Prisons - in brief (8)
01 September 2005
Spain: Rising number of deaths in prisons. Figures concerning deaths in Spanish prisons are experiencing a steady rise, with 180 people dying in 2004, 20 more than in 2003. The number of suicides is also climbing, with 22 in 2002, 28 in 2003, 40 in 2004 (over half of whom were serving prison terms for theft) and 30 in the first six months of 2005. The prison population also increased to 51,272 at the end of 2004, up from 48,645 in 2003 and 44,924 in 2002. The General Director of Penitentiary Institutions, Mercedes Gallizo stresses that "we have 10,000 more prisoners than we should have, we are 30% above our capacity". The two latest deaths were suicides in Soria prison, where an ETA suspect and a 71-year-old prisoner were found hanged on 30 October.
El País, 23.10.05, 1.11.05.
UK: Haslar "needs major investment". A recent report of an announced inspection by HM Chief Inspector of Prisons, of Haslar Immigration Removal Centre, a facility run by the Prison Service, found that staff routinely carried (and in a recent case had drawn) wooden staves, a practice unknown in C and D category prisons, and in private sector removal facilities. The inspectors found that "the poor fabric of this ageing facility meant that without major investment it will never offer the standard of accommodation that is appropriate to house immigration detainees." Inspectors noted that anti-bullying arrangements were hampered by the inadequate and hard to supervise accommodation; that privacy and sleep were inhibited by three-quarters height partition walls and lack of doors; that family ties were disrupted by the lack of evening visits and that escort vehicles used to transport detainees were not suitable for their purpose, in that they had clear windows which allowed onlookers to see in, resulting in recorded incidents of abuse from passers-by.
Bail for Immigration Detainees; HM Chief Inspectorate of Prisons.
UK: HMP Durham Womens' Unit should be closed. In October 2004 HM Inspectorate of Prisons held that the womens' unit at Durham was an unsuitable place to hold women and recommended its closure. By the time of the unannounced follow-up visit, the majority of women had been transferred elsewhere, leaving six women- five of whom were "restricted status". These had been transferred to what was previously the mens' Close Supervision Centre - a jail-within-a-jail - already condemned as unsuitable for its previous purpose. The inspectors found that on all tests for a healthy prison - safety, respect, purposeful activity, resettlement - conditions for those women remaining at Durham were poor. No senior manager at Durham had clear and specific responsibility for the women prisoners and staff, and although the women were awaiting security upgrading at Low Newton, no timescale had been set for this and the women had been left in limbo. Four women at Durham were responsible for a third of self-harm incidents in a jail with a population of 700, and there was a real risk of suicide deaths in the unit.
HM Chief Inspectorate of Prisons