted list, similarly with those sentenced to compulsory labor - 14% had their punishment replaced to a more stringent one, 4% of them were wanted. These figures mean that, firstly, the application of lenient punishment to convicted prisoners does not contribute in any way to improving their behavior. Secondly, the inspectorate has more work, that is, it pays even less attention to its wards who are still working, some of them begin to perform their duties worse or evade them - a vicious circle.

Although the Federal Penitentiary Service does not agree with this interpretation of the statistics given. “14% and 21% of those evading serving a sentence do not indicate the absence of a positive effect from punishment, given that a sentence in the form of compulsory labor can be replaced if three absences to serve the sentence are identified, and correctional ones after a repeated violation of the order and conditions of serving the sentence is identified. form of correctional labor. The effectiveness of the punishment is evidenced by the achievement of its goals, and not by the number of convicts evading serving it,” commented the department’s press bureau.

According to Alexey Dobrynin, lawyers themselves can solve the problem of unfair work if they monitor the execution of sentences by convicts. “We had a case that we supported pro bono, defending the victim - a disabled person who was beaten and thrown into the Kryukov Canal by one inadequate person. We got him convicted. He received his 400 hours of correctional labor. But since throughout the entire trial the accused neither admitted guilt nor apologized properly to our client, we had great doubts that he would carry out the sentence. And so it happened: not finding him at his workplace (in the administration, where convicts are given orders), we filed a complaint with the prosecutor’s office. The latter, after conducting an inspection, provided us with a photo of how the convicted businessman cleans the basements,” the lawyer shares his experience.

3. Life beyond the minimum wage

Expectation. Withholding a certain percentage from a convicted person’s earnings is one of the punitive elements of correctional and forced labor. The amount of withholding cannot exceed 20%. If the financial situation of a convicted person worsens, the penal inspection, the convicted person himself, or the administration of the organization in which he works, have the right to apply to the court with a petition to reduce the amount of fees.

Reality. A significant reason for the deterioration of the financial situation can be any incident: for example, illness or injury, recognition of an able-bodied family member as disabled, the birth of a child, destruction of property, or damage to the convicted person and his family as a result of a fire or natural disaster. It is extremely difficult to simply prove to the court that the salary is small and not enough to live on.

“The wages are quite obviously low during labor. The FSIN says that the average salary in one of the departments is 14 thousand rubles. It is clear that this is not much higher than the minimum wage, minus deductions, minus money allocated for the costs of the center itself. In addition, in correctional colonies, food, accommodation and clothing are at your own expense. We can assume that there is a problem here, of course,” says Igor Pastukhov.

Quite often, for this reason, convicts are dependent on their family, but it is clear that not everyone has the means to do this. So, returning to the previous point, some people really shy away from work simply because they don’t want to work, but for some it’s a way to survive. Consciously refusing employment, they expect imprisonment, where they will be fully supported by the state.

4. We don't need such workers

Expectation. Employers are subject to the requirements of the labor legislation of the Russian Federation, including the creation of favorable working conditions for those sentenced to forced labor, ensuring the right to timely and full payment of wages not lower than the minimum wage established by federal law.

In addition, when serving a sentence of forced labor, correctional centers exercise additional control over employers' compliance with labor laws.

Reality. Back in 2012, the Research Institute of the Federal Penitentiary Service wrote that employers, to put it mildly, are reluctant to hire people with an outstanding criminal record. Business representatives need a real message in the form of certain benefits when employing this category of people. So far, such benefits have not been enshrined anywhere at the legislative level.

In 2021, this problem is still not solved. “A pressing issue in the activities of penal inspections when performing correctional labor and correctional centers when performing forced labor is the doubts of employers about hiring people with a criminal record,” notes the FSIN press bureau.

You can understand the business: not all convicts are ready to conscientiously fulfill their duties, and those who are ready will most likely leave after the expiration of their sentence, and the employer will lose a good employee. There is a solution to this problem: benefits and various incentives for businesses that employ convicts, or the transfer of compulsory/correctional/compulsory labor to fulfill state orders.

There are other, smaller gaps in this area. “There is an order from the Ministry of Justice that determines the procedure for serving forced labor. There is nothing in that order about dates, this is not normal. There is also a chapter in this order called leaving/leaving the territory of the correctional center. Logically, the convict must remain there all the time and can only leave with the permission of the center’s management. So the order contains rules about leaving the center, but for some reason there are no words about leaving. Although the section is called about exit and departure. That is, there is room for improving regulation, I ask that the Ministry of Justice pay attention to this,” says Igor Pastukhov.

Compulsory, corrective, forced labor is a young form of punishment. There are holes and gaps in it. However, they are really working on it, and sentences under this measure are handed down more and more confidently every year.

Image source: still from the film “Operation Y and Shurik’s other adventures”