Places visited by the National Preventive Mechanism in 2011
Psychological care was ensured to prisoners in all visited establishments. However,
in the Sieradz Prison the psychologist informed the visitors of the need of additional
positions for psychologists so that commissioned tasks and programmes could be implemented59. In Jasło Prison, the visiting team noted that an average of 100 prisoners were
under the care of one tutor. Moreover, in Uherce Mineralne Prison, Sieradz Prison and
Olsztyn Pre-Trial Detention Centre, over 60 detainees were monitored by one tutor. The
National Preventive Mechanism is of the opinion that significant burden of various
tasks placed on tutors and the need to work with large numbers of detainees decrease
the effectiveness of formation efforts and can affect the detainees in a negative way.
According to CPT’s position, where staff complements are inadequate, significant amounts
of overtime can prove necessary in order to maintain a basic level of security and regime delivery in the establishment. This state of affairs can easily result in high levels of stress in staff
and their premature burnout, a situation which is likely to exacerbate the tension inherent
in any prison environment60. In the opinion of the NPM, efforts should be focused on
diminishing the size of tutoring groups, i.a. through increased staffing of the penitentiary division.
The difficulties in the work of penitentiary division identified by the management of
visited establishments included an excessive administrative burden and the need to enter
data both into the files of the detainees and into the Noe NET system; the result is less time
for individual contacts with prisoners.
The answers given to the NPM by Regional Directors of Prison Service indicate that
the implementation of recommendations issued in this area depends to a large extent
on the good will of supervisory authorities. The Regional Director of Prison Service in
Rzeszów explained that the staffing of Uherce Mineralne Prison will be increased by way
of transferring one position from another penitentiary establishment in Rzeszowskie
Voivodeship; the Regional Director of Prison Service in Łódź delegated a psychologist
from Pre-Trial Detention Centre in Łódź to work in Sieradz Prison, and requested that
the General Director of Prison Service decreases the number of prisoners in therapeutic
ward, which will influence the scope of tasks carried out by the psychologist. According to the response given by the Director of Pre-Trial Detention Centre in Olsztyn, its
penitentiary staff is regularly strengthened, depending on the employment potential; in
the opinion of the head of Jasło Prison, the present staffing allows for the implementation of all the statutory tasks of a penitentiary establishment. Directors of Uherce Mineralne Prison and Sieradz Prison notified the Mechanism of their efforts taken to increase
staffing.
On the day when the establishment was visited, only one psychologist was present who, apart from the work in therapeutic
ward, was carrying out the tasks of the absent psychologists from penitentiary wards.
See: §26 of the 11th General Report [CPT/Inf (2001) 16].
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