Human Rights Training for Prison - Essay Example

How can prison officers who work in direct contact with prisoners benefit from a human rights approach to imprisonment? Prison officers have the delicate responsibility of adopting human rights approach in their day to day contact with prisoners. The prison conditions and treatment to prisoners should ideally make the prisoners feel that they are in a home away from home in spite of the harsh conditions of their imprisonment. This implies that they should not be deprived of basic human dignity while serving their term. This is what human rights approach is all about. A prison officer should familiarise himself with the dictates of human rights principles consistent with the applicable Irish prison rules. For Irish prisons, standards set by the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment Declaration of Human Rights Commission rules apply in addition to consistent Irish laws. The CPT standards revised in 2006 relating to imprisonment consistent with the European Convention for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment shall be the constant guide for the prison officer in discharge of his duties in order to ensure that he complies with human rights principles in respect of prisoners. As a broad guideline, Article 3 of the convention says that no person shall be tortured, treated in a degrading manner, or treated or punished inhumanly. The Committee comprising of non-judiciary independent experts like lawyers, doctors, and prison and police specialists drawn from member countries is expected to make periodical visits to the prisons and give reports to the State government on the prevailing conditions in prisons along with its recommendations if any for improvement. The reports can also be published with the State’s concurrence. It is noteworthy that a member nominated by the State will not form part of team visiting his own State. (The CPT in brief 2) As law enforcing personnel, prison officers should be educated on human rights matters as it is a guaranteed way of ensuring that there will be no ill-treatment to prisoners who are deprived of their civil liberties besides helping the officers safeguard the prisoners. The CPT standards place emphasis on training of the personnel on interpersonal communication skills that help them recognise respect for human dignity. This greatly enables the officers to control a situation that would otherwise turn violent and thereby help enhance quality of life in prisons. (The CPT standards 80) The accountability of officials is important because credibility of the human rights approach of preventing ill treatment including torture will be lost if they are not held accountable for instances of human rights violations. The officers are not only themselves expected to observe human rights but also ensure its enforcement throughout the prison establishment by controlling other prison staff. And if the officers responsible for human rights violations or who have failed to ensure compliance of human rights in prisons should be properly proceeded against so that it will show both to the public as well as to the prisoners that the State cares for them and this itself will be an act of promoting human rights. (The CPT standards 81) Trying to cover up an erring officer by his colleagues should be discouraged. This should be portrayed as being unprofessional. Rather a culture of human rights observance should be cultivated by the prison officers. The officers should be made to understand that they will be accused of culpability even if the actual violation is perpetrated by some other officer whom they try to protect. In many states, torture and other violations while on duty, forcing a prisoner to give statement, abuse of authority are regarded as criminal offences and those who are responsible for such acts are prosecuted. The CPT standards stipulate that even if there is no formal complaint, authorities must be under obligation to undertake investigation if they are convinced that human rights violation may have taken place. (The CPT standards 81) As part of the human rights approach, the CPT standards state that prisoners should not be kept in cells for weeks or months together even under the most ideal conditions within the cells and that they should be allowed to spend time outside the cells for eight hours or so daily by being engaged in some useful activities. This apart, the prisoners including those under cellular confinement must be made to do outdoor exercise for at least one hour daily in ideal environments. Besides they should have ready access to toilet facilities and that they should be kept under proper hygienic environment inside the prisons. They should also have bathing facilities and should have access to running water inside the cells. Their contact with outside world including their families should also be facilitated under proper security (The CPT standards 17-18). To cite a few instances, Inspector of Prisons, Ireland in his Annual Report for 2008 submitted in 2009 has pointed out that some prisoners’ complaints have not been acted upon by the prison authorities. Besides he has also made known his concerns about overcrowding, the sentence management, inter prisoner conflict, use of drugs and prevalence of mental health issues which are all matters of human rights violations. Incidentally, his independence is guaranteed under section 30(5) of the Prisons Act 2007. (Annual Report, 2008 7-8). Prison officers while under training must be also be sensitised to realise their own potential behaviour leading or contributing to violent behaviour through relevant exercises of role playing etc by which they will become aware of possibilities of racial or gender discrimination. They should also be made to understand the significance “degrading treatment”. (Human Rights and prisons 14-15). They should be exposed to case studies besides simulation and role playing, make field trips, practical exercises, roundtable discussions, visual aids in respect of human rights implications. ”. (Human Rights and prisons 16-22). Human Rights Theory A right is inherent in a person in that even if he does not make a verbal claim, it still prevails.(Ward and Birgden 3) The question is whether an offender deserves a human right. Although their movements, right to privacy and associations are severely curtailed, they still have rights from human rights angle. They are allowed to either provide them for themselves or the avail them from the State. While in custody with their movements and other functions curtailed, they can still have access to educational resources, medical care, adequate nutritious food, leisure activities, healthy living conditions and others stated elsewhere within the confines of the prison without them interfering with the restrictions on movements, privacy and association. These are the basic needs consistent with human dignity. If an offender commits some wrong while undergoing the prison term, the prison administration should conduct through enquiry through fair disciplinary procedures observing the requirement of due process. The State needs to impose only such restrictions on the prisoners that are actually required to implement their punishment. No punishment in a civilised world can be imposed with inhuman treatment. If by hypothesis that all humans are eligible for human rights, the offenders who are also human beings should not be denied human rights. (Ward and Birgden 6) Conclusion The above brief overview of human rights and prison rules characterised by human rights would show that it would be safe for the prison officers to practice human rights in their day to day dispensation of prison administration. If human rights are reflected in the serving of their punishment, the prisoners are sure to correct themselves even before their prison terms end. When they are released to join the mainstream society, they would also feel like not committing offences any more since offence may itself constitute human rights violations. Much depends upon how the prison officials and other law enforcement officials practice human rights for a healthy way of prisoners experiencing the punishment. When a sick person leaves the hospital fully cured, he does so with the pleasant memories of nursing staff and medical professionals treating him with compassion making him forget the ordeal of the disease he underwent during his hospitalisation. Similarly, prisoners on being released should go home with memories of having been treated by the prison officers in a humane manner. Such an experience will be a healing process of the harshness of the punishment so that when he goes out, he does not take revenge on the society by committing offences repeatedly. The question of this essay is how the prison officer would benefit from the humans rights approach in his dealings with the prisoners. The success of his career as a prison officer or the fact of his benefiting from the human rights approach lies in the prisoners being convinced that they underwent their respective punishments without the feeling of their harshness just as a surgical patient undergoes an otherwise painful surgery, painlessly. Works cited Annual Report, Office of the Inspector of Prisons, 2008, Web 19 October 2009 Human Rights and Prisons, “Trainer’s Guide on Human Rights Training for Prison Officials”, Professional Training Series no11 Add 2, United Nations, New York and Geneva, 2005. , Web 19 October 2009 The CPT in brief, “European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT)”, Web 19 October 2009 The CPT standards “Substantive” selections of the CPT’s General Reports, Chapter VIII Training of Law enforcement personnel, European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT), , Web 19 October 2009 Ward Tony and Birgden Astrid, “Human Rights and Correctional Practice”, Aggression and Violent Behavior 12 2007 628–643, Web 19 October 2009 Read More