Report on the visit to the Arad penitentiary
On 6 and 7 June 2001 the representatives of APADOR-CH visited the Arad penitentiary (the "old" penitentiary and one of its new wards).
I. The "old" penitentiary
The penitentiary, servicing exclusively the county of Arad, has 1,288 beds installed at a designed capacity of 868 beds. As of the date of the visit, there were 1,229 inmates detained in the penitentiary (1,197 men, out of which 9 minors, and 32 women). There were 1,058 detainees with final convictions and 153 in pre-trial detention and sentenced in the first instance, and 18 sentenced to terms in prison for petty offences; the profile of this penitentiary is up to 10 years of imprisonment). A number of 73 detainees were imprisoned in a semi-open regime. About a half of the total number of detainees had already been moved to the new penitentiary. It is estimated that when the investment in the "new ward" will be finalised, this will become the major unit, with the "old" penitentiary remaining only for accommodating the detainees in pre-trial detention and the detainees in semi-open and no guard regimes.
The total number of staff is 420, out of whom circa 300 work in the operative departments.
Around 45-48% of the total number of detainees were out working (for the railways company, in farms, on building sites and in a series of private companies). The daily income made in constructions is around Lei 135,000 per detainee (out of which, the detainees receive 10%).
The penitentiary farm has 34 hectares of farming land, cultivated with vegetables, potatoes and fodder. Around 1,000 pigs, 50 cattle and 400 chicken are bred here; the penitentiary is able to cover in full the necessary quantities of meat, vegetables, eggs, milk and cheese.
Under the disciplinary procedures for violating the Internal Rules, the disciplinary commission hears all the detainees, irrespective to the nature of the violation or the foreseen sanction. From the file kept by the disciplinary commission the representatives of the association ascertained that this is actually happening is not only a formality. There are plenty of cases, especially when an incident report includes only the testimony of the ascertaining agent against that of the detainee, when it was decided that it was not the case to apply a disciplinary sanction. It is also a positive fact that the cases when the detainees are punished for "impolite attitude towards the staff" are very rare, as well as the fact that sometimes in front of the disciplinary commission the detainees are allowed to opt between less harsh punishments. Although there is a real concern for including in the category of "dangerous" detainees only those detainees on whom they have the necessary elements, there are also cases in the Arad penitentiary where detainees are included in the category of "dangerous" detainees based on undocumented annotations put down – in the police station or from SIPA "sources" – in their personal files. It is desirable that in the future the heads of the penitentiary should only take account of the verifiable and adequately documented data and information. When a detainee is categorised as dangerous, this should be done based on verifiable data, based on a supporting document and with a reasoning that should be communicated to the detainee, rather than on speculations, suppositions and pseudo-arguments.
According to the commanding officer, no chains are used in the penitentiary as an immobilisation means. However, the representatives of the association were told that the only chain they have – characterised by the officers as "cute" – is sometimes used for immobilising during the night the dangerous detainees committed to civilian hospitals. The association considers that they should definitely give up to immobilising the sick detainees with chains. The alternative recommended by the association would be to commit them in a ward provided with window bars.
Both the "old" penitentiary and the new one have two public phones each, which can be used by the detainees only once a month (and when special situations occur, they are allowed more than one phone call a month). From the commission’s approval of the parole request until the release, the number of phone calls that may be made by the detainees and of parcels and visits they may receive is unlimited. Since the written correspondence is unlimited and the telephone conversations are assimilated even by the Constitution to the written correspondence, the representatives of APADOR-CH considers that the only limitation of the number of phone calls to be made by the detainees should only be related to the technical possibilities of the penitentiary.
The representatives of the association found out that after consulting with the detainees in the system, the General Directorate of Penitentiaries intent to replace the right to receive a parcel to the right to receive the necessary amounts of money to purchase food and cigarettes. APADOR-CH considers that such an initiative is welcomed, yet each detainee should be allowed to opt for one of the two possibilities.
The building of the food ward is old and needs urgent repairs and improvement works. The heads of the penitentiary said that within the following 10 days the food ward would be in capital repairs, would be renovated and upgraded, and the food would be prepared in the kitchen of the prison’s new ward.
For lunch, for the detainees with no diet the menu consisted of: beans soup with meat and potato stew with meat, and for diet: potato soup with meat and vegetables hotchpotch with meat. For dinner, the "no diet" menu was: beans ragout with meat sub-products and lard, and for diet: semolina with milk. For the detainees’ menu the kitchen used 114 kilos of pork, 4 kilos of beef and 73 kilos of pork sub-products and 87 kilos of lard. Although there was meat in the main course of the diet menu, in the "no diet" menu – potato stew with meat – the meat was obviously in too small proportions as to the values recorded in the accounting books. Moreover, the vegetable hotchpotch turned into "rice with cauliflower". During their visit the representatives of the association ascertained that in the women’s ward and in the quarantine ward the main course was left virtually untouched.
There were no detainees in the restrictive regime and isolation rooms. There were 3 beds and a Turkish WC in the former and a stone bed and a Turkish WC in the latter (the WCs were not separated by the rest of the rooms).
In room 37, destined for the detainees who refused to eat, there were 6 beds, one waterspout with a tap and a cabin with a Turkish WC. Detainee Ioan Ratiu refused to eat because he had been dissatisfied with the interpretation given by the court to his deeds.
Room 38 had 9 beds with 7 detainees. The detainees declared themselves satisfied with the conditions in the penitentiary and the behaviour of the staff. The room had a TV set and the lavatory consisted of a concrete waterspout with a tap and a cabin with one Turkish WC. Detainee Gheorghe Roman Copil was dissatisfied with the fact that the police officers in the lockup of the Arad County Police Inspectorate had written down on his file that he is a dangerous detainee without documenting in any way such a characterisation. The heads of the penitentiary mentioned that they repeatedly requested from the Arad County Police Inspectorate explanations regarding the annotation on Copil’s file and that they have not received the requested reply. Detainee Mircea Botas also expressed a similar dissatisfaction. Due to a confusion between his police file and that of another person with the same name, Mircea Botas was attributed a criminal history that he did not have and, consequently, was categorised by the Arad County Police Inspectorate as a dangerous detainee. Another detainee, Stefan Popa, is 73 years old and had a 5 years terms in prison for homicide. He is very weakened, he only eats bread and tea and is only partially conscious. APADOR-CH requests the General Police Directorate to review the case of this detainee who belongs to a home for senior citizens rather than a penitentiary.
The detainees are taken out for exercise for one hour and a half every day. They can play football tennis and basketball. The heads of the penitentiary suspended the football games for a while since there had been a case when a detainee, as a means of retaliation, during a football game, broke the leg of another inmate. The penitentiary has 4 exercise yards, one for each ward.
In the women’s ward there were 32 detainees, accommodated in 4 rooms. In room 52 there were 12 beds and 7 women. The detainees work every day, from Monday to Friday, between 6:00 a.m. and 8:30 p.m. in the officers’ mess. The room has a TV set and the lavatory has a concrete waterspout with a tap and a cabin with a Turkish WC. In room 53 there were 12 beds accommodating 8 detainees. The lavatory had concrete waterspout with a tap and a cabin with a Turkish WC (in the cabin there was a shower with water twice a week when the detainees may shower). During visits, the detainees wear the penitentiary clothes. They said that they would like to be allowed to wear their civilian clothes.
The department is staffed by 13 persons (1 priest, 4 psychologist, 1 social worker, 3 officers – 2 Law School graduates and 1 theologist – and 3 non-commissioned officers with university degrees in Sports, Law and Engineering).
The department has a good co-operation relationship with the Humanitarian Service for Penitentiaries (SUP) and the association "Europe for Europe". With the former organisation they organised qualification courses (including 60 detainees, selected by the socio-cultural department, together with the guard and records departments, from the detainees with more than 8 years of education) and civic and religious education courses (with 36 detainees). Together with "Europe for Europe" they organised legal advice sessions with the youth in pre-trial detention and for preparing the detainees for release (twice a week, where the participants are taught how to look for work, how to write a curriculum vitae etc). There is also a good collaboration with the parole department near the Arad Court aimed especially at preparing the minors for release, making and maintaining their relationships with families, occupational therapy etc. Among the permanent activities of the socio-cultural department one should mention the collective discussions at the ward level, sport and theme contests.
Under the co-ordination of this department, they organised schooling for 1st to 8th grade (as of the date of the visit there were 13 illiterates in the penitentiary).
It is praiseworthy that the heads of the socio-cultural department are regularly consulted in respect of the discipline-related issues, including the disciplinary procedures regarding the violations of the Internal Rules, including or not including detainees in the category of dangerous detainees etc.
Based on a schedule, the representatives of all cults having expressed that wish have access in the penitentiary. The association requests the authorities to give up to the practice of the orthodox priest attending the meetings of the representatives of other cults with the detainees.
The penitentiary has 5 physicians (2 general practitioners, 2 specialists, 1 orthodontist) and 10 nurses. The daily consultation schedule for detainees is principle from 10:00 to 12:00 (and outside it when necessary) and for the staff one hour in the morning, from 8:00 to 9:00, and one in the afternoon, from 2:00 to 3:00. APADOR-CH reiterates its point of view that the physicians should deal exclusively with the detainees (except for the periodical check-ups of the staff and the emergency cases). In the two cabinets for the detainees circa 150 consultations are given every day. The most frequent conditions of the detainees include the digestive diseases, colds and viroid diseases. As of the date of the visit 5 detainees with active tuberculosis and 24 with syphilis were under treatment (all of whom, according to the physicians, brought this disease from outside). There are 4 cases of more advanced schizophrenia are under the care of the medical department.
The visit area is rather insufficient; only 5 visits may take place simultaneously – one in the booth and four at tables. This is where one of the public phones is and the supervising nn-commissioned officers can hear what the detainee is talking. There is a room for the meetings between the detainees and their lawyers. When the representatives of the association reached the visit ward, the staff was just taking over from the family of a detainee the content of a parcel, without the detainee being able to see what he was getting. He was in the room for the detainees in such situation and he could not see what was happening at the counter where his family was since the counter’s falling board was closed. The explanations given by the non-commissioned officers were unconvincing – the designed position of the other counters, the insufficient room etc. The representatives of the association suggested that, since the area is still accessible to the detainees (this is where one of the two public phones is), they should be brought inside to assist to the receipt of parcels.
II. The new ward
In the new ward, which is operating for around one and a half years now, a detention pavilion, the food ward, the visit ward and a part of the administrative building are finalised. Three more detention pavilions, the club, a multi-purpose hall are under construction. This autumn another detention pavilion (with 500 beds), the multi-purpose hall, the club and a sports complex with two multi-purpose sports grounds are likely to be commissioned (there are already the necessary funds for these investments). It should be mentioned that although the initial design included detention rooms for 2 persons, due to the high number of detainees these rooms are occupied by 6 persons.
A special problem encountered by the heads of the penitentiary is that Arad’s city dump is very close to the penitentiary, which makes that especially on the hot days there is an unbearable smell in the penitentiary and there is a high risk for the health of staff and detainees. Despite all the efforts of the heads of the penitentiary, the municipality could not be persuaded to move this waste dump.
A number of 584 detainees are accommodated in the new ward, out of whom 80 are in a semi-open regime and 10 with no guard. The total number of staff is 160, out of which 140 work in the operative department.
The socio-cultural department has 4 educators and 2 psychologists. There are 32 detainees studying in the 1st to 4th grade and 40 in the 5th to 8th grade (there are 12 illiterates in the ward). Besides the orthodox priests, the ward is also visited by representatives of the Baptist and Pentecostal cults. The disciplinary procedures are unfolded in the ward to the level of the disciplinary commission and the appeal against the commission’s decisions is submitted to the commander of the main ("old") penitentiary.
The detainees working in constructions inside the penitentiary were having their lunch (potato soup with meat and beans with meat). Some said the food was generally good, others said the opposite. They complained that they are not allowed to receive, not even for their birthday, more "special" food from home – roast, cakes etc. (In exchange they may receive such food in the parcel sent by mail; during the visits they may only receive cans, dried salami and ham). The heads of the penitentiary invoked the risk of rapid rotting of such products in the hot season.
Another problem, almost general, including the minors, is the lack of TV sets. Unfortunately, not even the radio loudspeakers are working any more (for over a month, say the detainees, for a few days, say the non-commissioned officers).
The building and annexes of the food ward are brand new and very modern (stoves, mixers, steam and electric powered recipients, electric devices for peeling and chopping vegetables etc). They were about to be commissioned within the following 10 day. There are all the material and technical premises that the food preparation and serving to be made in the most civilised conditions.
There are 5 exercise yards, with a rather reduced area, which are organised as cages made of metal bars and nets. The explanation of the heads of the penitentiary was that in the future it is possible that the penitentiary could become a maximum security penitentiary. The opinion of the representatives of the association was that irrespective of the future profile of the penitentiary, the design of those cages is in obvious contrast with the wide and modern spaces from the rest of the penitentiary. Of course, if the penitentiary will be a maximum security one, adequate measures will have to be taken to prevent the escape of detainees from the exercise yards. However, the current arrangement of such areas – very similar to zoo cages – is unfortunate and, in the opinion of the association, it should be revised (even if the finalisation of the sport grounds could partially compensate for the inadequate exercise areas).
The building of this ward is also very new and modern. The isolation room, where there was no detainee, had a metal bed, a sink and sitting WC. The representatives of APADOR-CH reiterated their opinion that the other penitentiaries should also give up to the stone beds from their isolation rooms and to picking up the bed spreads between wake up and curfew.
In room 21, 6 detainees were accommodated in 6 beds. The detainees are taken out for exercise for one hour every day. They receive newspapers on a daily basis and have a gin-rummy game. In exchange they do not have a TV set and they complained that the radio loudspeaker did not work. The lavatory consisted of a cabin with a sitting WC, a sink and a metal washtub for feet (they had both cold and hot water).
In each floor there are 4 shower halls with 5 showers each.
In room 79 there were 4 minors and 6 beds. The minors are taken out for exercise every day for around an hour, an hour and a half, and they are allowed to go to the club for two or three times a week. Parole councillors talk frequently with them. Neither the minors’ room had a TV set. The minors go to see their visitors wearing the prison uniforms. The lavatory consisted in a room with a sink, a sitting WC and a washtub for feet.
In room 78 there were 5 minors and 6 beds. The room did not have a TV set either and the loudspeaker did not work (there was a chess game). The detainees are taken out for exercise for about an hour every day and they do not get newspapers. They are allowed to make a phone call every month. The lavatory was also a room with a sitting WC, a sink and a washtub for feet (the WC’s lid was broken). In both lavatories of the minors’ rooms there was a very heavy smell due to some open garbage bins, which are emptied, as it was stated, at least once a day or when they are filled.
The health care is provided by a physician and two nurses. Around 70 consultations are given every day. The staff is consulted only in emergency cases, and for the rest they go to the cabinet from the "old" penitentiary. The same cabinet ensures the health care for the ward during the night time.
III. Conclusions
The investments that were and are made in Arad and the generally good detention conditions are the result of the care taken by the heads of the General Police Directorate and the penitentiary for the situation in this penitentiary. The consequence is mainly a lack of tension between the detainees and staff. It should be noted the adequate way in which the heads of the penitentiary treat the disciplinary problems created sometimes by the detainees.
APADOR-CH suggests the General Police Directorate to continue to support the penitentiary in making the foreseen investments and the improvement of the current situation. The penitentiary also needs the support of the General Police Directorate for the efforts to move the city dump and for purchasing new transport means for detainees to replace the existing ones, very old and used.
In the opinion APADOR-CH, the heads of the penitentiary (and in some aspects also those of the General Police Directorate) should also take account the following issues:
Manuela
Stefanescu
Valerian Stan