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61. As with all other regimes applied to prisoners, the principle that prisoners
placed in solitary confinement should be subject to no more restrictions than are
necessary for their safe and orderly confinement must be followed. Further, special
efforts should be made to enhance the regime of those kept in long-term solitary
confinement, who need particular attention to minimise the damage that this
measure can do to them. It is not necessary to have an “all or nothing” approach to
the question. Each particular restriction should only be applied as appropriate to the
assessed risk of the individual prisoner. Equally, as already indicated, there should be
a clear differentiation between the regimes applied to persons subject to solitary
confinement, having regard to the type of solitary confinement involved.
(a) Prisoners placed in solitary confinement as part of remand conditions
ordered by a court should be treated as far as possible like other remand prisoners,
with extra restrictions applied only as strictly required for the administration of
justice.
(b) Prisoners undergoing solitary confinement as a disciplinary sanction
should never be totally deprived of contacts with their families and any restrictions
on such contacts should be imposed only where the offence relates to such contacts.
And there should be no restriction on their right of access to a lawyer. They should
be entitled to at least one hour’s outdoor exercise per day, from the very first day of
placement in solitary confinement, and be encouraged to take outdoor exercise.
They should also be permitted access to a reasonable range of reading material
(which, for example, should not be restricted to religious texts). It is crucially
important that they have some stimulation to assist in maintaining their mental wellbeing.
(c) Prisoners placed in administrative solitary confinement for preventative
purposes should have an individual regime plan, geared to addressing the reasons
for the measure. This plan should attempt to maximise contact with others – staff
initially, but as soon as practicable with appropriate other prisoners – and provide as
full a range of activities as is possible to fill the days. There should be strong
encouragement from staff to partake in activities and contact with the outside world
should be facilitated. Throughout the period of administrative solitary confinement,
the overall objective should be to persuade the prisoner to re-engage with the normal
regime.
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