Czech Prison in Jiřice Tests Brazilian Method to Fight Reoffending

Since the start of the year, a pilot unit has been operating at the prison in Jiřice, in the Nymburk district, where inmates are being prepared for life on the outside using the Brazilian APAC method — with an emphasis on education, spirituality and intensive self-improvement work. The project's goal is to reduce reoffending rates, which remain among the highest in Europe in Czechia.

According to statistics, the share of repeat offenders in Czechia hovers around 60-70%, with 67% of inmates serving a repeat sentence last year. Only a third were serving their first sentence, roughly a fifth were serving their second, 14% their third, and the rest had ended up behind bars four or more times.

How the Brazilian method works

APAC stands for Association for the Protection and Assistance of the Convicted. The method originated in Brazil in 1972 and is built on the principles of restorative justice: instead of punishment and revenge, the focus is on repairing harm and rebuilding relationships with society.

In Brazilian APAC centers, there are no classic guards at all — the keys to the gates are effectively held by the inmates themselves. Prisoners are addressed by their first names, wear regular clothes, and follow an intensive, fully scheduled daytime program. Breaking the rules results in immediate expulsion and a return to a regular prison.

"In many countries, the goal is punishment, pure and simple. The focus isn't on rehabilitation and reform," notes Valdeci Ferreira, co-author of the method. According to him, strictness and a harsh environment, paradoxically, keep people trapped in the criminal world.

Impressive results in Brazil

According to Ferreira, reoffending rates in ordinary Brazilian prisons run at 70-80%, while in APAC centers the figure is just 13.9%. In women's facilities it's even lower — 2.8%. Today, around 70 such centers operate in Brazil, holding more than seven thousand people, and the concept has spread to 15 other countries, including Germany, Italy, Romania, Malawi and South Korea.

Ferreira also emphasizes the financial benefits: keeping someone in an APAC center costs roughly a third of what a regular prison costs. For comparison, official figures put the average daily cost per inmate in Czechia at nearly 1,900 crowns.

What has changed in Jiřice

Fully transplanting the Brazilian model onto Czech soil isn't possible — legislation gets in the way, since, for instance, convicts are required to wear prison uniforms. "The program has to comply with the current legislation on the execution of sentences," explains Hana Prokopová, a spokesperson for Jiřice prison. She notes that the method works best for inmates nearing the end of their sentence, and participation is strictly voluntary.

Here, inmates aren't called "prisoners" but "recuperantes" — from the Portuguese word that can be translated as "those who are recovering." The program is based on APAC's 12 core principles: mutual aid, work, family involvement, volunteer participation and spirituality. Participants take part daily in art therapy, music and drama therapy, a film club, and meetings with invited guests.

One participant, 45-year-old Marek, who is serving time for fraud and other crimes, admits: "I already look at criminal activity differently now. It's changed how I see the world around me." He works the night shift every day at the post office sorting parcels, and in his free time voluntarily takes part in the program's extra activities.

The project is currently in its pilot phase, with 14 inmates participating out of a total capacity of 25 places. If the results turn out positive, the program could become one of the standard tools used by the prison service. Similar restorative justice projects are already running in Czechia: the open prison in Jiřice since 2017, a special unit for mothers with children in Světlá nad Sázavou, and a women's facility built on a similar principle is planned to open in Velké Přílepy.

Source: seznamzpravy.cz