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ficials is that by the current system of classification there are unreasonably limited possibilities for prisoners to transfer to a more favorable treatment group as a recognition of their good behavior. The absence of discharge units leads to a large number of
cases where prisoners are being released from prison directly from the closed department.
Programs created to provide social support to prisoners after their release are consolidated; offender is left on its own after being released, which increases the person’s risk of promptly re-doing the crime for the reason of not being adequately adapted to
life outside of prison conditions.
A large number of those sentenced to various years in prison are placed in
cramped and inadequate premises, locked 23 hours a day, without a job, training or education, no psychosocial support, without adequate preparation
to be released and his gradual acceptance of it evidently results in a higher
rate of recidivism.
Medical examinations upon admission to prison were observed as superficial, that
there was no full body medical examination during the first medical check, there are
no unified protocols, that there are not regular medical examinations of prisoners in
less than three month intervals, and that offenders who are ill are not being checked
by doctors on a daily basis. In many prisons the doctor’s presence is reduced to only
two hours a day, whereas on weekends and bank holidays there are not any available
in the institution. It is also common for non-medical staff to be present during the examinations. There are cases where non-medical staff attends medical examinations without being requested by a health care provider, which results in violation of privacy
of prisoners and the right to the confidentiality of their medical condition.
It was noted that persons with disabilities generally are not provided accommodation
and assistance that meet their needs. In some prisons, rooms and toilet facilities are
not adapted, wheelchair ramps are not installed and door widths are too narrow for
them to pass through. A particular issue is that the institutions continue to accommodate persons with severe mental disorders, not considering the fact that there are no
adequate conditions for their medical treatment.
In the only women’s prison, all female prisoners, regardless of treatment group in which they are deployed, and women arrested on misdemeanor are placed in a closed regime type penitentiary facilities, surrounded by high walls82.
82 NPM report on a visit of Penal-Correctional Intitution for women in Pozarevac, including recommendations for eradication of deficiencies, available at http://www.ombudsman.rs/nacionalni mehanizam za prevenciju torture;
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