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*THREAD*
@irishexaminer has today reported on unpublished prison chaplain reports for 2019, reporting that women in the Dóchas Centre are subject to chronic overcrowding, decreasing out-of-cell time, xenophobic abuse, and struggle to book visits.
https://www.irishexaminer.com/news/arid-40044782.html 1/
@irishexaminer has today reported on unpublished prison chaplain reports for 2019, reporting that women in the Dóchas Centre are subject to chronic overcrowding, decreasing out-of-cell time, xenophobic abuse, and struggle to book visits.
https://www.irishexaminer.com/news/arid-40044782.html 1/
While we've seen numbers in custody exceeding maximum bed capacities across most of the closed prison estate, female prisons continue to be persistently overcrowded, with bed capacities exceeded on most days. 2/
(With thx to @theinfolabie for helping us to visualise the trends!)
(With thx to @theinfolabie for helping us to visualise the trends!)
This is despite the fact that at any given time, up to 35% of women in prison under sentence are serving sentences of <12 months, which could be better responded to in the community. Over a third of female committals under sentence in 2019 were for theft & related offences. 3/
Out-of-cell (OoC) time is crucial to support normalisation. Limited OoC time can also have serious impacts on mental health. The article reports that OoC time decreased from >11 hrs to 7 hrs 35 mins, a decrease of 32%. More on OoC time in #PIPS2019: https://pips.iprt.ie/progress-in-the-penal-system-pips/part-2-measuring-progress-against-the-standards/c-regimes/16-out-of-cell-time/ 4/
The article reports that “the women involved did not feel safe to make complaints in writing to the governor for fear of further penalisation from the staff involved”.
This is extremely concerning and echoes previous Prison Visiting Committee reports for the Dóchas Centre. 5/
This is extremely concerning and echoes previous Prison Visiting Committee reports for the Dóchas Centre. 5/
So, what needs to be done?
In short, prison needs to be used only be a sanction of last resort, considered only for the most serious offending.
We need a greater focus on developing & use of gender-sensitive alternatives to custody that meet the specific needs of women. 6/
In short, prison needs to be used only be a sanction of last resort, considered only for the most serious offending. We need a greater focus on developing & use of gender-sensitive alternatives to custody that meet the specific needs of women. 6/
… what needs to be done? (CONT’D)
We need investment in housing, community mental health and drug treatment.
Out-of-cell time should be increased (linked with all of the above recs, resources to allow this could be freed up if there were fewer people in custody) 7/
We need investment in housing, community mental health and drug treatment. Out-of-cell time should be increased (linked with all of the above recs, resources to allow this could be freed up if there were fewer people in custody) 7/
… (CONT’D)
We need the regular publication of up-to-date prison inspection reports.
We need to restore prisoners’ confidence in the complaints system. IPRT has long advocated for the establishment of a prisoner ombudsman, or access to the Office of the Ombudsman. 8/
We need the regular publication of up-to-date prison inspection reports. We need to restore prisoners’ confidence in the complaints system. IPRT has long advocated for the establishment of a prisoner ombudsman, or access to the Office of the Ombudsman. 8/
Reports by prison chaplains were regularly published until 2010. The reports played a vital role in drawing attention to issues in prisons, incl the former St Patricks Institution. They offer a crucial insight from people who play an imp. role in the lives of people in prison. 9/
"The details of the 2019 report from the Dochas Centre make for some sobering reading."
More on the unpublished prison chaplain annual reports 2019 reported by @Mickcliff for @irishexaminer: https://www.irishexaminer.com/opinion/commentanalysis/arid-40044470.html 10/
More on the unpublished prison chaplain annual reports 2019 reported by @Mickcliff for @irishexaminer: https://www.irishexaminer.com/opinion/commentanalysis/arid-40044470.html 10/
A reminder to us all from a prison chaplain cited in the article:
“The women are here as punishment; they are not here to be punished, and it is crucial that this awareness be at the forefront of our work, lest we leave prisoners further traumatised than when they arrived.” END/
“The women are here as punishment; they are not here to be punished, and it is crucial that this awareness be at the forefront of our work, lest we leave prisoners further traumatised than when they arrived.” END/
