According to a census drawn up on 7 September 2015, thirty-eight penal institutions were covered
by an agreement with a SAAD. However, agreements with Département-level councils and MDPHs – which
have to define prisoners' eligibility for and access to the APA and PCH – are not as common. Concerning
care for dependent prisoners, it is also possible to access a Service for home-based nursing care (SSIAD).
On 7 September 2015, fifteen penal institutions were covered by an agreement.
The CGLPL duly notes this information and recommends that all institutions likely to
accommodate dependent prisoners draw up agreements with the local services who are competent
for looking after them.
3- Foster access for people with reduced mobility by laying out facilities and
developing suitable activities and by preferably assigning them within "opendoor" regimes.
The Minister of Justice maintains that the accessibility of prisons is one of the key considerations in
the management of prisoners who are dependent either on account of their advanced age or a disability.
According to a census drawn up on 1 January 2013, few prisoners are considered to be dependent: there are
115 dependent elderly prisoners and 329 disabled prisoners.
And yet how they are managed is important, because prisons and living conditions in detention are
hardly appropriate in their regard.
Penal institutions can be made more accessible by building cells specifically for people with reduced
mobility (PRM) and laying out communal areas (approach ramps, benches in exercise yards, etc.). These
measures are stipulated in the Ruling of 4 October 2010 on the accessibility of disabled persons in prisons
during their construction, and they particularly provide for a minimum ratio of PRM cells. In addition to
accessibility, better management of dependent prisoners can be achieved through access to appropriate care
– the organisation of which is the responsibility of the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health (physiotherapy
in particular) – and to dedicated social benefits for financing human assistance and the necessary technical
aids (walking sticks, walkers, etc.).
To assist prison staff in carrying out these procedures, a kit on managing dependent prisoners, which
contains a range of tools such as information sheets on improving the accessibility of institutions, social
benefits, appeal or agreement templates, is currently being put together and will be complete by the end of
the year for dissemination in early 2017.
The CGLPL duly notes these plans and stresses the need to adapt the detention regime for people
with reduced mobility to their disability.
4- Allow foreign prisoners to keep up practices in line with the customs of their
home country if these are compatible with maintaining order and security
within institutions.
The Minister of Justice indicates that the overall management by Prison rehabilitation and probation
services (SPIP) of foreign nationals is no different from that of other prisoners. And yet, several, more
specific measures have been taken to assist them with their formalities and help them to understand any
documents handed out.
1/ support from associations - Associations that assist foreigners work in most penal institutions:
at a national level (La Cimade, la Ligue des droits de l’homme, etc.) as well as local level (a number of
associations);
2/ the 157 legal access points - These provide assistance and guidance in foreign nationals' legal
formalities;
3/ the provision of documents in prisoners' mother tongue - The guide "I am in detention" is
handed out to all newly arrived prisoners, and is currently available in six foreign languages (English, Arabic,
Spanish, Portuguese, Romanian and Russian). Likewise, the "Cimade" has also disseminated a guide in nine
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