THE THRESHOLD OF A NEW ERA Although it happened without violence and bloodshed the process Poland started in 1989 can rightly be called a revolution. In 1989 the cabinet did not eliminate the entire system of communism and forty percent of the seats in Parliament remained Communist until 1991. The Polish revolution occurred by small steps and was rather evolutionary.11 In December 1989, the prison population fell to 40,321. The next significant step was the implementation in October 1989 of new rules regulating imprisonment and pre-trial detention. The new rules replaced the "transitory" regulations of 1974 which in many ways violated the Polish Penal Executive Code and significantly liberalized the regime inside Polish prisons. One had to wonder whether these changes were the result of a desire merely to liberalize severe rules or the result of a changing philosophy and new attitude towards prisoners and prison institutions. This is not an easy question to answer given that prison and business have gone hand in hand for centuries.12 Sometimes prisons serve as a cheap source of labor and in times of unemployment they help to ease a certain population out of the labor market. Sometimes prisons bring fortune to prison construction companies and to all those providing equipment, supplies and services. But in 1989, Poland experienced a unique situation in which none of these elements could have been used to legitimatize imprisonment on a large scale. There was no work for prisoners but the country did not yet face acute unemployment. There were no plans or money to construct new prisons. Perhaps, therefore, the answer is that there was a genuine movement towards an apolitical and reform oriented criminal justice system in Poland. THE NEW IMAGE OF CORRECTIONAL STAFF The two most visible changes one can observe after 1989 besides the dramatic drop in the prison population, are the relationships between public administration and society and between correctional officers and prisoners. The new Director General and his Deputy who served from 1990-1994, both received their Ph.D in sociology and law Each came to the service making it clear that he did not wish to create borders and expected society to be informed about the condition of prisons. Suddenly, researchers previously barred from prisons by so-called proscription lists joined prison administrations as advisers, priests began to enter facilities to hold religious ceremonies and artists, activists, rock groups and students were all given permission to visit prisons on a regular basis. The prison system opened its gates to the public. The relationship between correctional officers and prisoners surprised even the well experienced penitentiarist. Many international contacts established years earlier resulted in visitor exchange programs to the West and efforts were made to keep contact with the administrations of Central and Eastern European prison systems. The results of these visits were quite positive. One such example is the introduction of AA and DA programs throughout the prison system following the assistance of the Minnesota Prison Administration. Today, highly qualified university graduates seek positions in prison management because new prison policies and attitudes toward correctional officers have created challenging positions for young, ambitious people. Even the prisons themselves look different. The dull gray color is gone. Empty walls are gone, impersonal cells are gone and the depressing, ugly environment is gone. Prisoners are now permitted to paint their walls, decorate their cells, and keep their belongings. Even electronic devices are present in many cells. Prisoners now talk less about the brutality they face everyday in prison and more about re-thinking their lives and the reason they are behind bars. 11 POKLEWSKI-KOZIELL, Krzysztof, Threshold of Legality and Social Change (typescript): 2 12 MELLOSI, Dario (1982); Punishment and Social Structure. In: Punishment and Penal Discipline. Essays on the Prison and Prisoner's Movement. (Ed. By) T. Platt and P Tagaki.Crime and Social Justice Associates. San Francisco 17-27. OSCE ODIHR Bulletin Vol. 4 No. 3 23