1 1. PRISON MANAGEMENT 44 202 The UNCAT has pointed out that, in order to obtain personnel of the appropriate calibre, authorities must “be prepared to invest adequate resources into the process of recruitment and training and to offer adequate salaries”.77 203 Staff should “normally be appointed on a permanent basis and have public service status with security of employment, subject only to good conduct, efficiency, good physical and mental health and an adequate standard of education”. Salaries should be adequate to attract and retain suitable staff and with benefits and conditions of employment that reflect “the exacting nature of the work as part of a law enforcement agency”.78 204 Only candidates with the appropriate qualities and skills should be accepted into the service. Skills and competencies 205 The “adequate standard of education” required by the Mandela Rules will depend on the particular role being recruited for, and may differ from one country or region to another. However, core competencies required by prison staff include good interpersonal and communication skills. 206 The CPT has pointed to the importance of good interpersonal skills among prison staff, suggesting that “aptitude for interpersonal communication should be a major factor in the process of recruiting law enforcement personnel”. The CPT adds that “during training, considerable emphasis should be placed on developing interpersonal communication skills, based on respect for human dignity. The possession of such skills will often enable a police or prison officer to defuse a situation which could otherwise turn into violence, and more generally, will lead to a lowering of tension, and raising of the quality of life, in police and prison establishments, to the benefit of all concerned.”79 207 UNODC has noted that in prison systems “[t]he qualities of the personnel fall into two basic categories, capacity and integrity. Capacity refers to the qualities that enable personnel to fulfil the technical tasks of the institution’s mandate. Integrity relates to the qualities that enable it to fulfil this mandate in accordance with fundamental human rights, professional and rule-of-law standards.”80 CONTEXT: STAFF ACCOUNTABILITY [1.16] All prison staff must be held accountable for their actions. Those found to have violated laws or policies should be subject to disciplinary proceedings and, where appropriate, subject to criminal proceedings. Policy-makers should develop a staff code of conduct and other policies and mechanisms to regulate staff behaviour and prevent and address abusive or discriminatory behaviour. Such mechanisms must be applied in a fair and transparent manner and should provide procedural safeguards for the prison staff subject to them. Disciplinary or even criminal proceedings may be required against staff members who have: – Applied disciplinary measures against prisoners that are prohibited or in a manner that is prohibited; – Used prohibited means of restraint, force and arms, or used permitted means unnecessarily or disproportionately; – Failed to report deaths, disappearances and serious injuries for investigation; – Committed or failed to document and denounce acts of torture or other ill‑treatment;81 – Demanded or accepted money or other goods from prisoners (corruption); – Smuggled prohibited items into prison; – Failed to comply with laws and procedures in relation to prisoner file management, including in relation to confidentiality; 77. UN Committee Against Torture, CAT/C/51/4, op. cit., note 63, para. 63. 78. Jim Murdoch and Vaclav Jiricka, op. cit., note 31, p. 75; with reference to European Prison Rules, Council of Europe, op. cit., note 74, Rules 76-79. 79. European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT), 2nd General Report on the CPT’s activities, 13 April 1992, para. 60 at rm.coe.int/1680696a3f. 80. Handbook for Prison Leaders, UNODC, op. cit., note 73, p. 54. 81. The World Medical Association (WMA) has pointed out that “the absence of documenting and denouncing acts of torture may be considered as a form of tolerance thereof and of non-assistance to the victims”. Guidance document on the Nelson Mandela Rules