Prof. Dr. Irakli Koçollari
The education of human society has been and remains a long, continuous, difficult and quite complex historical process. Always concerned about its future, humanity has seen this activity as a mission and a necessity for its very existence.
To this end, since the distant dawn of centuries, from primitive clan societies to modern times, humanity has worked to build institutions for the education of generations, has designed philosophical and religious platforms, schools and centers for clinical and psychological treatment, which would serve morality, education and progress, has formulated laws to punish, warn or even prevent the involvement of individuals in crime, etc.
But, an equally present historical concern for humanity has been and continues to be the re-education of people involved in crime, of the delinquent element, of groups or individuals convicted, who continue to serve their sentence or of those who return to social life after serving their sentence, a contingent that has never failed to be present in the life of a society.
Time has clearly shown that this process called rehabilitation, reintegration or re-education remains very difficult, even extremely difficult in relation to the first. It is precisely this complex process that the author Gledis Nano deals with in his very interesting work, entitled "The Process of Rehabilitation and Reintegration of Prisoners", an initiative that should be welcomed.
The process of reintegration of prisoners in Albania, even from a research perspective, is almost "terra incognita", or in the first steps of its infancy.
There are no in-depth, comprehensive studies or research on the reintegration of convicts into normal everyday life. As such, Gledis Nano's work has gone through considerable difficulties to bring us this material with research and practical value, which for the sake of truth is of great interest to justice institutions, law enforcement institutions, institutions for the implementation of criminal decisions, educational institutions, and why not even to the general public.
The author, with great attention and competence, has built a structure that initially presents the necessary need for the rehabilitation of this human contingent, evaluates the theories and recommendations offered by the modern world for solving this problem of great social importance, going further with "the basic principles and concepts for the implementation of the reintegration process", "activities within the penitentiary process", "treatment of prisoners and drafting individual plans", "...development of professional skills", "education and programs for educational deficiencies...", "medical treatment of the mentally ill", institutions that should be included in this complex rehabilitation process, etc.
To further approach the realities of our country and possible solutions to the problems surrounding this subject, the author has brought us a number of statistics about the institutions for the execution of criminal decisions in our country, the types of criminal offenses committed over the years, and the perpetrators of their commission.
Along with them, the author presents us with the instruments that would serve this important mission. Among other things, he offers us the means, ways and paths for the realization of this mission, by presenting us with the instruments of rehabilitation work, through:
Individual rehabilitation plans;
Inter-institutional cooperation for this purpose;
Cooperation of institutions with the families of prisoners;
Collaboration with psychologists;
Cooperation with specialized therapy centers and profiled re-education programs abroad;

Periodic recommendations from the Council of Europe on any legal changes in these areas;
Cooperation with the Probation Service;
Observation of individual tendencies and tendencies during the serving of the sentence;
Involvement in various work and activities...cultural, sports;
Permanent qualification of prison staff on how to communicate with prisoners serving sentences;
Maintaining prisoners' connections with the world outside of isolation... family and society
Respect for the universal rights of the individual, regardless of the conditions in which he finds himself;
The acquisition of new skills brought about by the evolution of the world beyond prisons, etc.
Also of great interest are the various Western schools, studies, theories, institutions and theorists that have dealt with the subject in question. They are a confrontation of our realities with the advanced theories of Western civilization, they are a mirror in front of which it is necessary to reflect and accept the best possible way to realize this human mission, which the author speaks about in his work.
Of course, the process of rehabilitation of convicts is a difficult object to achieve, but also so important for the present and future of a nation. The struggle and continuous, uninterrupted, persistent efforts, based on the best local and international practices will offer, as the author states, a guarantee for optimal results in Albanian society.
Tirana, November 25, 2024