Foreign Nationals in Prison

HM Prison & Probation Service;

Guidance has been produced for court report writers to enable Courts to be made aware of the possibility of foreign offenders being able to undertake non-custodial sentences.  Sentence Planning Guidance, which focus on gaining compliance as well as long term resettlement needs has been made available to all National  Probation staff via the NPS Intranet, and on EQuiP.   EQuiP is designed as a process guide for staff for all areas of the business, and where overlaps occur e.g with Court, links are made to that area.  The Foreign National Offender section of EQuiP was published on the 4th April 2016.

National
National Professional guidance No budgetary impact assessment
Susie.Carr@probation.gsi.gov.uk

note – this entry refers to immigration detainees

Immigration Office has created information brochures in 7 languages about the rights and obligations linked to immigration status (procedures, appeals, consequences of irregular staying). These are given to detainees on admission and if necessary, during the visit of immigration staff to prison. Immigration staff will also give information during their visit (ad hoc, or at request), if necessary with an interpreter. The immigration staff member will also fill out a form “Right to Heard” with the migrant (in +/- 15 languages), which gives them the opportunity to declare whether there are reasons why they could not be removed to their country of origin (Art. 42 European Fundamental Rights Treaty)

National initiative
National budget
Geert Verbauwhede – geert.verbauwhede@ibz.fgov.be + Maryvonne Jacquemin – Maryvonne.jacquemin@ibz.fgov.be

Communication with non-native speaking prisoners: Design pictures and icons to provide a visual image of rules and/or procedures.

Within its population, the prison of Antwerp has around 58 different nationalities. Though not easy, they aim to communicate effectively and clearly with them. Especially, when not all detainees are able to speak either Dutch, German, French or English. About 25% of their prison population cannot communicate without the intervention of an interpreter – provided an interpreter is available.

In addition to problems of oral communication they have also identified that many prisoners have illiteracy problems. As a result, a lot of written communication (e.g.  the brochure for incoming prisoners, teletext, …) is lost even though the information is broadcasted in different languages. Communication can end up in frustration, for both staff & detainees. This consequently, does not contribute to better work or living conditions.

Effective and clear communication is required in prison where the daily operation is restrained by strict procedures and rules, to which detainees have to comply. It is, therefore, of utmost importance that all detainees understand these rules and procedures, both from a human and from a security perspective.

All this has led to the idea of designing pictures and icons to provide a visual image of rules and/or procedures. The prison personnel can thus point out a picture/icon to a detainee, who cannot communicate in the most common languages, to make clear what is expected.  These tools can be used to support all oral and written communication.

The development of these pictures and icons (that are free of any cultural interpretation) fits into a broader process of interculturalizing the reception policy within the prison.  This project was launched in 2008 in collaboration with ‘Het Antwerps Minderhedencentrum De8 VZW[1] (the Antwerp Minorities Centre De 8 vzw), the Flemish Government and CAW Antwerpen.

Thanks to funding of the Department of Justice, they were able to start looking for a graphic artist or design agency to turn oral and written communication into visual content in the beginning of 2008.

Today, they still experience it as a great success. Both detainees and staff benefit from this project. Today, this ‘visual’ communication is extended through the overall communication with detainees: using the same symbolism and same style.

Overview:
Several instruments were developed in collaboration with a design agency:

• Posters:
1. the access procedure to prison for visitors
2. approved items at entry of the prison
3. prohibited items at entry of the prison
4. The lease arrangements in the library
5. The lending policy from the library
6. The rules regarding sports
7. The procedure regarding the use of the telephones
8. The rules regarding clothing dispensation
9. An overview of the various sizes of clothing
10. A week overview of the various activities for each section
11. Procedure regarding swapping broken cutlery

• Comics:
1. Description of the procedure for sports,
2. The procedure regarding a phone application,
3. The procedure to request a TV,
4. The attire requirements for different activities,
5. The law on temporary custody

• Icons: the design of 25 icons, which visualize a service or services (eg doctor, walk, PSD, etc).

• booklets:
The development of the ‘Image’ booklet helps staff communicate with foreign detainees. This booklet contains pictures or icons that show certain actions, such as “Today you have to clean the cell,” “you are not allowed to hand anything onto the cell window,” and other actions. These booklets were printed in pocket size to be easily stowed in the front pocket of uniform shirts.

Local initiative of Antwerp Prison. Apart from the prison of Antwerp, both the prison of Beveren and Mechelen were interested in using the same images in their communication with detainees.
Legal Basis: Basic Law on the prison system and the legal status of the detainees: in relation to avoiding detention damage Budgetary issues: Costs of graphic artist
Management team of the Prison of Antwerp, Begijnenstraat 42, 2000 Antwerp, Belgium

Nested information on the section for incoming detainees (4^th Section)

The admission and supply of information of incoming detainees is one of the core businesses in a prison like Antwerp, where people are detained before trial.

Upon arrival, the detainee is faced with numerous physical actions within the admission procedure into our prison. First, the detainee must go through the administrative steps of the registration process. They are assigned to a cell after undergoing a body search. Within the first 24 hours of detention the detainee must be seen by many departments (e.g. prison director, medical examination, fingerprinting, a consultation with the psycho-social service, detention counselor, an extraction by the police, …) Consequently, the detainee is overwhelmed with information and questions by these different departments. Thus, to an incoming detainee it often is a quest to have the correct information at their disposal.

To the management, it became clear that spreading incoming detainees over the overall prison resulted in a severe work load due to their many questions. In addition, a significant percentage of incoming detainees (over 60%) are imprisoned for the first time in their life. Therefore, special care and attention is needed when explaining the rules and organization of the prison. A great number of these detainees are released within the first 5 days or meet a specific modality of criminal execution. The work load, consequently, elevates when ‘short stay’ detainees must go through all these steps.

It was decided to develop a project of ‘nested information’ parallel to the CAT project. In practical terms this means that one section was set up specifically for incoming detainees. As a result, we could deal with the questions, requirements and necessities of first time detainees. These detainees will later be transferred to another section when the arrest warrant is confirmed. Exceptions may be made when necessary but only in consultation with the prison director.

Local initiative of Antwerp Prison
Legal Basis: Basic Law on the prison system and the legal status of the detainees): in relation to avoiding detention damage Budgetary issues: none
Management team of the Prison of Antwerp, Begijnenstraat 42, 2000 Antwerp, Belgium

We always offer information in their language and always an interpreter when needed to explain legal rights and any step in the legal process.

National and local

Prison Rules are provided in Russian language or in English, as well as the Imprisonment Act and other relevant legislation.

National

merike.tartu@just.ee

Prison rules are available in 7 languages

National and local

t.bagchus@dji.minjus.nl