IV)  Prison staffing IV)  Prison staffing The task of the Public Defender of Rights as the “national preventive mechanism” 11 is to prevent ill-treatment of persons restricted in their freedom. Nevertheless, I also paid attention to the working conditions of the prison staff. This is necessary as the staff levels, composition and motivation as well as their working conditions have a significant influence on the treatment of the convicts and is one of the prerequisites for successful achievement of the purpose of imprisonment. Par. 8 of the EPR notes that prison staff carry out an important public service and their recruitment, training and conditions of work shall enable them to maintain high standards in their care of prisoners. In some prisons, I encountered attitudes of resignation among the prison staff. This might have been caused by an interplay of multiple factors (e.g. low salaries, a high number of convicts per staff member, lack of supervision, lack of feedback from senior employees, lack of self-actualisation, work in stress-inducing environment, etc.). The lack of motivation on the part of the staff has adverse effects on their everyday work with the convicts. A number of specialist prison employees in particular stated that their direct work with the convicts was paralysed by excessive paperwork and a number of other tasks unrelated to direct work with the convicts. 12 This also affects the overall atmosphere in the prisons and the relations between the convicts and the prison staff. The CPT standards stipulate that constructive as opposed to confrontational relations between prisoners and the staff will serve to lower the tension inherent in any detention environment and by the same token significantly reduce the likelihood of violent incidents and associated ill-treatment. 13 13 The CPT criticises the practice where the approach of educators and pedagogues to the convicts is based on control and subordination. 14 Cold relationships between the staff and the convicts were also criticised by the CPT in the report on the visit to the Czech Republic in 2014. CPT further stated that the relationship between the staff and the prisoners is, to a large degree, dependent on staffing and that the 11 prison staff carry out an important public service National preventive mechanism, see http://www.ochrance.cz/ochrana-osob-omezenych-na-svobode/ [retrieved on 20 January 2016]. 12 COYLE, Andrew. Řízení věznic v čase změn (Managing Prisons in a Time of Change). Prague, 2003, p. 84 et seq. 13 Excerpt from the second General Report [CPT/Inf (92) 3], par. 45. In: EUROPEAN COMMITTEE FOR THE PREVENTION OF TORTURE AND INHUMAN OR DEGRADING TREATMENT OR PUNISHMENT (CPT). CPT Standards [online]. CPT/Inf/E (2002) 1 – Rev. 2004 [retrieved on 20 November 2015]. Available at: http://www.cpt.coe.int/lang/cze/cze-standards.pdf. 14 EUROPEAN COMMITTEE FOR THE PREVENTION OF TORTURE AND INHUMAN OR DEGRADING TREATMENT OR PUNISHMENT (CPT). Report to the Czech Government on the visit to the Czech Republic carried out by the CPT from 25 March to 2 April 2008, par. 63 Available at: http://www.vlada.cz/assets/ppov/rlp/dokumenty/zpravy – -plneni-mezin-umluv/report-cpt--czech-rep--2008-_czech_.pdf. /12/