CHAPTER 16. GOOD ORDER AND CONTROL OBJECTIVE Prison authorities have a responsibility to ensure the physical safety of prisoners, staff and visitors. This means that prisons should be places where there is good order. The objective of this chapter is to underline that good order involves much more than control and is best achieved by positive means. ESSENTIAL PRINCIPLES Prisons should be safe environments for all who live and work in them, i.e. for prisoners, for staff and for visitors. No one in a prison should fear for his or her physical safety. Chains and irons shall not be used as restraints. Discipline and order shall be maintained with firmness but with no more restriction than is necessary for safe custody and well-ordered community life. BASIS IN INTERNATIONAL INSTRUMENTS Articles 1 and 16 of the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, discussed in chapter 3 of this Manual, are relevant when instruments of restraint and other control techniques are abused by prison staff. Rule 27 of the Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners provides that: Discipline and order shall be maintained with firmness, but with no more restriction than is necessary for safe custody and well-ordered community life. The Standard Minimum Rules further provide: 33. Instruments of restraint, such as handcuffs, chains, irons and straitjackets, shall never be applied as a punishment. Furthermore, chains or irons shall not be used as restraints. Other instruments of restraint shall not be used except in the following circumstances: … (b) On medical grounds by direction of the medical officer; (c) By order of the director, if other methods of control fail, in order to prevent a prisoner from injuring himself or others or from damaging property; in such instances the director shall at once consult the medical officer and report to the higher administrative authority. 34. The patterns and manner of use of instruments of restraint shall be decided by the central prison administration. Such instruments must not be applied for any longer time than is strictly necessary. 88