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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: In the near future, the Belgian Prison Service will reflect on a differentiated detention policy. There are 35 prisons nationwide. The aim would be to place the detainees in prisons that are adapted to their specific needs, on the basis of the following criteria: first detention, age, training and employment opportunities, sentence, security risk, etc. We would like to learn from our partners how they have implemented a differentiated detention policy in their countries. What steps have been taken towards change management? How are custodial sentences differentiated? In this context, we would like to receive answers to the following questions.
According to Article 16 Ley Organica General Penitenciaria, LOGP 1979 “Regardless of the centre in which the admission takes place, an immediate separation will be made, taking into account sex, emotionality, age, background, physical and mental state and, with respect to convicts, the requirements of the treatment. In consequence: a) Men and women must be separated, except in the exceptional cases that are determined by regulation. b) The detainees and prisoners will be separated from the convicted and, in both cases, the primary ones of the recidivists. c) Young people, whether detained, imprisoned or sentenced, will be separated from adults under the conditions determined by regulation. d) Those who present illness or physical or mental deficiencies will be separated from those who can follow the normal regime of the establishment. e) The detainees and prisoners for intentional crimes will be separated from those who are for crimes of imprudence.”
Is there a system of differentiated prison regimes in your country?The Penitentiary Rules in its Article 73 establishes the concept and aims of the penitentiary regime: “By penitentiary regime is understood the set of norms or measures that persecute the attainment of an orderly and peaceful coexistence that allows to reach the suitable atmosphere for the success of the treatment and the retention and custody of the inmates.” And in its Article 74 the types of regime are defined: 1. The ordinary regime shall apply to convicts classified in the second degree, to ungraded convicts and to remand prisoners. 2. The open regime will be applied to the convicts classified in the third degree who can continue their treatment in semi-freedom regime. 3. The closed regime will be applied to the convicts classified in the first degree because of their extreme danger or manifest maladjustment to the previous common regimes and to the remand prisoners in whom the same circumstances apply. According to Article 100 of Penitentiary Rules related to penitentiary classification and flexibility principle: “1. In addition to the separations indicated in the previous article, after entry the convicts must be classified in degrees. The degrees will be nominated correlatively, so that the first corresponds to a regime in which the control and security measures will be stricter, the second with the ordinary regime and the third with the open regime. 2. However, in order to make the system more flexible, the Technical Team may propose to the Treatment Board that, for each prisoner, an execution model be adopted in which characteristic aspects of each one of the mentioned degrees, as long as said measure is based on a specific program of treatment that otherwise cannot be executed. This exceptional measure will require the subsequent approval of the corresponding Surveillance Judge, without prejudice to its immediate enforcement.” The Article 101 stablishes the classification degrees: “1. The classification in the second degree implies the application of the norms corresponding to the ordinary regime of the Establishments. 2. The third degree determines the application of the open regime in any of its modalities. 3. The first degree determines the application of the rules of the closed regime.” Article 102 establishes the variables and classification criteria: “1. For the individualization of the treatment, after adequate observation of each prisoner, its classification will be made, which will determine the destination to the establishment whose regime is more appropriate to the treatment that has been indicated and, where appropriate, to the group or section more suitable within that one. 2. To determine the classification, the Treatment Boards will consider the personality and the individual, family, social and criminal history of the inmate, the length of the sentences, the social environment to which the inmate returns and the resources, facilities and difficulties existing in every case and moment for the success of the treatment. 3. The convicts will be classified in second degree in those who attend personal and penitentiary circumstances of normal coexistence, but without the capacity to live, for the moment, in semi-freedom. 4. The classification in the third degree will be applied to the inmates who, due to their personal and penitentiary circumstances, are qualified to carry out a regime of life in semi-freedom. 5. In accordance with the provisions of Article 10 of the General Penitentiary Organic Law, qualified inmates of extreme danger or manifest and severe maladjustment will be classified in the first degree to the general norms of orderly coexistence, considering the concurrence of factors such as: a) Nature of the crimes committed throughout his criminal history, denoting an aggressive, violent and antisocial personality. b) Commission of acts that threaten the life or physical integrity of people, sexual freedom or property, committed in particularly violent ways or forms. c) Membership of criminal organizations or armed gangs, as long as they do not show, in both cases, unequivocal signs of having escaped the internal discipline of said organizations or gangs. d) Active participation in riots, plantings, physical attacks, threats or coercion. e) Commission of disciplinary infractions classified as very serious or serious, repeatedly and sustained over time. f) Introduction or possession of firearms in the penitentiary establishment, as well as the possession of toxic drugs, narcotics and psychotropic substances in an important quantity, which makes presume its destiny to traffic”
Are there systems such as penitentiary leave and early or conditional release in your country?According to Article 47 of the 1979 LOGP: “One. In case of death or serious illness of the parents, spouse, children, siblings and other persons intimately related to the inmates, birth of the wife, as well as for important and proven reasons, with the appropriate security measures, permits of departure will be granted, unless there are exceptional circumstances. Two. Likewise, leave permits may be granted up to seven days in preparation for life in freedom, after a report from the technical team, up to a total of thirty-six or forty-eight days per year to the convicts of second and third degree, respectively, provided they have extinguished a quarter of the sentence and do not observe bad behaviour.” And Article 48: “The permits referred to in the previous article may also be granted to remand prisoners with the approval, in each case, of the corresponding judicial authority.” On the other hand, Royal Decree 190/1996, of 9 February, which approves the Penitentiary Rules establishes the requirements for conditional release in its article 192: “The convicts classified in the third degree who meet the other requirements established for this purpose in the Penal Code shall serve the rest of their sentence in a situation of conditional freedom, in accordance with the provisions of said Code. To decide on the granting of conditional release, the judge of prison surveillance will assess, among other factors, the personality of the prisoner, his background and the circumstances of the crime committed. The suspension will not be granted if the convicted person had not satisfied the civil liability derived from the crime in the cases and in accordance with the criteria established by sections 5 and 6 of Art. 72, General Penitentiary Organic Law 1/1979. Nor will it be applicable in the case of crimes committed within criminal organizations. It may also grant parole to convicts who meet the following requirements: a) That they have extinguished two thirds of their sentence. b) That during the fulfilment of their sentence they have developed labour, cultural or occupational activities, either continuously or with an advantage from which a relevant and favourable modification has been derived from those of their personal circumstances related to their prior criminal activity. c) That proves compliance with the requirements referred to in Art. 90.1 of the Penal Code, except for having extinguished three quarters of his sentence. Exceptionally, the prison supervision judge may agree to suspend the execution of the rest of the sentence and grant parole to the convicted persons in which the following requirements are met: a) That they are serving their first prison sentence and that it does not exceed three years. b) That they have extinguished half of their sentence. c) That proves compliance with the requirements referred to in section 1, except for having extinguished three quarters of his sentence, as well as the one regulated in letter b) of the previous section.
Is there a system of sentence planning in your country?The curricular itinerary of inmates is specified in the Individualized Treatment Program (PIT), for convicts, or in the Individual Intervention Model (MII), for remand prisoners. The PTI or MII collects the treatment objectives, the activities planned to achieve them and the commitments by both parties (the multidisciplinary team and the inmate) and is regulated by the Individual Assessment Framework Program (PAI). The rehabilitation itineraries allow adjusting the contents of the treatments to the individual needs of the individuals. Therefore, in the individualized program of treatment of a specific inmate, the intervention will be planned progressively, addressing (if necessary) the preliminary, basic and intermediate psychoeducational skills, and foresee in a second term the most specific intervention (specialized psychoeducational programs). In any case, the location in the previous classification will depend on the needs of intervention in a specific area of treatment. This means that all units must be able to provide training in preliminary, basic and intermediate skills, in order to be able to take advantage of the most specific intervention. The achievement of therapeutic, educational, training goals, etc. signed and agreed upon with the inmate in the individualized program of treatment, it allows the study and proposal, if applicable and with the legally established requirements, of the ordinary permits, the progression to the third degree of treatment and the conditional freedom or the advance of this, according to the planned timing.
Categorisation of prisoners 14. Every prisoner may be categorised by the Governor according to— (a)age; (b)gender; (c)offence or matter in respect of which the prisoner is committed to prison; (d)period of sentence or committal; (e)previous criminal record; and (f)any other matter which the Governor considers appropriate. Allocation of prisoners 15.—(1) The Scottish Ministers may set aside particular prisons or parts of prisons for particular categories of prisoners or particular purposes. (2) Subject to paragraph (1), the Governor may allocate within a prison a particular part of the prison in which a prisoner, or any particular category of prisoners, may be confined having regard to— (a)the categorisation of a prisoner; (b)the supervision level of a prisoner; and (c)any other matter affecting the management of a prisoner. (3) A prisoner may request reasons from the Governor as to why the prisoner has been allocated to a particular prison or part of the prison and the Governor must provide those reasons as soon as it is practicable to do so.
Is there a system of differentiated prison regimes in your country?Separation of different categories of prisoners 16. The Governor must, so far as reasonably practicable, keep civil prisoners and untried prisoners apart from other categories of prisoners. Separation of male and female prisoners 126.—(1) Female prisoners must not share the same accommodation as male prisoners. (2) The respective accommodation for male and female prisoners must, as far as reasonably practicable, be in separate parts of the prison.
Are there systems such as penitentiary leave and early or conditional release in your country?Eligibility of prisoners for temporary release 134.—(1) In this Part “temporary release” means any of the forms of temporary release defined in rule 136. (2) In this Part “eligible prisoner” means a prisoner who— (a)is assigned low supervision level; and (b)is not disqualified from obtaining temporary release for any reason specified in paragraph (3) or (4). (3) A prisoner is disqualified from obtaining temporary release if, for the time being, the prisoner is— (a)subject to proceedings under the Extradition Act 2003; (b)in the written opinion of a healthcare professional, not fit enough to be granted temporary release. (4) Subject to paragraph (5), a life prisoner is disqualified from obtaining temporary release unless the Governor has obtained the prior consent of the Scottish Ministers. (5) Any consent granted by the Scottish Ministers under paragraph (4)— (a)will apply to the first grant of temporary release and any further grants of temporary release; but (b)will cease to have effect if the prisoner is subsequently assigned a supervision level other than low supervision level. Applications for, and grant of, temporary release 135.—(1) This rule applies in relation to all forms of temporary release except where otherwise expressly indicated. (2) Where a prisoner seeks to make an application for unescorted day release or unescorted day release for compassionate reasons, both as defined in rule 136, that application must be made in writing by the prisoner to the Governor. (3) Subject to any direction made by the Scottish Ministers under rule 138, the Governor may grant temporary release to an eligible prisoner if the Governor is of the opinion that it is appropriate to do so. (4) In considering whether it is appropriate to grant temporary release to an eligible prisoner under this Part, the Governor must assess the risk that the prisoner may— (a)abscond; or (b)pose a danger, or cause harm, to the public. (5) Where the Governor refuses to grant temporary release, the Governor must inform the prisoner in writing of the decision and the reasons for the decision. (6) The Governor may make such arrangements as the Governor considers appropriate for the transport to and from prison of prisoners who have been granted temporary release. Forms of temporary release 136. For the purposes of this Part— “home leave” means the unescorted temporary release from prison of an eligible prisoner for the purpose of enabling the prisoner to visit his or her home or other approved place for a period not exceeding 7 nights excluding travelling time; “unescorted day release” means the unescorted temporary release from prison of an eligible prisoner for a period not exceeding one day, including travelling time, for the purposes of enabling the prisoner, in preparation for eventual release— (a) to develop further, or to re-establish, links with his or her family or community; or (b) to develop educational or employment opportunities; “unescorted day release for compassionate reasons” means the unescorted temporary release from prison of an eligible prisoner for a period not exceeding one day, excluding travelling time, for the purposes of enabling the prisoner— (a) to visit any relative who it appears to the Governor is dangerously ill; (b) to attend the funeral of a near relative; (c) to visit a parent who is either too old or too ill to travel to the prison; (d) to visit the prisoner’s spouse, civil partner or co-habiting partner who, for whatever reason, is unable to travel to the prison; (e) to visit a child for whom they have parental responsibility and who, for whatever reason, is unable to travel to the prison; or (f) to attend at any place for any other reason where the Governor is of the opinion that the circumstances warrant it; “temporary release for work” means the unescorted temporary release from prison of an eligible prisoner for a period not exceeding one day, excluding travelling time, for the purposes of enabling the prisoner— (a) to undertake a work placement outside prison in terms of rule 84; (b) to attend a college, university or other educational establishment in order to participate in vocational training or an educational class; or (c) to undertake voluntary work outside the prison in terms of rule 84; “unescorted day release for health reasons” means the unescorted temporary release from prison of an eligible prisoner for a period not exceeding one day, excluding travelling time, for the purposes of enabling the prisoner— (a) to attend for treatment at a medical facility outwith the prison; or (b) to attend counselling outwith the prison. Recall of prisoners granted temporary release 137.—(1) The Governor may recall to prison any prisoner who has been granted temporary release, whether or not the conditions upon which the prisoner has been granted such release have been broken. (2) Where the Governor recalls to prison a prisoner who has been granted temporary release, the Governor must inform the prisoner in writing of the reasons for that decision. Direction with respect to temporary release 138.—(1) For the purposes of temporary release, the Scottish Ministers may specify in a direction— (a)the forms of temporary release available to prisoners accommodated in particular prisons, halls or parts of prisons; (b)the manner in which the Governor must consider an application for any form of temporary release; (c)the manner in which the Governor must assess the risk that the prisoner may abscond or pose a danger to the public; (d)the relevant criteria about which the Governor must be satisfied before granting any form of temporary release; (e)the conditions which may be imposed in relation to any approval of an application for temporary release; (f)the timing and duration of any form of temporary release and the frequency with which it may be granted to an eligible prisoner; and (g)the persons who are to be treated as a near relative of the prisoner. (2) Directions under this rule may make different provision for different forms of temporary release
Is there a system of sentence planning in your country?The key features of the Integrated Case Management process: • Be delivered to all convicted prisoners and not just those sentenced to 4 years or more, as is currently the case with sentence management • Differ in intensity according to risk and not, as previously, sentence length • Adopt a case conference approach to action planning. This will involve all the relevant service providers who have contact with prisoners subject to post-release supervision • Utilise the input of all service providers through an IT-based system – SPS’ PR2 system that will become the standard case management tool for prison based staff • Have the same entry and exit procedures for all prisoners regardless of sentence length. All prisoners will undergo a Core Screen assessment on entry to prison and will leave with a Community Integration Plan/Pre-release Plan • Provide prisoners with a clear pathway through custody. This should encourage greater engagement with the action planning process, a more responsible approach to addressing difficulties and therefore desistance from offending on release • Sequence interventions appropriately • Ensure all relevant information is shared with appropriate service providers to facilitate a holistic planning process • Facilitate fully integrated service provision (e.g. addictions, learning skills & employability and social care) using assessment tools that have been consistently developed and support the IT-based case management file • Provide a greater recognition of the diversity within the prisoner population Briefly highlighted below are the key roles for those involved in the ICM process: SPS Link Officers are responsible for Core Screen Assessments which are completed within 72 hours of admission to custody; SPS Case Co-ordinators and Prison Based Social Work are responsible for organising and chairing case conferences and contributing to these; Prison Based Social Work are effectively the link with Community Based Social Work colleagues in ensuring good communication and information exchange; Service Providers will be expected to provide enhanced assessments and direct service provision; Psychological staff will have the same role as other service providers, though additionally they will be expected to provide training on Motivational Interviewing Skills to Personal Officers and training to Case Co-ordinators; Personal Officers will have a role to play in helping motivate the prisoner to engage with service providers, keeping track of the agreed plan/outcomes and supporting the prisoner; and Community Based Social Work will be expected to attend and contribute to the Case Conferences and be the link with the family, community based services and the Prison. Clearly, Community Based Social Work’s role continues after the prisoner’s release from custody, whereupon they will be required to supervise the individuals’ licence/order. As stated above, ICM is predicated on a case conference model. This approach brings together the prisoner, their family and other key staff to examine the prisoner’s progress through custody. The case conference will consider the actions/interventions that are necessary to help make the prisoner’s stay in custody successful. The case conference will also examine the assessed risks the prisoner poses and help decide on appropriate interventions aimed at reducing those risks. This particular approach should prove useful in (a) keeping the prisoner at the centre of the ICM process, (b) maintaining a focus on issues which are external to the prison as well as internal, (c) the sharing of relevant information across agencies and (d) assessing and managing risk.
Finland is divided into three criminal sanction regions and each region has an assessment centre. The assessment centre is responsible for the placement of sentenced persons and prisoners in the prisons of the region and for the planning of the sentence term. Decisions concerning tranfers within the same prison are made by the prison governor.
Is there a system of differentiated prison regimes in your country?According to the legislation there are two different regimes: closed prisons and open institutions. The selection of the prison is influenced by the prisoner’s activity and rehabilitation needs as well as the required prison security level. The prison where the prisoner is placed is responsible for the realisation and specification of the sentence plan. Different types of detainees have not been defined. There is a basic package of activities that is common to all regimes.
Are there systems such as penitentiary leave and early or conditional release in your country?Pursuant to the Chapter 14 of the Imprisonment Act of Finland prisoners may apply for a prison leave. Prison leave may be granted, upon application, on the basis of the length of the term of sentence, for an important reason, or for a particularly important reason. In some cases the prison leave may be granted for the prisoner under escort or under necessary supervision. (Imprisonment Act: https://www.finlex.fi/en/laki/kaannokset/2005/en20050767.pdf) Pursuant to the Chapter 9 Section 14 of the Remand Imprisonment Act of Finland, a remand prisoner may be granted prison leave for a particularly important reason or prison leave under escort. (Remand Imprisonment Act: https://www.finlex.fi/fi/laki/kaannokset/2005/en20050768.pdf) The decisions are made by the prison officials. Only a specified proportion of the sentence is served in prison and the last part in freedom with or without supervision. According to the Chapter 2 c Section 5 of the Criminal Code of Finland conditional release refers to the release of a prisoner serving an unconditional sentence of imprisonment, to serve the rest of his or her sentence in freedom. Subject to the provisions of section 9, a person serving a fixed-term sentence of imprisonment shall be conditionally released when he or she has served two-thirds of the sentence, or in the case of a sentence imposed for an offence committed under the age of twenty-one years, when he or she has served one-half of the sentence. A prisoner who during the three preceding years has not served a sentence of imprisonment in prison shall be conditionally released when he or she has served one-half of the sentence or, in the case of a sentence imposed for an offence committed under the age of twenty-one, when he or she has served one-third of the sentence. There is no intervention of a judge/court or competence of the minister of Justice. (The Criminal Code of Finland: https://www.finlex.fi/fi/laki/kaannokset/1889/en18890039_20150766.pdf) On certain conditions, a prisoner may be placed outside the prison in probationary liberty under supervision (aka supervised probationary freedom) effected by technical and other means for at most six months before conditional release or the release from serving the entire sentence. The decisions are made by the prison officials.
Is there a system of sentence planning in your country?An assessment centre is responsible for the planning of the sentence term (sentence plan). The community sanctions offices have a major role for planning sentence term for the convicts who are waiting imprisonment in freedom (If the sentenced offenders are not ordered to be imprisoned at the moment of sentencing, they wait for the enforcement of the sentence in freedom.) The Offender Assessment System (Oasys) is the risk and needs assessment tool for adult offenders, the self-assessment questionnaire (SAQ) covers a range of social and individual problems and an offender`s perceived likelihood of further offending. The Static-2002R is an instrument designed to assist in the prediction of sexual and violent recidivism for sex offenders. The Historical Clinical Risk Management-20, Version 3 (HCR 20) is intended for use with men age 18 and above assessing risk for violence. Savry is Structured Assessment of Violence Risk in Youth and The Female Additional Manual (FAM) is a developed addition to the HCR-20 for assessing risk for violence in women. The VERA-2R is developed to support the judgement of risk assessment and risk management of terrorists and violent extremists. There is also a method concerning parenthood (“Family Talk Intervention ”).
NIPS have a policy for establishment transfers based on resettlement need and population control.
Is there a system of differentiated prison regimes in your country?NIPS have a PREPS policy Progressive Regime and Earned Privileges Scheme this policy basically encourages those in custody to demonstrate that they are engaging and addressing their offending behaviour whilst in custody. This is rewarded with a structured payment level Basic, Standard, Enhanced with increasing incentives at each level. Individuals can also be demoted for non-engaging behaviour.
Are there systems such as penitentiary leave and early or conditional release in your country? Is there a system of sentence planning in your country?The Prisoner development model (PDM) is used to identify needs risk and strengths on a collaborative basis with partners this formulates the persons custodial plan and is reviewed on a regular basis for compliance.
To replace a prisoner to another section within the prison is decided locally at the prison by the prison government or employs with authority to do so. If there is a need to replace a prisoner to another prison whether it is due to good conduct, misconduct or to be able to participate in a rehabilitation program for example all replacements pass thru the Placement and evaluation unit at the Swedish prison and probation service HQ. The prison fills in a digital form for replacement where they state the reasons for the replacement and send it to the placement and evaluation unit.
Is there a system of differentiated prison regimes in your country?All prisons in Sweden are run by the Swedish government thru the Swedish prison and probation service. In Sweden the prisons are divided in three different security classifications. Classification 1 is high level of security, classification 2 is medium high security and classification 3 is low security, also called open facility. In three of the countrys high security prisons there are a maximum security prison within the prison. Within the range of each security classification there are differences in the constructions of the prisons such as walls, fences, concertina wire and ankle monitoring. Therefore within each classification the prions can also be divided in higher and lower security. Within the Swedish prison and probation service HQ there is an evaluation and placement unit that places all prisoners in Sweden. The unit is divided in two groups, one that places persons who are in custody and one group that places persons in liberty. By doing so the Swedish prions and probation service are aiming for an as uniform assessment process as possible. Every placement is an individual assessment based on the risks and needs of the prisoner. Risk factors to take into consideration can be for example young age at first offence, reoffending, addiction (alcohol, drugs and gambling), history of misconduct during prior imprisonment, mental illness, decision on deportation, the risk of escape, the crime, criminal network and organized crimes. Up on deciding on placement there is also a consideration of inappropriate client constellations. All prisons in Sweden provide education for the prisoners, different prions have different rehabilitation programs, vocational training and prison industries. The prisoners have to participate in either school, education, rehabilitation or other structured activities Monday to Friday. Every prisoners has a individual plan for their time in prison based on a risk and need assessment. All activities in that plan are to prevent reoffending.
Are there systems such as penitentiary leave and early or conditional release in your country?Yes - please contact us for further information.
Is there a system of sentence planning in your country?Yes - please contact us for further information.
The rules on how to determine placement of a prisoner are in the Sentence Enforcement Act. Risk assessment is also taken into consideration (see below). The decision is made by employees in the regional offices of the Prison and Probation Service, except for decisions concerning gang members, prisoner with life sentence e.g.
Is there a system of differentiated prison regimes in your country?In Denmark there is differentiated prison regimes. There are certain rights for the prisoner that apply to all regimes, for instance visit from family members among other things. Local jails and prisons are divided into four categories: Security class 1: small sections with a high degree of technical security measures and a high staff ratio. Regimes are strict and individually designed. Both remand and convicted prisoners can be placed in these sections. Security class 2: smaller sections with a high degree of security measures and a high staff ration. Sections are primarily used for violent inmates, gang members and others who for security reasons are not suitable for placing in ordinary sections. Both remand and convicted prisoners can be placed in these sections. Security class 3: ordinary sections and closed prisons and local jails Security class 4: open prisons. Security class 1 and 2 have systematic access control where also staff is controlled. Members of certain gangs are, because of their historic violent behavior, by definition places in security class 2, as are remand prisoners that are not allowed to communicate with others. The prisoner is placed in the security class on basis of a risk assessment based on different criterias.
Are there systems such as penitentiary leave and early or conditional release in your country?Concerning penitentiary leave The principal rules on penitentiary leave are found in The Sentence Enforcement Act. Leave is an integrated instrument in serving a sentence in Denmark. Decision on whether to grant leave is an administrative decision by The Prison and Probation Service. Depending of the severity of the case the decision is made by the prison institution, by the local regional office of The Prison and Probation Service, or by the Department of Prisons and Probation. Most decisions to deny leave taken by the prison or by local regional office can be complained to The Department of Prisons and Probation.. An inmate may be granted leave when: 1. the purpose of the leave is reasonably justified by considerations of education, training, work, treatment or family or by other personal considerations; 2. there are no specific reasons for assuming that the inmate will commit new crime, evade continued enforcement of the sentence or otherwise abuse the grant of leave in connection with the individual leave; and 3. leave is not otherwise inappropriate for law enforcement reasons. Concerning conditional release Conditional release is regulated by The criminal Code. Individual conditions can be set out for the early release. Release from a prison sentence is an administrative decision taken by The Prison and Probation Service. Depending of the severity of the case the decision is made by the prison institution, by the local regional office of The Prison and Probation Service or by the Department of Prisons and Probation. Some decisions of denial of early release can be brought for court by the inmate. Early release will normally be granted after serving 2/3 of the sentence if the early release is not considered inadvisable in respect to risk of recidivism of a certain severity. Foreigners with a deportation order will normally be released after serving ½ of the sentence. There is a limited possibility of early release after serving ½ of the sentence for convicted who do not have an deportation order. This opportunity will be considered if the convicted by participation in treatment programs etc. has shown a clear effort not to relapse into crime.
Is there a system of sentence planning in your country?A plan of action is made for all offenders in Denmark. A plan of action is made both for the time of incarceration and probation and for the time under supervision at the probation service. For prisoners and citizens under supervision at the probation service the plan of action is based on an assessment of the offender’s level of risk, need and responsivity (LS/RNR). The level of service under incarceration, probation or supervision is set according to the assessment of LS/RNR. For citizens serving a prison sentence the LS/RNR assessment is made as a part of an intake assessment at arrival at the prison. This assessment is made in order to establish a more systematic and goal-oriented over all sentence plan. As to inmates and offenders under probation, the plan has to be made within seven weekdays of the incarceration or from the date of probation. As to offenders under supervision, the plan has to be made within four weeks from the beginning of the supervision. The plan of action has three parts: A part of description, a part of assessment and a part of planned initiatives for the incarceration, probation or supervision.
Categorisation within the adult male estate is predominantly assessed on level of threat to the public and level of threat to escape custody. There are 4 categories; A to D, with A being the highest category, for “prisoners whose escape would be highly dangerous to the public, police or Secretary of State’ and for whom the aim must be to make escape impossible;” and D being the lowest category, for “prisoners who present a low risk, can be reasonably trusted in open conditions and for whom open conditions are appropriate. Category B is for “Prisoners for whom the very highest conditions of security are not necessary but for whom escape must be made very difficult,” whilst Category C is for, “Prisoners who cannot be trusted in open conditions but who do not have the resources and will to make a determined escape attempt.” · Prisoners should always be placed in the lowest security category applicable to their circumstances and must be reviewed either 6 monthly or annually after initial categorisation, based on length of sentence. · Categorisation for Young Male Prisoners and Female Prisoners differs slightly; whilst there are still 4 categories, they are slightly different. Category A remains the same with the 3 remaining categories identified as ‘Restricted Status,’ ‘Closed Conditions,’ and ‘Open Conditions.’ Restricted Status is for, “Any female, young person or young adult prisoner convicted or on remand whose escape would present a serious risk to the public and who are required to be held in designated secure accommodation.” Closed Conditions is for, “Prisoners for whom the very highest conditions of security are not necessary but who present too high a risk for open conditions or for whom open conditions are not appropriate.” Open Conditions is for, “Prisoners who present a low risk; can reasonably be trusted in open conditions and for whom open conditions are appropriate.” · Prisoners may transfer from one establishment to another based on a number of criteria. Once sentence and initial categorisation is carried out, most prisoners will be moved to an appropriate category prison to serve their sentence. Further movements may take place for a variety of reasons including but not limited to; re-categorisation based on a change in risk level; security, safety or control purposes; access to a more appropriate regime such as offending behaviour programmes or employment opportunities outlined in their sentence plan; further charges requiring a location closer to the prosecuting court; maintaining family ties; mental health or behavioural assessment; impending release requiring a location closer to release address. · A change in location within the same establishment may be prompted for a variety of reasons including but not limited to; Completion of induction and movement to a longer term residential unit; access to special requirements such as healthcare support, substance misuse support or a therapeutic environment; to disrupt criminal activity or challenging behaviour; as a method of protection for victims or witnesses.
Is there a system of differentiated prison regimes in your country?· There are different types of prison which offer different levels of regime in England and Wales . All prisons provide prisoners opportunity to access purposeful activity which includes education and vocational qualifications. Individual prisons will seek to provide opportunities appropriate to the cohort of prisoners they hold, ensuring they take the market into which they release prisoners into account. · Local / Reception prisons have a primary role to serve the courts and will hold prisoners on remand. There is a limited regime in these establishments but everyone is given the opportunity to attend some form of paid work or education, health services, gymnasium, religious services and social and legal visits, as well as domestic periods to maintain personal and room cleanliness, make phone calls and associate with other prisoners. · Training prisons offer convicted prisoners the same access to visits, gymnasium, health services, etc. but also offer full-time work or education opportunities. · Resettlement Prisons offer a regime inclusive of all the above plus access to resettlement services for prisoners nearing the end of their time in custody. · Open prisons (Cat D) are low security sites where prisoners are expected to take responsibility for engaging fully with the regime. In addition to internal work and education opportunities, further opportunities to work in paid employment or for charitable causes in the community via Release on Temporary License (ROTL) are available as well as greater opportunities to spend time at home when preparing for release. · Only category D prisoners are generally allowed access to ROTL following thorough risk assessments and only to support their resettlement needs (such as employment or maintaining family ties). This may also apply to a small number of Category C prisoners, some Female prisoners and some prisoners under the age of 21, again depending on thorough risk assessment.
Are there systems such as penitentiary leave and early or conditional release in your country?Most offenders sentenced to imprisonment will receive a standard determinate sentence under which they must be released automatically at the half way point of the sentence on licence and probation supervision. There is no release decision. Offenders convicted of serious sexual and violent offences may receive sentences of imprisonment comprising a minimum custodial period and a period when they may be released if the Parole Board is satisfied that they can be safely managed in the community. The Parole Board is a court-like body independent of government. Offenders serving a standard determinate sentence of at least 12 weeks but less than 4 years may be released up to 135 days prior to their automatic release date. The release decision is taken by the prison governor on behalf of the Secretary of State. Release on HDC will be authorised if the assessment is that the offender can be safely managed at the proposed release address and is not under investigation for an offence committed during the current custodial period. In addition to all the usual licence and supervision requirements, an offender on HDC is subject to an electronically monitored curfew at their home address up to what would have been the automatic release date Most offenders under the age of 18 who are sentenced to detention will serve a Detention and Training Order (DTO). Release is automatic at the half way point, unless a Youth Court orders later release. Early release is up to a maximum of 2 months before the half way point. The release decision is taken by the governor of the Young Offenders’ Institution or by the Youth Custody Service (YCS) on behalf of the Secretary of State. As with HDC the decision is risk assessment based and the offender will be subject to electronically monitored curfew until the halfway point of the overall term. Prison governors acting on behalf of the Secretary of State may release sentenced prisoners temporarily for specified activities (including for resettlement purposes such as work and maintaining family ties, or for compassionate reasons, such as health appointments or family funerals). Release is subject to risk assessment. The statutory basis for these provisions is: · Criminal Justice Act 2003 · Powers of Criminal Courts (Sentencing) Act 2000 · Prison Rules Guidance on HDC is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/home-detention-curfew Guidance on release on temporary licence is available at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/803957/rotl-pf.pdf
Is there a system of sentence planning in your country?All offenders subject to a community order (except those with a single curfew or exclusion requirement), suspended sentence order, or a custodial sentence (where the offender will be supervised on release) are required to have an assessment of their criminogenic needs and associated risks, and a plan, the primary purpose of which is to address the identified needs and risks. It is also used to specify how the sentence of the court will be delivered. The sentence plan/plan is the key tool for identifying what an offender will do during their sentence, based on an assessment of the factors associated with their offending, to achieve the aims of the sentence. This is particularly important for reducing the likelihood of reoffending and, in custodial cases, promoting resettlement. The authority responsible for producing the assessment and plan will depend on the type of sentence, which provider the case has been allocated to, and, in the case of custodial sentences, may change at different stages of the sentence. In the case of National Probation Service and prisons this will always be recorded within the Offender Assessment System (OASys). It is essential that the development of the plan involves the offender, so that the offender is engaged in the process and therefore involved in considering what actions might be needed to reduce the risk the offender poses, both in terms of causing serious harm and further offending. Plans must be reviewed during the course of, and at the end of, the sentence whenever there is a significant change that impacts on the risk of re-offending and/or serious harm posed by the offender, which may include where a transfer has taken place, the offender has been released from custody, and/or one or more objectives in the sentence plan has been achieved.
The decision to place a detainee in (or to transfer a detainee to) another prison is taken by the Director General of the Prison Department. the decision to place a detainee in (or to transfer a detainee to) another section within the same prison made the prison director.
Is there a system of differentiated prison regimes in your country?No. The Criminal Code of the Republic of Lithuania established that pre-trial and sentenced men and women, pre-trial and sentenced adults and juveniles are kept in separate prisons or another section within the same prison. If possible first-time convicted for minor crimes, sentenced for negligent crimes, first-time convicted ex-officers and ex-civil servants, dangerous recidivists sentenced for felonies, inmates ill with active TB, life sentenced are kept in separate prisons or another section within the same prison. Prison administration may take a decision to keep separately from the other prison population: ex-civil servants, sentenced foreigners, disabled inmates, inmates ill with AIDS, inmates with diminished responsibility, good behaving and working inmates, and inmates who violate the regime. Taking into consideration their behavior inmates are allocated to different groups within the same prison: ordinary, light and disciplinary groups.
Are there systems such as penitentiary leave and early or conditional release in your country?Penitentiary leave is granted by the prison director, the decision on conditional release is taken by a Conditional Release Commission and submitted for approval/ rejection to court.
Is there a system of sentence planning in your country?Individual social rehabilitation (sentence) plan is made taking into consideration risk behavior, criminogenic factors, measures to eliminate criminogenic factors, regime. The following issues should be specified in an individual social rehabilitation (sentence) plan: 1) place of residence before conviction, education, marital status, occupation before conviction, spouse/ partner/ next of kin contact details; 2) beginning/ end of a sentence, data of possible transfer to a half-way house and date of possible conditional release; 3) behavior risk and criminogenic factors; 4) measures to eliminate criminogenic factors and their implementation schedule; 5) measures to facilitate an inmate follow the regime; 6) leisure occupation; 7) maintenance of social relationship; 8) social rehabilitation staff, tasks for implementation social rehabilitation (sentence) plan, frequency of meetings; 9) other measures to facilitate social rehabilitation. An individual social rehabilitation (sentence) plan should be drafted in ten working days following an inmate’s arrival.
The basis for the execution of a criminal punishment shall be a court judgement that has entered into effect, or an injunction of the public prosecutor regarding punishment, as well as a court adjudication which has not yet entered into effect and the appeal submitted in respect of which in accordance with the Criminal Procedure Law does not suspend the execution thereof. The allocation of a convicted person in a specific deprivation of liberty institution shall be determined by the head of the Latvian Prison Administration taking into account medical, security and prevention of crime criteria as well as taking into account the set sentence execution regime for the inmate and the vacant cells in imprisonment places, it is within the Latvian Prison Administration competence to decide in which imprisonment place the inmate will have to serve their sentence. The commission of prisoner placement, established with the order of the Head of the imprisonment place, determines in which imprisonment place department, unit and cell prisoner should be placed, taking into account the vacant cells, psychological compatibility of the prisoners, health condition, attitude about smoking, previous criminal experience. A convicted person who has assisted in the solving of a crime committed by another person and for whom the court has reduced the sentence in accordance with the procedures specified in the Criminal Law, shall be placed separately from the other convicted persons if he has requested it. If the convicted person is a judge, a person belonging to the judicial system, investigative authorities, criminal enforcement authorities, state institution, state police or other state institution involved in ensuring public security, former employee, his spouse or first-degree relative shall be placed separately from the other convicted persons.
Is there a system of differentiated prison regimes in your country?In LV imprisonment places, progressive execution of sentence is based on differentiation of convicted persons within the framework of each type of deprivation of liberty institution (closed prison, semi closed prison, open prison/block and juvenile correctional institution/department) and regime of a deprivation of liberty institution, as well as the transfer of convicted persons from a prison of one type to a prison of another type, taking into account the portion of the sentence served and the behaviour of the convicted person. Its objective is to achieve conformity of the sentence execution regime with the behaviour and re-socialisation level of the convicted person in ensuring execution of the sentence, and his or her optimal involvement in life after release. All convicted persons shall be subject to the progressive sentence execution system, except the persons sentenced with temporary deprivation of liberty. Convicted persons shall commence serving the sentence at the lowest level of the sentence serving regime, except the persons sentenced with temporary deprivation of liberty and the convicted persons for whom the court has replaced the unserved part of the term of the sentence - community service or a fine - with deprivation of liberty. The persons sentenced with temporary deprivation of liberty and the convicted persons for whom the court has replaced the unserved part of the term of the sentence - community service or a fine - with deprivation of liberty shall serve the sentence only at the highest level of the sentence serving regime of a partly-closed prison. Convicted persons in closed prisons shall serve their sentence at three regime levels - the lowest, medium and the highest level, but in partly-closed prisons - at two regime levels - the lowest and the highest. Levels of the service execution regime shall not be determined for convicted persons in open prisons and for minors in juvenile correctional institutions. According with LV legislation, criminal offences shall be divided into criminal violations and crimes according to the nature and harm of the threat to the interests of a person or the society. Crimes shall be divided as follows: less serious crimes, serious crimes and especially serious crimes. - A less serious crime is an intentional offence for which the deprivation of liberty for a period exceeding three months but not exceeding three years is provided for in this Law, as well as an offence which has been committed through negligence and for which the deprivation of liberty for a period not exceeding eight years; - A serious crime is an intentional offence for which the deprivation of liberty for a period exceeding three years but not exceeding eight years is provided for in this Law, as well as an offence which has been committed through negligence and for which the deprivation of liberty for a time period exceeding eight years; - An especially serious crime is an intentional offence for which the deprivation of liberty for a period exceeding eight years or life imprisonment. Men sentenced with deprivation of liberty for commission of serious or especially serious crimes and convicted persons who have been transferred from a partly-closed prison due to gross or systematic regime violations shall serve their sentences in closed prisons. Sentence shall be served in partly-closed prisons by: 1) women for intentionally committed crimes; 2) men for intentionally committed less serious crimes; 3) persons convicted for committing of less serious crime through negligence, if they have served a sentence earlier in a deprivation of liberty institution, for which a criminal record has not been cancelled or extinguished; 4) persons convicted for committing of a less serious crime through negligence, if they have been sentenced with deprivation of liberty for a period of time exceeding three years, however, not exceeding eight years; 5) men for committing of serious or especially serious crimes, if they had not attained the age of eighteen years by the time the crime is committed; 6) persons for whom a fine has been replaced by deprivation of liberty; 7) persons for whom the unserved additional punishment - probation supervision - has been replaced with deprivation of liberty; 8) convicted persons who have been transferred from closed prisons; 9) convicted persons who have been transferred from open prisons due to gross or systematic disciplinary violations; 10) convicted persons who have been transferred from juvenile correctional institutions after attaining legal age, if they have been sentenced for the commission of serious or especially serious crimes. Sentence shall be served in open prisons by convicted persons: 1) for committing a less serious offence through negligence, if the deprivation of liberty has been adjudged for a time period of not exceeding three years and they have not earlier served a sentence in a deprivation of liberty institution or they have served a sentence in a deprivation of liberty institution and the criminal record for such a violation has been cancelled or extinguished in accordance with the procedures laid down in the law; 2) who are transferred from a partly-closed prison; 3)for committing criminal offence for which they have been sentenced with deprivation of liberty. Type of the deprivation of liberty institution is determined according with the classification of the criminal offence and sentence execution regime requirements in closed prisons, partly-closed prison or open prisons. However, the specific deprivation of liberty institution where the convicted person will serve their imprisonment sentence is determined based on and taking into account the vacant cells (spaces), inmate psychological compatibility, health condition, attitude about smoking, previous criminal experience. In LV imprisonment places prisoners, according with the repeated criminal offence risks and needs, are involved in resocialisation activities – education – involving of a convicted person in general, vocational and interest educational programmes; involving of convicted persons in the performance of socially useful work (work of convicted persons in the facility management of deprivation of liberty institutions, work places created by a merchant at the deprivation of liberty institution or outside it depending on the sentence serving regime imposed on the convicted person, employment without remuneration laid down in the law); solving of the social problems of the convicted person taking into the consequences of imprisonment (improvement, renewal and ensuring of acquisition of social skills by a convicted person, provision of information regarding the possibilities of receiving social services and social assistance after release from the deprivation of liberty institution, taking care of personal identification documents); psychological care - psychological study of the convicted person, psychological consultation, as well as provision of psychological assistance in a crisis situation at the deprivation of liberty institution; organisation of leisure time events - involvement of the convicted person in cultural, informative, art, amateur and sports events, resocialisation programmes as well as spiritual care activities.
Are there systems such as penitentiary leave and early or conditional release in your country?An arrested person shall be released from an investigation prison in the following cases: 1) an adjudication on revocation of arrest has been received; 2) an adjudication on amending of the security measure has been received; 3) the maximum time period of arrest provided for in the law has elapsed; 4) the term of arrest exceeds the maximum term of the deprivation of liberty sentence stipulated in the Criminal Law, which may be adjudged by a court for a criminal offence of the committing of which the person has been accused; 5) the term of arrest exceeds the sentence adjudged by a court; 6) the term of arrest has elapsed and a decision to extend the term of arrest has not been received; 7) a request of a foreign state has not been received within 18 days from the day of detention in accordance with Section 772, Paragraph four, Clause 1 of the Criminal Procedure Law regarding execution of the deprivation of liberty sentence imposed in such foreign state together with the necessary annexes. The basis for the release of convicted persons from the serving of sentence shall be: 1) the serving of the sentence determined in the court judgment; 2) the granting of amnesty; 3) clemency; 4) an adjudication regarding conditional release from the serving of sentence before the end of the term; 5) an adjudication regarding release from the serving of sentence in connection with the convicted person having mental dysfunction or some other serious disease as is cause for not further serving the sentence; 6) receipt of information from the Ministry of Justice that the foreign judgment that was enforced in Latvia has been cancelled.
Is there a system of sentence planning in your country?Convicted person's sentence execution in deprivation of liberty institution begins with inmate's risk and needs assessment (hereinafter – assessment), by using the Inmate risk and needs assessment tool. The goal of the assessment is to determine individual and most appropriate resocialisation activities for the inmate regarding reducing antisocial behaviour and repeated criminal offence risk level, by planning resocialisation process during inmate's sentence execution. Within two months after placing a convicted person in a deprivation of liberty institution in order to commence the serving of the sentence the head of the institution shall ensure an assessment of the risks and needs of the convicted person, determining: 1) the resocialisation needs of the convicted person, the degree of risk of anti-social behaviour and committing a repeated criminal offence in the deprivation of liberty institution; 2) the most appropriate social behaviour correction or social rehabilitation measures and other measures to be implemented during execution of the sentence and to be included in the resocialisation plan of the convicted person. The resocialisation plan of a convicted person shall provide for the course of resocialisation of the convicted person and reflect the results of resocialisation of the convicted person. A re-assessment of the risks and needs of the convicted person shall be performed not less than once a year throughout the term of serving the sentence. The resocialisation plan of the convicted person shall be amended according to the results of the assessment of the risks and needs.
Pre-trial detention Pre-trial detainees are placed to particular remand prisons according to the local jurisdiction of the court in the criminal proceedings (the court that issued the written detention order). Pre-trial detainees can be transferred to another prison only upon written order of a prosecutor or court; if necessary for ensuring security and order or protection of health or life of the pre-trial detainee or another person, also upon written order of the Director General of the Corps of Prison and Court Guard (prison service). The remand prison shall inform the criminal proceedings authority or court. Prison sentence After all entry diagnostic examinations in the remand prison, where the inmate entered the prison term, he/she is placed to a particular prison (prison where usually the whole prison term is served). A prison officer from the Headquarters of the prison service determines the placement to the prison according to the security level, length of the prison sentence, crime seriousness, age, health condition, education, work qualification and capacity possibilities of particular prisons. Prison governor of the particular prison decides about the placement to a particular unit; he/she follows the expert proposal of the so-called placement commission (composed of: head of the prison sentence execution unit, case manager, psychologist, doctor, social worker, officers from the organisational-legal unit, employment unit, preventive-security service and security unit). During prison sentence execution, the inmate can be transferred within the prison (based on the decision of the prison governor) as well as to another prisons (usually based on the decision of the prison officer from the Headquarters following the proposal of the prison governor who can also regard the application of the prisoner for a transfer).
Is there a system of differentiated prison regimes in your country?Pre-trial detention There are two regime types: standard or mitigated. Remand prison governor decides about the regime to which the pre-trial detainee will be placed. The extent of basic rights is the same in both regimes. The difference is in the movement, contact and way of rights´ execution – e.g. in the mitigated regime unit, in determined time pre-trial detainees can move freely and be in contact with other pre-trial detainees in this unit. If there are free capacities, the pre-trial detainee is placed to the mitigated regime if there are no obstacles given by the Act on Pre-trial Detention (e.g. concerns about obstruction of the criminal proceeding´s purpose by influencing witnesses, experts and other parties, prosecution for crimes for which a life sentence can be imposed, health obstacles and the like). Prison sentence It is also served in a differentiated way. The movement, contact, way of ensuring and execution of rights of prisoners differs according to the security level (minimal, medium and maximum) determined by the court. In order to increase the efficiency of the prison term, there is also an internal differentiation and special units are established – prison governor decides about the placement of prisoners within this differentiation (groups A, B, C or another specialized unit) following the proposal of the placement commission (see above).
Are there systems such as penitentiary leave and early or conditional release in your country?Pre-trial detention The Slovak legislation does not allow granting a leave (interruption of pre-trial detention) to inmates. Release from pre-trial detention is bound only to the decision of the court or prosecutor. Prison sentence According to the Prison Sentence Execution Act, there are several institutes that enable inmates to leave the prison - either as a form of a disciplinary reward or in case of situations defined by law (e.g. death of a close person or birth of a child, visit of cultural, edifying, sports, educational and spiritual activities). In both cases, the prison governor decides about the leave that counts to the prison term. Thus, it is a facultative option, an authority of the prison governor who evaluates each case individually with special stress on security aspects. Prison sentence can also be interrupted or from its further execution can be ceased due to medical reasons of the prisoner (he/she falls ill of an illness incurable in conditions of prison sentence execution) or if a sentenced female is pregnant or has a child younger than 1 year – the court decides about such cases. Similarly, the Penal Code enables conditional release – upon decision of the court.
Is there a system of sentence planning in your country?-