On 30 June, a professional holiday is celebrated – Day of the Employee of the Security Service of the Penal Executive System (abbreviated in Russian as ‘UIS’) of the Ministry of Justice of Russia. The Service was established in accordance with the Order of Russian Federal Penitentiary Service No. 160 of 20 March 2008.
For many years in Russia, the Penal Executive System had been within the Ministry of Internal Affairs. But the reforms of state agencies in the 1990s and the transition to democratic forms of government have influenced this department. The date of the UIS Security Service foundation as an independent unit is considered to be 30 June 1994 – on this day, the functions of the security of correctional institutions were transferred to the penitentiary system’s bodies. At the same time, the formation of security departments in each UIS’ territorial body began. In fact, new agencies were created, which were entrusted with the task of ensuring reliable protection of correctional colonies, as well as a number of functions for escorting convicts. In the process of further penal enforcement system’s reform in 2001-2003, specialised security units were created in remand prisons, prisons and educational colonies.
Currently, the UIS’ federal body is the Federal Penitentiary Service (FSIN) under the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation. It was created for the execution of punishments and for the detention of suspects, accused and convicted persons. And the UIS Security Service is one of the largest in the FSIN system. This is not surprising because the security service has always occupied a primary place among the main structural links of the entire penitentiary system. Reliable protection of persons under investigation and convicted persons during escorting and in places of their detention is the security service’s main task.
For more than 20-year history, the UIS Security Service has developed not just into an independent integral agency, provided with modern engineering and technical means and performing tasks to ensure the isolation of prisonres and the protection of the UIS’ objects. It also includes professionally trained personnel. High professionalism and the level of combat readiness, a competent and responsible approach to the performance of official tasks, discipline and constant improvement of skills – these are distinctive features of this agency’s employees. A special place in the UIS Security Service’s structure is occupied by canine units that honourably perform the tasks of reliable protection of objects. After all, despite the development and use of modern technical means, service dogs are still an effective means of protecting institutions and searching for escaped criminals.
Translated by Elizaveta O. Ovchinnikova
