UNDERSTANDING DIGNITY AND SECURITY IN PRISONS
The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights has
reiterated that ‘this climate of fear, in which the media
and political discourse convey the idea that human
rights are a way of protecting criminals, can bring as a
consequence a certain social acceptance of torture and
cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment. Experience
has shown over the past years that resorting to torture,
to arbitrary detentions, and to repressive legislation and
practices, has not been effective in responding to the
justified demand for citizen security’.25
In general, public opinion appears at best to be
indifferent to the situation in prisons or at worst to
consider that ‘criminals’ get the treatment they deserve.
Public attitudes often call for harsh treatment and
regimes in detention, not factoring in that imprisonment
itself constitutes the sanction handed down by courts
and should not be compounded by inhumane treatment
or abuse in prison.
Such narratives ignore the fact that in many countries a
high proportion of prisoners are held on remand, pending
trial, to be presumed – and often found – innocent, and
that in most countries a high proportion are imprisoned
for minor, non-violent offences. Furthermore, studies
have demonstrated that providing adequate conditions
of detention and meaningful preparation for release have
a direct impact on the social reintegration of inmates and
consequently on the security of the general population.26
Such public attitudes are rarely countered by political
actors or authorities, however.27
25. Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), Report on the human rights of persons deprived of liberty in the Americas, 2011, para.364.
26. See, for instance, UNODC, Introductory handbook on the prevention of recidivism and the social reintegration of offenders, 2012.
27. An exception is Georgia where following the exposure of torture in September 2012, a large-scale amnesty was applied and a penal reform strategy
introduced.
Penal Reform International | Balancing security and dignity in prisons: a framework for preventive monitoring
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