languages (French, English, Arabic, Spanish, Italian, Mandarin, Portuguese, Romanian and Russian) to
foreign prisoners. A practical guide for prison staff is currently being finalised;
4/ broadcasting information on the internal video channel - An induction film for non-Frenchspeaking prisoners has been produced in partnership with the Fondation M6.;
5/ the question of renewing or obtaining the first residence permit (circular of 25 March 2013) is
addressed by the signature of protocols between institutions, SPIP and prefectures for facilitating
formalities.
The CGLPL duly notes these measures which concern information for foreign prisoners; it
nevertheless upholds its recommendation on the need to enable these persons to keep up practices
in line with those of their home country insofar as these are compatible with maintaining order
and security within institutions.
5- Encourage individual management of hygiene needs by properly equipping
cells (shower, wash basin and toilets), handing out necessary toiletries and
detergent for clothes free of charge and respecting the privacy of wash areas.
The Minister of Justice highlights the measures taken in ageing institutions to partition off washing
areas within cells, which poses technical spatial difficulties on some sites. Any new build is now equipped
with an in-cell shower and incorporates a wash basin area outside the washing-shower area. Concerning the
free supply of toiletries, note that every new prisoner arriving in a prison is handed a hygiene kit which
contains the toiletry staples; further products are handed out free of charge to prisoners who are
acknowledged as having no means of their own.
The CGLPL recognises that new institutions now comply with this guideline, but firmly stresses
the need for bringing older buildings swiftly up to standard and carrying out appropriate
maintenance.
6- Respect the dignity of prisoners during searches, particularly by transposing
into French law the European Prison Rule which provides that prisoners shall be
present when their personal property is being searched, by abstaining from
searching prisoners on external movements for medical reasons when their
condition does not allow it, by keeping a record indicating the number and the
result of searches carried out, by tailoring searches of people with reduced
mobility to their particular disability and by only searching the children of
imprisoned mothers when a serious offence is presumed and only by allowing
the child to be undressed by his or her mother, excluding any contact on the
part of the prison staff with the child.
The Minister of Justice specifies that, during the examination of the Act of 3 June 2016 stepping up
the fight against organised crime, terrorism and their financing, and improving the effectiveness and
guarantees of the criminal procedure, an amendment to Article 57 of the 2009 Prison Act has been adopted
to enable search measures to be implemented when there is a suspicion of banned or hazardous substances
having been brought into the prison but the identity of the prisoners responsible is unknown. The point
was to adapt the legal framework to the reality of security conditions within institutions to address trafficking
and the risks for staff safety, by aligning with the case law of the European Court of Human Rights and by
laying down a stringent framework governing this new practice, which may only be carried out in accordance
with the criteria of necessity, proportionality and subsidiarity as well as the requirements for search decisions
to be justified and recorded. Respecting the dignity of prisoners is a requirement when security measures
are being carried out.
The CGLPL considers that this measure curtails the fundamental rights of prisoners. It recalls that
the recent extensions to the legislative search policy must be interpreted in a restrictive manner,
insofar as they intrude on people's privacy and dignity. In all cases, these extensions do not in any
way remove the need for vigilance over the conditions in which searches are performed. The
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