I recently found myself in a discussion with penitentiary workers and raised some personal questions regarding prisons, working conditions and the way prisoners live. Through the eyes of some people, directly involved with the area, we have the opportunity to get to know the everyday life and the problems that exist.
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From authoritative sources I have been informed that there is a recent official document, which "forbids" the staff of prisons from interviews without special permission (!) For this reason I would like to protect the anonymity of the sources.
According to the Ministry of Justice, there are three classifications of the prison system, type A, B, C, depending on the severity of the penalties. Type A are intended for defendants and convicts with financial crimes, with sentences of up to 5 years. Type B is for people who have committed felonies, but not life imprisonment. Finally, type C are the strictest prisons, specifically designated as maximum security for people with dangerous behaviors. Penitentiaries are structured into closed prisons, judicial, rural, therapeutic. Adult prisons are divided by gender, into men's and women's, but there are also juvenile prisons.
To Penal Code the relevant legislation, the responsibilities of the bodies and the prisoners, the rights as well as the visiting program are extensively analyzed. Inside, people serving sentences engage in various activities, either of an educational nature, or by participating in work, based on their own choice.
What image do people have in mind when they hear the word prison?
The average person hearing the word prison will immediately think of horrific events, crime and punishment combined with a bad feeling. His mind will reasonably go to the conditions of detention, the imposition of sentences and also the methods of imprisonment. Unfortunately, prisons are a part where none of us want to mix and delve, since it is looked down upon by the whole society. So all of us consciously ignore the prisons and the existing conditions.
Prison is a place for all punishments, from minor offenses to major crimes. The problem, however, is that all prisoners necessarily live together in the same places, while there should be discrimination, as defined by law. This distinction should not only concern the wards, as is the case now, but also the detention centers in general. Therefore, it is quite difficult to achieve the essential role of prisons.
What conditions prevail inside the detention centers and what problems are the workers called upon to face?
What happens in most penitentiaries in the world, the same happens in Greece. Various groups form within the prisons, mainly based on origin, and staff often come face to face with their intense conflicts. Rivalries and disputes are caused because all prison and jail inmates are in the same quarters. Of course, undercapacity is a phenomenon we have been dealing with for years as the prisons are meant for 10,000 inmates and are currently up to around 13,000. In the past there were even more. At this point I must mention that the majority of prisons are not new and modern buildings but old ones in which efforts are being made to improve and reconstruct.
Also, there has been a serious shortage of staff in stores for at least a decade. During the memorandum period, when most workers left due to retirement, they were never replaced, leaving many positions vacant. It is not uncommon for only one correctional officer to be responsible for every 200 prisoners. This is a brake on the safety of both staff and inmates and the system.
Of course, when we talk about staff shortages we don't just mean the officers who work entirely in prisons, but also the doctors, psychologists and social workers, who are just as important. The prisons in our country do not have permanent doctors but with contracts and collaborations with health centers. Their workload is particularly heavy because reduced staff have to examine entire prisons. Ideally, it would be useful to have designated on-call staff who would fully cover the medical assistance of prisoners, without the need for transfers to the nearest hospitals.
What would be an ideal yet realistic plan for prisons?
The changes that are made, in any field should always be consistent with logic and practicality so that their implementation is feasible. Spatial issues should also be at the top of the list. The creation of new, renovated and significantly larger prisons will help the work of the officials, the living conditions of the prisoners and the relief of congestion. It is worth noting that the prisoners also express requests for the upgrading of the structures, for the activities and for the courtyard areas, to ensure the best conditions so that they can better cope with serving their sentence.
For the orderly operation of prisons, it would be necessary to hire new and qualified staff. As well as being staffed with medical staff, nurses and social workers. Thus, tensions will be suppressed more effectively but at the same time the environment will be safer for everyone.
The existence of the body for the social reintegration of released prisoners "Return", has contributed to the smooth return of the individual to society by supporting him in various ways. It is supervised by the Ministry of Citizen Protection and is the first and only official institution of post-prison care created in our country. According to its founding act (P.D. 300/2003) its purpose is "the professional support and the preparation and promotion of the general social reintegration of prisoners and those released from prison"
Despite the existence of this non-profit organization, the truth is that many people go right back to their old habits and this is where the failure of compliance and the failures of the system become apparent. This is why I believe that in order to achieve imprisonment to a greater extent at least, measures should be taken adapted to the needs of the prisoners and suitable for their return to 'normality'.
Is punishment finally achieved?
The answer to this question is difficult. Efforts are clearly being made to improve prisons by strengthening security systems, detention conditions and improving the quality of life and dignity within prisons. But are they enough? This is the most basic question of all of us. Due to shortages and resources we are seeing bottlenecks. Although the EU has promoted specific plans and specifications, due to the structures and conditions in our country it is not possible to fully implement them, especially if intensive efforts are not made.
Each penitentiary makes its own efforts to achieve balance and harmony by dealing with its own issues. Otherwise we are led to the feeling "incarceration should be good, rather than imprisonment".
*Cover photo: iStock by Getty Images
