Annual Report 2010 by the National Preventive Mechanism against Torture
Satisfactory state of
332. In other matters, and generally speaking, the prisons have an adequate
cleanliness and condition
provision of mattresses, sheets, blankets and towels that are suitably clean and in
of bed linen and towels.
Own clothes may be worn
good condition, and in a sufficient number to cater for all the inmates. The bed
linen and personal laundry of inmates, who may wear their own clothes, are
washed weekly through a laundry service.
The day areas at the more
333. The day areas in the more modern prisons are in a better state of repair
modern centres are in a
and are equipped with a television and sufficient chairs and tables. At the older
better state of repair
establishments, as it is general practice to use the same area for recreational use
and as a canteen, the conditions tend to be more deficient, whith this sometimes
leading to minor incidents because, for example, there are not enough chairs to
go round.
CCTV should permanently
334. Regarding CCTV surveillance, modern prisons have this system in the
cover the entire premises
canteens, recreational areas, yards, general corridors, corridors in the blocks,
housing the inmates,
except inside sanitary
facilities and cells. Images
workshops, sports centre and socio-cultural area, but not in the cells, visiting
rooms or facilities for conducting personal searches and taking down particulars;
should be continuously
the older ones are more diverse in this respect and with a smaller presence of
recorded
devices of this nature — excluding perimeter areas —, which sometimes have
obsolete systems that, moreover, are not always fully operational. Furthermore,
the modern prisons can make recordings, either as requested or permanently,
which is rare in the older ones. Accordingly, CCTV should permanently cover
the entire premises housing the inmates, with the exception of the inside of
sanitary facilities and cells, and the images should be continuously recorded and
kept for a pre-established time that is long enough to allow subsequent monitoring
by the competent authority.
All the centres visited have
335. Regarding fire-fighting measures, it should be noted that certain facilities
an emergency protocol.
at the prisons have smoke detectors and alarm systems, and all those visited
The more modern centres
have visible evacuation
information
have hoses, fire extinguishers and an emergency protocol. According to the
prison staff, there are rules for practising evacuation, in addition to the training
the guards have already received when they joined the prison service. The more
modern centres also have evacuation information displayed in communal
areas.
Many of the prisons visited
336. The cells in many of the prisons are fitted with an intercom or call system
have an intercom or call
for notifying staff of any incident. As reported during the inspection visits, the
system inside the cells
authorities are committed to installing such a system at those prisons that are still
without one, such as Alicante-Cumplimiento, Madrid II and in the cells on the
ground-floor row at Martutene. Accordingly, the Ombudsman is monitoring the
pace at which this commitment is fulfilled.
140
THE OMBUDSMAN OF SPAIN
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