TOPICS FOR DISCUSSION What are the main factors to be considered when deciding what level of security is necessary for a prisoner? One element of security is provided by physical means such as walls, fences, bars and locked doors. Another element, which is often described as dynamic security, comes from staff moving among prisoners, getting to know them and assessing risk. Discuss how these two elements can complement each other. The international instruments make clear that some instruments of restraint should never be used and others should only be used in certain circumstances, including the prevention of escape during transfer. Discuss the circumstances in which it is appropriate to use restraints to prevent escape. How can prison staff inform the public that not all prisoners pose a high risk to public safety and that, in any event, there are less restrictive methods of ensuring public safety than installing physical barriers, but which are equally important and effective? There is a tendency in many prison systems to hold prisoners at a higher level of security than is necessary. What procedures can be put in place to ensure that this does not happen? CASE STUDIES 1. The following prisoners have just been admitted to prison. Consider what level of security they require: - A man who murdered his neighbour in a drunken brawl and has just been sentenced to life imprisonment. He has no previous criminal record. - A man who burgled a house in order to feed his drug habit. He has been sentenced to 4 years' imprisonment. This is his eighth offence. - A man who embezzled a large sum of money from a company and was part of an international syndicate. He has been sentenced to 3 years in prison. Justify your decisions in terms of the international instruments. 2. A junior member of staff reports that he has heard two prisoners discussing the possibility of escape. One of the prisoners is due to be released within a few days. The other is a high-security prisoner who has powerful connections outside the prison. He is due to receive a visit from his wife in a few days. How should the prison authorities react? 3. You are in charge of a high-security unit which holds a number of prisoners whose escape must be prevented at all costs because of the threat they pose to public safety. These prisoners generally obey the rules of the prison and are not a threat to internal order. But they all have strong personalities. Junior staff prefer to leave them to their own devices within the unit and depend on physical means to prevent their escape. They want to observe the prisoners from a distance. How can you convince staff that security would be improved if they moved among the prisoners regularly and got to know them as individuals? How would you build in safeguards to ensure that the prisoners did not impose their personalities and wishes on the staff? 87