5. CONTACT WITH THE OUTSIDE WORLD PROMISING PRACTICE: FAMILY VISITS FOR HIGH SECURITY PRISONERS IN COLORADO [5.11] A programme at Colorado State Penitentiary in the The completion of this programme is linked to United States is designed to help parents in prison a family reunification event between the offender manage feelings of failure and build confidence, and her or his family/children.292 including by talking about their own experiences as children. 291 292 Restrictions on family visits 51 The denial or restrictions of family visits can be particularly harmful to the mental health and wellbeing of prisoners and their family members, including their children. The imposition of such restrictions also indirectly punishes family members. 52 Family contact should never be prohibited as a disciplinary measure or for security reasons. Instead, the means of family contact, such as the type of visit or means of communication, may be restricted, but only for a limited time period and as strictly required for the maintenance of security and order. This applies to all forms of family contact, including visits, letters and telephone calls. Restrictions on visits should only be imposed on the particular family member in question and not on the family as a whole, or on visitors in general. Decisions to restrict visits should be made on case-by-case basis and justified on the basis of transparent criteria. Such decisions must also be time-bound and subject to regular review. 53 The term “as strictly required” in Rule 43(3) introduces a high bar for imposing restrictions on family contact and requires prison staff to ensure the necessity and proportionality of such restrictions.293 54 UNODC have reiterated that, “[t]o deprive prisoners of such contacts as a disciplinary sanction is not acceptable, except where a specific abuse of the exact contact was the offence. Punishment should never include total deprivation from contact with families”.294 Visits should, therefore, only be restricted if visiting rights have been infringed to break prison rules and regulations, for example, if a family member or friend has attempted to smuggle contraband items into the facility, or if they have been abusive towards staff members. 55 The definition of family in Rule 43(3) should not be applied narrowly and should include non-immediate family members, as well as those in non-traditional family structures. The safeguards against prohibiting family contact and restricting the means of family contact should also apply to those who do not receive family visits but who rely on visits from friends or others. Intimate/conjugal visits In countries where conjugal visits are not currently allowed, authorities should consider introducing them. Such visits can have a positive effect on a prisoner and her or his rehabilitation and reintegration prospects. Where there are no suitable facilities currently available, designated rooms could be included as part of future prison developments or upgrades. 57 Authorities should consider that the denial or restrictions of conjugal visits may contradict the right to privacy and family life295 and the right to found a family296 for both the prisoner and their spouse or partner, particularly in cases of long-sentence or life-sentence prisoners. 58 The denial of conjugal visits would also contradict the principle that limitations to such visits should only be those “demonstrably necessitated by the fact of incarceration”.297 This means that the only freedoms limited should be those that are unavoidable as a result of being in prison. Otherwise, prisoners retain all human rights and fundamental freedoms. 5 56 126 291. Handbook on Dynamic Security and Prison Intelligence, UNODC, op. cit., note 160, p. 50. 292. See for example: www.asca.net/news/cdoc-highlights--accomplishments. 293. Essex paper 3, Penal Reform International and the University of Essex, op. cit., note 4, p. 47. 294. Handbook on Dynamic Security and Prison Intelligence, UNODC, op. cit., note 160, p. 22. 295. ICCPR, UNGA, op. cit., note 153, Article 17. 296. Ibid, Article 23. 297. Basic Principles for the Treatment of Prisoners, UNGA, op. cit., note 229, Principle 5, referring to the rights set out in (among others) the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and its Optional Protocol. Guidance document on the Nelson Mandela Rules