Psychological Risks for Police Officers Conducting Post-Penitentiary Control of Crime and Threats to their Security

Introduction. The article considers issues of risks and threats to psychological security of police officers conducting postpenitentiary control of crime in the area where correctional institutions are located. The objective is to reveal social criminological peculiarities of the penitentiary location as the source of risks and threats to security of police officers conducting post-penitentiary control. Materials and Methods. The authors study materials of domestic and foreign legislation, monographs and scientific publications. Content analysis, analysis of statistical data, classification and comparative analysis of the collected data are employed as the primary research methods. Results and Discussion. The paper reveals social criminological features of the penitentiary location, sources and mechanisms of professional victimization, psychological stability of police officers as the phenomenon of life resilience. Types of threatening situations are classified according to the degree of danger for the police officers who conduct post-penitentiary control over crime in the area with correctional institutions. The researchers examine the main negative mental states of persons released from penitentiary facilities as the factor of risks and threats to psychological security of police officers. Under analysis is the foreign experience of probation service in the field of psychological maintenance of officers of a special supervisory body. Conclusions. The level of crime recidivism, as the most dangerous criminal phenomenon for national security of the society, largely depends on the state of post-penitentiary control over crime in the penitentiary location. Carrying out post-penitentiary control over crime police officers are under psychological threat as well as their relatives. Constant unfavourable social criminological factors of the penitentiary area require from police officers a high level of psychological stability and life resilience.