3. INCIDENT PREVENTION AND RESPONSE 3.2. USE OF FORCE AND ARMS 41 In this context the word “arms” applies to all conventional firearms, as well as other weaponry which prison officials might be equipped with, including batons, irritant sprays, electrical discharge weapons (EDW) and kinetic impact weapons. Dogs may also be considered under this definition where they are used to intimidate or attack a prisoner. Basic Principle 2 of the BPUFF requires law enforcement agencies to “develop a range of means as broad as possible and equip law enforcement officials with various types of weapons and ammunition that would allow for a differentiated use of force and firearms (…) These should include the development of non-lethal incapacitating weapons for use in appropriate situations, with a view to increasingly restraining the application of means capable of causing death or injury to persons.”189 The use of force and arms in places of detention must be strictly regulated by law and authorities should develop specific guidelines and procedures on the conditions and circumstances under which force may be used.190 Bangkok Rule 31 recommends that clear policies and regulations should be developed and implemented that guide the conduct of prison staff to provide maximum protection for women prisoners from any gender-based physical or verbal violence, abuse or sexual harassment. 3 Basic Principle 3 of the BPUFF also requires that “[t]he development and deployment of non-lethal incapacitating weapons should be carefully evaluated in order to minimize the risk of endangering uninvolved persons, and the use of such weapons should be carefully controlled.”191 Applicable law, regulations and procedures should include, as a minimum, the type of force/ arms that can and cannot be used and the risks associated with them; the circumstances in which each type of force may be used; the members of staff who are entitled to use different types of force and who should authorize their use; the level of authority required before any force is used; the requirements for documenting and reporting on the use of force and arms; and the consequences for staff who violate such laws or procedures.192 Regulations setting out what types of force and arms can or cannot be used should be regularly reviewed and updated to take into account new research into the associated risks of those methods and of new types of arms. RELEVANT RULES: USE OF FORCE AND ARMS Rule 82: 1. Prison staff shall not, in their relations with the prisoners, use force except in self-defence or in cases of attempted escape, or active or passive physical resistance to an order based on law or regulations. Prison staff who have recourse to force must use no more than is strictly necessary and must report the incident immediately to the prison director. 2. Prison staff shall be given special physical training to enable them to restrain aggressive prisoners. 3. Except in special circumstances, prison staff performing duties that bring them into direct contact with prisoners should not be armed. Furthermore, prison staff should in no circumstances be provided with arms unless they have been trained in their use. See also UN Code of Conduct for Law Enforcement Officials and UN Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials (in particular Principles 15-17, on Policing persons in custody or detention) 189 190 191 192 189. Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms, op. cit., note 158, Basic Principle 2. 190. See also: Resource Book on Use of force and Firearms, OHCHR/UNODC, op. cit., note 131, p. 144. 191. Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms, op. cit., note 158, Basic Principle 3. 192. European Prison Rules, Council of Europe, op. cit., note 74, Rule 65. Guidance document on the Nelson Mandela Rules 87