Spain has launched a rehabilitation program for officials who can't help but steal

Many people remember the famous quote from "12 chairs" by Ilf and Petrov: "His whole being protested against thefts, but he could not help stealing. He stole, and he was ashamed. He was constantly stealing, constantly ashamed." So the great satirists of the 20th century described the feelings of the" blue thief " caretaker Alexander Yakovlevich. Now we live in different times and it is a sin to laugh at such people, especially in Europe. In Spain, these poor people are even ... rehabilitated to get rid of their passions and vices.

In Spain, at the state level, announced a rehabilitation program for officials who were convicted of corruption crimes, but could not get on the path of correction. At once it is worth saying that this program, although experimental, but sets itself quite real goals – the return of stolen ex-officials to society, after serving time.

The program is designed for 11 months and consists of 32 group classes with qualified psychologists according to a specially developed methodology by scientists. Classes cover many topics, but two areas can be considered key: values and personal abilities. Simply put, officials will be instilled with human values, with which they obviously were not familiar, and also explain that they are not so bad and they can live without bribes and embezzlement, for example, working as a plumber.

They started dealing with corrupt officials in March in nine Spanish prisons. Participation in this project is completely voluntary, that is, if a prisoner feels that after release he will not be able to live honestly, he can apply for inclusion in the group. Participants in the experiment receive an important bonus – it is easier for them to get parole, so there are always enough people who want to learn how to live honestly.

It is already known that some well-known personalities participate in the rehabilitation program, for example, the handball player and two-time Olympic medalist Inaki Urdangarin. He is not only an athlete and a media darling, but also the son-in-law of the King of Spain. An Olympian and a member of the royal family was caught for embezzling several million euros from public funds controlled by him.

The problem of corruption for Spain is considered very relevant. In 2020, this country was ranked 32nd out of 180 in the global corruption rating by Transparency International. For a European state, this is a very disturbing signal. Do you think we should adopt the experience of the Spaniards, taking into account the peculiarities of our realities?