From the author: Babich N.I. On the problem of improving psychological services in open correctional institutions / N.I. Babich // Current experimental sciences: zb. navuk. pratz/redkal.: V.V. Bushchyk (adc. ed.), V.D. Starychonak, I.S. Tashlykov i insh. – Minsk: BDPU, 2010. – P. 84 – 87. Socio-economic and political changes in society have caused the need to reform all government bodies, including the penal system. The introduction of the position of psychologist into the staff of penitentiary institutions is provided for by the Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners, adopted at the first UN Congress on the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders (Geneva, 1955). In the Republic of Belarus, the position of a psychologist in open correctional institutions was introduced only in recent years. The proposed structure for managing crime prevention in the internal affairs department system (Fig. 1) has not only theoretical but also practical significance, as it is associated with the direct practice of the work of internal affairs bodies and their units involved in crime prevention. The organizational and content component includes all subjects of preventive work, both in the system of internal affairs bodies and outside this system, the goals and competencies of the subjects, as well as their interaction. The technological component of the structure presupposes specific forms, means, methods, techniques of preventive work, methods of interaction of its subjects and objects. Staffing for preventive work with convicts involves: 1) the introduction of positions of psychologists and other specialists trained in the field of criminology, sociology, psychology, pedagogy, medicine with their regular recertification; 2) organizing advanced training for employees and specialists of internal affairs bodies carrying out prevention at psychological and pedagogical seminars in order to form and develop their psychological and pedagogical competence necessary for direct contact work with those sentenced to restriction of freedom; 3) special training of relevant personnel at the university. ORGANIZATIONAL AND CONTENT COMPONENT Subjects of preventive work at the level of internal affairs bodies Subjects of preventive work not related to the internal affairs system1. ATS units2. Criminal police units OVD3. Temporary isolation centers 1. Social protection authorities and social service institutions 2. Educational institutions3. Youth authorities4. Health care institutions5. Employment service bodies6. Institutions of culture, leisure, sports and tourism7. Families of offenders Goals and competencies of subjects Goals and competencies of subjects Interaction of subjects of preventive work General goals General competencies Levels and forms of interaction Interaction management TECHNOLOGICAL COMPONENT Pedagogical means of preventive work Special means of preventive work - educational nature of preventive work; - pedagogization of special means of prevention; - joint work of departments of internal affairs bodies and educational institutions - educational measures; - restrictive measures ;- legal measures; - technical measures; - medical and psychological rehabilitation PERSONNEL COMPONENT Professional composition of employees and specialists of the internal affairs bodies carrying out preventive work Additional requirements for the professional competence of employees and specialists of the internal affairs bodies carrying out preventive work Conditions for advanced training of employees and specialists of the internal affairs bodies carrying out preventive work Figure 1 - Crime prevention management structure in the system of work of internal affairs bodies, the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Belarus dated December 29, 2005 No. 1564 in the resolution “On approval of the state program for improvingpenal system of the Ministry of Internal Affairs for 2006-2010" approved a state program that includes improving work in providing psychological assistance to convicts and increasing the level of organization of the correctional process. According to this document, psychological assistance is provided to convicts serving sentences in correctional institutions. Based on the order of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Belarus dated September 6, 2005 No. 274 “On approval of the Instructions on the procedure for organizing psychological work in the internal affairs bodies of the Republic of Belarus” (as of March 28, 2007), the main tasks of the psychological service in open correctional institutions were identified type: psychological support of work with personnel: acceleration of professional adaptation of newly hired employees; psychological counseling; expanding the range of socially and personally acceptable means for employees to independently overcome existing difficulties; monitoring the socio-psychological climate in IWET; analysis of the causes and sources of increased mental stress in departments; psychoprophylaxis of deviant behavior, suicidal manifestations; training employees to act in difficult, non-standard situations. Penal policy orients the activities of penitentiary employees towards the social and pedagogical focus of educational work with convicts in achieving the goal of their correction and preventing them from committing new crimes. In resolving these issues, it is difficult to overestimate the role of psychological services. Considering the inextricable connection between psychology and education, we hope that increasing the status of the psychological service, its strengthening and expansion will also have a beneficial effect on the activities of penitentiary institutions, allowing them to organize and carry out the educational process much more effectively among those sentenced to restriction of freedom.2. psychological support of the correctional process: studying the personality of those sentenced to restriction of freedom in order to predict their behavior during the period of serving their sentence; development and implementation of correctional programs, forms and methods of differentiated educational influence; carrying out consulting and psycho-correction work in order to develop readiness for law-abiding behavior; study of the community of convicts; preparation of persons sentenced to restriction of freedom for parole. 3. psychological support for work with special contingents: identification of individual psychological characteristics of persons requiring psychological assistance; studying the moral influence of criminal prosecution, psychological states caused by an understanding of guilt (innocence) in order to create the necessary conditions for adaptation; providing assistance in adaptation to the conditions of IWTP; carrying out individual and group psychocorrectional (psychotherapeutic) work; assistance in the formation of realistic positive self-esteem and willingness to take responsibility for one’s own choices and behavior; attracting convicts to work as assistant psychologists; providing psychological assistance to persons suffering from addictions; consulting close relatives on issues of normalizing relationships and providing psychological support to convicts. Regarding particular problems of psychological activity in open correctional institutions, it is necessary to consider the issue of organizing this work with certain categories of convicts who need a special approach. The data obtained during the empirical study suggests that there are gender differences and differences between subjects with different numbers of criminal records when they are in an open correctional facility. Men more often experience guilt (U = 14899), the need for social support (U = 14149.5), they are more likely than women to get out of a stressful situation with the help of alcohol,.