Chapter 5
Assessment of the work of the Chief inspector of
places of deprivation of liberty in 2016
1. Relations with public authorities and other legal entities
1.1
The President of the Republic, the Government and the Parliament
As is the case every year, pursuant to the law, the Chief inspector of places of deprivation of liberty
met the President of the Republic and the Chairpersons of the two assemblies to submit her annual
report for 2015. At her request, she was also able to present this report to the Judiciary Committees
of both assemblies as well as the three Ministers mainly concerned by the CGLPL's work: the
Minister of the Interior, the Keeper of the Seals (the Minister of Justice) and the Minister of Social
Affairs and Health.
On this occasion, the Chief Inspector shared her concerns over the worsening of prison
overcrowding, the management of Islamist radicalisation in prisons, the extension of the state of
emergency and the tougher line being taken in criminal policies – particularly apparent in a
restrictive sentence adjustment policy. She also drew the Minister of Social Affairs and Health's
attention to the lack of any noticeable improvement in the medical care of prisoners and the need
to swiftly adopt ambitious provisions for the application of Article 72 of the Act of 26 January 2016
which requires each institution authorised to accommodate patients who are hospitalised without
their consent to define a policy aimed at limiting the use of solitary confinement and restraint
measures.
Together with the Chairwoman of the National Consultative Commission on Human Rights
(CNCDH), the Chief Inspector also met with the Ministry of the Interior just before the operations
took place to dismantle the migrant camps located in the Calais Jungle and North -East Paris. The
Minister outlined his plans in detail and the two independent authorities shared their intention to
keep a very close eye on all of the operations.
The Chief Inspector was also interviewed by the special rapporteur of the Senate's Finance
Committee for the justice mission budget about the issue of the management of Islamist
radicalisation in prisons.
Lastly, the Chief Inspector was also interviewed by the rapporteur for opinion of the
Senate's Judiciary Committee about the prison administration budget for 2017. As she had already
done so before the Judiciary Committee a few months earlier, she again drew the MPs' attention to
the risks of worsening prison overcrowding and the liberal adoption of a restrictive sentence
enforcement policy by the courts. She also shared her concern about the mediocre success of
alternative measures to imprisonment established by the Act of 15 August 2014 on sentencing
according to individual offender requirements and improving the effectiveness of criminal
sanctions.
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