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Welcome to the EuroPris Knowledge Management System. The table below shows questions and responses from European National Agencies. Select a question for more information or use the filters on the left to narrow down questions based on Agency or Category.
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Introduction: Forbidden items in prisons is an issue of big concern in Lithuania. Seeking to prevent the ways the forbidden items are smuggled into prisons and install efficient technical devices, the Lithuanian Prison Department kindly ask you to provide information on the use of technical equipment for prevention of forbidden items in prisons in your country to help them find the best solutions to tackle this problem and make relevant decisions.
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In all prisons X Ray for baggage and personal items. Metal Detectors (Walk through and hand held) for screening Passive Drug Detection Dogs In High Security Estate Explosives Detectors and all of the above. Details relating to producers name and model are confidential to the prison service for security reasons.
Are all persons entering a prison (staff, visitors, etc.) subject to the checking/ searching procedure? Who may be exempt from this procedure?All are checked with no exceptions. higher degree of security for High Security Estate.
What technical equipment (systems) are used for personal check/ search of inmates and search of their rooms (please, provide a producer’s name and model of the equipment you use, give a short description of its use)?Hand Held Metal Detectors PDA – Phone Detectors Various specialist search tools – Mirrors, Cameras for accessing plumbing, toilets etc.
Have you ever registered cases when forbidden items were brought into the prison area by drones?Yes.
Do you use any technical equipment (systems) to prevent drone flying over the prison area (please, provide a producer’s name and model of the equipment you use, give a short description of its use)?No – not at this time but research is ongoing.
What technical deficiencies have you noticed while using the above mentioned technical equipment (systems)?Some deficiencies in detection of some small metal items. Passive Drug Detection Dogs are unable to detect prescription drugs.
All staff entering walk through a metal archway and their outer clothing and baggage is placed through an “x-ray” machine. There are different models of these machines in use but they are all commercially available versions supplied by RAPISCAN
Are all persons entering a prison (staff, visitors, etc.) subject to the checking/ searching procedure? Who may be exempt from this procedure?Everyone who enters a prison can be subject to a search. There are no exceptions to this. All persons entering a Cat A prison are searched on every occasion those entering prisons of a lower category will be searched on a random basis.
What technical equipment (systems) are used for personal check/ search of inmates and search of their rooms (please, provide a producer’s name and model of the equipment you use, give a short description of its use)?While searching inmates and their living accommodation hand held metal detectors can be used and on occasions if required endoscopes can also be used There are different models commercially available which all provide the same functionality.
Have you ever registered cases when forbidden items were brought into the prison area by drones?No cases of items being brought in by drone
Do you use any technical equipment (systems) to prevent drone flying over the prison area (please, provide a producer’s name and model of the equipment you use, give a short description of its use)?None
What technical deficiencies have you noticed while using the above mentioned technical equipment (systems)?None
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In compliance with the Act no. 4/2001 Coll. on the Corps of Prison and Court Guard as amended prison officer is entitled to instruct that upon entry to the facility protected by the Corps the person shall undergo a search of luggage and things, control for detection of metal items and holding of alcoholic beverages, narcotic substances, psychotropic substances, poisons or precursors. Various detection means are used for this purpose: 1. frame security detector of metals (e.g. RX – S 100/B, CEIA, Code: 47040, Test Passed); 2. hand detectors of metals (e.g. GARRETT, model 1165190); 3. scanners and X-rays (e.g. Smiths detection, HS 6030 di Seria 124750). The person passes the frame detector of metals to distinguish and detect any metal items. If one has by oneself such an item, the frame detector signals acoustically and visually. Subsequently the person is searched with a hand detector of metals. Some frame detectors of metals are equipped with technology of a more accurate detection of metals, thus they detect the zone in which the metal item is placed (root-and-branch).
Are all persons entering a prison (staff, visitors, etc.) subject to the checking/ searching procedure? Who may be exempt from this procedure?In compliance with the Act no. 4/2001 following persons are not searched: President of the Slovak Republic, Prime Minister of the Slovak Republic, Speaker of the National Council of the Slovak Republic and persons determined by him, Minister of Justice of the Slovak Republic, State Secretary of the Ministry of Justice of the Slovak Republic, Secretary General of the Ministry of Justice of the Slovak Republic and persons determined by them, General Prosecutor of the Slovak Republic, his Deputy and Supervising Prosecutor, President and Vice-President of the Constitutional Court of the Slovak Republic, Ombudsperson, President and Vice-president of the Supreme Court of the Slovak Republic, bodies of the National Council of the Slovak Republic and bodies of the Council of Europe in charge of control over pre-trial detention and prison sentence execution, Ordinary of the Ordinariate of Armed Forces and Armed Corpses, judge if he was or is deciding on the criminal case of an inmate, Director General of the Corps of Prison and Court Guard, his Deputies and persons charged by them by execution of control and supervision.
What technical equipment (systems) are used for personal check/ search of inmates and search of their rooms (please, provide a producer’s name and model of the equipment you use, give a short description of its use)?In compliance with the Act no. 4/2001 clothes are searched by a prison officer by a thorough frisk with use of detection means. This search can be performed also with a service dog trained for searching substances with a specific smell. In compliance with the Order of the Minister of Justice no. 2/2014 on Securing Protection by the Corps of Prison and Court Guard as amended, prison officers use for the purpose of searches of inmates´ cells an iron stick for thorough knocking of bars, a device for control of inviolacy of walls, a lamp, a device for visual control of spaces difficult of approach (e.g. a mirror), disposable sanitary gloves and a hand detector of metals.
Have you ever registered cases when forbidden items were brought into the prison area by drones?No
Do you use any technical equipment (systems) to prevent drone flying over the prison area (please, provide a producer’s name and model of the equipment you use, give a short description of its use)?Not so far.
What technical deficiencies have you noticed while using the above mentioned technical equipment (systems)?See point 5.
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The follow technical Systems are used in the prisons: - metal detector (so called screening frame, doorframe monitors) from different private producers (e.g. producer Rapiscan) - handsensor from different private Producers - person-screening system from producer Smiths Heimann (eqo)
Are all persons entering a prison (staff, visitors, etc.) subject to the checking/ searching procedure? Who may be exempt from this procedure?Not all persons entering a prison are subject to the checking / searching procedure. The staff of the prison and staff of other authorities and government institutions are not subject to the checking/ searching procedure, but if it's needed or in suspicious facts these persons can also be checked by entering a prison.
What technical equipment (systems) are used for personal check/ search of inmates and search of their rooms (please, provide a producer’s name and model of the equipment you use, give a short description of its use)?The follow technical Systems are used for personal check / search of inmates: - metal detector (so called screening frame, doorframe monitors) from different private producers (e.g. Rapiscan) - handsensor from different private Producers - person-screening system from Smiths Heimann (eqo) If forbidden items are founded in the rooms of the inmates, the items are additional checked by a roentgen test equipment (e.g. producer Neiss detection)
Have you ever registered cases when forbidden items were brought into the prison area by drones?No. So far there were only flyovers with drons registered, but not a try, to brought forbidden items in the prison area by drones.
Do you use any technical equipment (systems) to prevent drone flying over the prison area (please, provide a producer’s name and model of the equipment you use, give a short description of its use)?No.
What technical deficiencies have you noticed while using the above mentioned technical equipment (systems)?No.
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- We can only give as much information as our law and different regulations allow, we cannot provide details on specific models and systems that we use - We have a metal detector ports in use and all visitors walk through the metal detector - Also, hand metal detectors for more accurate inspections with which the metal object can be more precisely located - If necessary, visitors’ or prisoners’ belongings can be inspected with a x-ray equipment, which produces an image that can detect unauthorized substances and objects
Are all persons entering a prison (staff, visitors, etc.) subject to the checking/ searching procedure? Who may be exempt from this procedure?- Staff are not inspected, the inspection is intended for visitors and prisoners. If necessary, staff can also be inspected. - Persons with a pacemaker can be passed through the metal detector and inspected with a small handheld detector or checked by other means.
What technical equipment (systems) are used for personal check/ search of inmates and search of their rooms (please, provide a producer’s name and model of the equipment you use, give a short description of its use)?- A mobile phone tracking device, which detects a phone when the phone is turned on - A building detector, which detects objects and hidden objects inside the structures of the building - X-ray machine for items - An endoscopic camera that can detect unauthorized substances and objects without disassembling the structure.
Have you ever registered cases when forbidden items were brought into the prison area by drones?Yes we have.
Do you use any technical equipment (systems) to prevent drone flying over the prison area (please, provide a producer’s name and model of the equipment you use, give a short description of its use)?- The use of drones over prison areas is seen as being very problematic in Finland and therefore we have started planning a detection and prevention system for drones, as well as preparing our legislation. - In Finland, we have two prisons for testing systems that are based on radio frequency signals (RF), and we are planning to start testing a system in one prison, which would be based on radar signals. It would be possible to attach this system to the prison camera security system.
What technical deficiencies have you noticed while using the above mentioned technical equipment (systems)?Based on our experience, observation of the drone should be based on multiple signals (Radio frequency, Radar, Camera and Sound), and not only one.
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To search for persons entering prisons we using the metal detector door Garrett Magnascaner PD6500, Ceia 02PN6, Ceia PMD2 / PT2, Rapiscan Meteor 250, Garrett PD6500i IP 65 standard and manual metal detectors Ceia PD140R, ThruScan dX-X, Ceia PD120B, Garrett "Superscaner" , "Rapiscan" Before entering the prison facilities, all the visitors are disposed of all the items in the prepared cabinet, then passing through the metal detector door and, if necessary, viewing the visitor with a manual metal detector.
Are all persons entering a prison (staff, visitors, etc.) subject to the checking/ searching procedure? Who may be exempt from this procedure?All persons are subject to review before entering the prison facilities.
What technical equipment (systems) are used for personal check/ search of inmates and search of their rooms (please, provide a producer’s name and model of the equipment you use, give a short description of its use)?CVS-02 Wireless video encryption DVR with lighting and two-sided articulation, RTG Rapiscan device, screwdrivers, rods and hand-held metal detectors. The screwdrivers are used to twist the screws on the equipment that is located in prisoners rooms (wardrobes, beds, chairs, etc.) for searching places that are suitable for concealment of unauthorized things. The rods are used to check the radiators and cavities. The video clip is used to check the openings, the cavities that can not be visually inspected, and these places are suitable for hiding unauthorized items. RTG devices and metal detectors are reviewing their personal belongings.
Have you ever registered cases when forbidden items were brought into the prison area by drones?Drones have been recorded above the prison facilities, but so far we have not found an attempt to enter inadmissible things.
Do you use any technical equipment (systems) to prevent drone flying over the prison area (please, provide a producer’s name and model of the equipment you use, give a short description of its use)?We do not currently use any equipment that would detect and prevent dron's flaps but we are in the phase of drafting a proposal to install drones prevention and detection systems.
What technical deficiencies have you noticed while using the above mentioned technical equipment (systems)?For metal detectors, it is necessary to take into account its adjustment to the sensitivity of the detector, and the videoprocessors should take account of the permanent lens maintenance regardless of their robustness.
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Prisons in Sweden are devided in Three security classes. 3 open prisons and there are no checks there when enetring the prison. Security class 2 closed prisons and there are checks when we suspect anything. Checks are done with handheld metal detectors, various brands and genereations. We have not a standard for that, yet. On class one hicgh security prisons we we everyone entering the prison without exeption, inmates, visitors and all staff. We have x-ray for bags etc and metall detectorsr Booth the one you walk through and handheld. We have varoius providers of ecuipment and varoius generations.
Are all persons entering a prison (staff, visitors, etc.) subject to the checking/ searching procedure? Who may be exempt from this procedure?On high security no one is exempted. On the orther prisons just when we suspect anything.
What technical equipment (systems) are used for personal check/ search of inmates and search of their rooms (please, provide a producer’s name and model of the equipment you use, give a short description of its use)?Just the ordinary Tools screw driver, mirrors, flash light etc. We have some hand held mobile finders but not much.
Have you ever registered cases when forbidden items were brought into the prison area by drones?We have had some "Hoover over" incidents but nothing has been brought in.
Do you use any technical equipment (systems) to prevent drone flying over the prison area (please, provide a producer’s name and model of the equipment you use, give a short description of its use)?On some eprisons we have radar warning that the prison has been flown over. We then stop all activities and search but we don't have any ecuipment to prevent drones from flying over. We have had some tests but found it hard to prevent.
What technical deficiencies have you noticed while using the above mentioned technical equipment (systems)?Not much. we educate everyone using x- ray and metal detectors and that works well. The radar system works very good but are depended one pretty free space around the prison.
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Persons entering Italian prisons (inmates’ family members, lawyers, journalists, cultural mediators, prisoners’ Ombudspersons, etc.) are first identified, then undergo checks by walk-through metal-detectors, in order to prevent the introduction of forbidden items into the establishment (and namely into the detention wings). In case of positive check, the staff takes the forbidden item and stores it in special boxes. The prison Governor has the delicate task to assess whether to perform bodily searches on those persons or not, on a case-by-case basis.
Are all persons entering a prison (staff, visitors, etc.) subject to the checking/ searching procedure? Who may be exempt from this procedure?All the people who enter prisons and do not belong to penitentiary staff undergo the above-mentioned checks.
What technical equipment (systems) are used for personal check/ search of inmates and search of their rooms (please, provide a producer’s name and model of the equipment you use, give a short description of its use)?Article 34 of the Italian Penitentiary Act (Law n. 354 of 1975) provides for that prisoners can be searched for security reasons. The search procedure must be carried out so as not to offend the prisoner’s personal dignity and must be made by staff of the same gender of the offender. The security requirements causing the need of searches can be of a general nature: in this case, they are “ordinary” searches (e.g.: upon the inmates’ entry into the prison; when they go back to their wing after they had their outdoor and sport exercise or after school or work activities, etc.). There can also be one specific security need: in that case, the prison Governor orders an extraordinary search (in terms of article 74, paragraph 5 of the Regulations of Enforcement of the Penitentiary Act). There can be very special security requirements, enabling the Penitentiary Police staff to perform searches on their own initiative, then specifying the reasons of the urgency and notifying immediately the prison Governor. When it is possible to perform checks with the aid of technical control tools (e.g. metal detectors), searches are not performed. The cells are searched in all the cases provided for by the orders issued by the prison Governor.
Have you ever registered cases when forbidden items were brought into the prison area by drones?There is the risk that forbidden items (weapons, explosives, drugs, mobile phones, etc.) are introduced in our prisons by using drones
Do you use any technical equipment (systems) to prevent drone flying over the prison area (please, provide a producer’s name and model of the equipment you use, give a short description of its use)?Above prisons, there is a no-fly zone for drones and other aircrafts; it is therefore necessary to comply with the coordinates established by the so-called Notam. In some of our Regional Directorates areas, a system of detection and neutralization of drones has been experimented, aimed at forbidding the flight of drones as well as at blocking any possible video recording made by subjects not belonging to the penitentiary Administration
What technical deficiencies have you noticed while using the above mentioned technical equipment (systems)?