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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 Netherlands, the inmate telephone service is operated by an external company. The service is connected to a service-portal where the prison establishments can decide which rights the inmates have regarding the use of telephone service. The possibilities are extensive, e.g. whitelist, blacklist, duration of calls, voice-logging etc. All can be maintained through the service-portal on different levels in the telephone service. Such levels include e.g. national level, local level, group-of-telephones level and personal level. The Dutch Custodial Institutions Agency is currently looking at different inmate telephones services used in Europe. To this end, The Dutch Custodial Institutions Agency would appreciate the support of Europris members in responding to the following questions that will assist us in our current review exercise.
In Spain, telephones are located in common areas. Inmates can call to ten different telephone numbers. These numbers have to be previously authorised by prison service security staff. In relation to these numbers, inmates can make ten calls per week. Each call has a maximum duration of five minutes.
What supervisory measures with respect to the telephone system are available to prevent inmates from continuing criminal acts during detention?Administrative supervisory measures are provisional and have to be communicatted to the judicial authority.
How does your agency exclude inmates' calls with lawyer from the supervisory measures?There is no possible administrative measures to limit or supervise communications with lawyers.
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The inmate telephone system consists of anti-vandal booths, located in common areas of buildings, for example in the residential module usually in the courtyard.
What supervisory measures with respect to the telephone system are available to prevent inmates from continuing criminal acts during detention?Each inmate has a list of authorized phones they can call (whitelisted with 10 numbers), which are entered into the computer system that controls it. The program also has a blacklist of numbers that cannot be called; this blacklist can be configured by inmate, by centre, or for all centres. In the case of a court order, a system has been implemented that allows to intervene the calls of an inmate. A list of calls is extracted monthly.
How does your agency exclude inmates' calls with lawyer from the supervisory measures?If by a court order the recording of the calls made by an inmate is required, the telephone management program shows the authorized phones and they can choose the phones they want to monitor, because by default they all go out unmarked. Calls between inmate and lawyer cannot be recorded so they should be excluded from being marked for recording.
Fixed telephone points are available within prison halls and can be accessed through the purchase of a telephone credit card. During the “permitted calling period”, a prisoner is permitted to use the telephone only for so long as is appropriate having regard to: • The requirements of other prisoners to use the prisoner telephone; • The constraints of the general prison regime. A call from a prisoner telephone is preceded by a recorded message which advises the recipient of the call that the call is coming from a Scottish prison. Prisoners may not receive telephone calls on the prisoner telephone.
What supervisory measures with respect to the telephone system are available to prevent inmates from continuing criminal acts during detention?Communication by telephone 62.—(1) A prisoner is entitled to the use of a telephone, subject to the provisions of paragraphs (2) and (3). (2) A prisoner’s use of a telephone is subject to the provisions of any direction which the Scottish Ministers may make in relation to: (a) the groups or categories of prisoners who may have the use of a telephone; (b) the times of day and circumstances in which a telephone may be available for use; (c) the conditions applicable to the use of such a telephone; (d) the logging, monitoring and recording by any means by any person authorised by the Governor of telephone calls made by a prisoner. (3) An officer may refuse to allow a prisoner to have the use of a telephone or restrict a prisoner’s use of a telephone— (a) by virtue of the provisions of any direction as mentioned in paragraph (2); or (b) in accordance with rule 60. (4) Where an officer refuses or restricts a prisoner’s use of a telephone in terms of paragraph (3), the officer must inform the prisoner of the reasons for that decision and, where a request is made by the prisoner, such reasons must be given in writing.
How does your agency exclude inmates' calls with lawyer from the supervisory measures?“Exempted calls” are not recorded or monitored. “Exempted call” means a telephone call which is exempted from recording and monitoring, that is to say a call made by a prisoner to: • A legal adviser who is included in the prisoner’s list of numbers; • A court which is included in the prisoner’s list of numbers; • The Samaritans; • The Scottish Public Services Ombudsman; • Such other person or body as specified by the Governor.
Currently telephones on landings where prisoners have their own unique pin code to enter the system. Only persons on a prisoners phone panel which they have already nominated on a specific form and which is checked and verified that the contact person stated is who they say it is and are asked if they are willing to accept a call from this prisoner. In Open Centres prisoners are issued with mobile phones and can only contact nominated persons already on their nominated phone panel. A pilot project is due to commence shortly with prisoners having telephones in their cells to be allowed to receive incoming calls from persons on their existing phone panel.
What supervisory measures with respect to the telephone system are available to prevent inmates from continuing criminal acts during detention?Numbers/Persons are checked and verified. All outward phone calls (prisoners can only make calls out at this juncture) with the exception of legal calls are recorded for security purposes. A warning voice message is played both to caller and recipient at start of call to advise telephone calls are recorded.
How does your agency exclude inmates' calls with lawyer from the supervisory measures?There are designated solicitors lines. 3 in total to allow prisoners place their legal representatives on them. Once the relationship status is selected as solicitor on any phone line a recording will not take place of that telephone conversation.
The Corps of Prison and Court Guard ensures telephoning via an external provider of telecommunication services (from 2007). Management and administration of telephoning of inmates takes place in the information system of the provider (setting the maximum length of calls, monitoring data on calls made and the like) that is connected to the information system of the register of inmates that is administered by the Corps. Inmates can telephone via telephones placed on the unit floors and walk yards. Since 2017, we have gradually been implementing also telephoning in cells (Roomio).
What supervisory measures with respect to the telephone system are available to prevent inmates from continuing criminal acts during detention?For the purpose of carrying out tasks of fight with terrorism and organised crime, prevention of stultification of the purpose of pre-trial detention and prison sentence execution, revelation and detection of crimes, assurance of public order and protection in objects guarded by the Corps, the Corps is entitled (in compliance with the Act on Pre-trial Detention and Act on Prison Sentence Execution) to monitor and record the content of all telephone calls of inmates, except of calls with lawyers. The Corps keeps records of all inmates´ calls for 12 months.
How does your agency exclude inmates' calls with lawyer from the supervisory measures?Telephone numbers of lawyers are registered as the so-called legal contacts. When telephoning – entering a phone number by an inmate, the information system of the provider compares the entered number with the pre-reported number and verified list of lawyers of the inmate. If the entered phone number is in this list, the “supervisory measures” do not relate such call.
As regards inmate telephony, most of our penitentiary institutions are equipped with in-cell telephones and hallway telephones. Some penitentiary institutions are only equipped with hallway telephones.
What supervisory measures with respect to the telephone system are available to prevent inmates from continuing criminal acts during detention?A number of restrictions can be programmed. The restrictions can be programmed for all detainees in all penitentiary institutions, for individual penitentiary institutions or for individual detainees. Restrictions are possible on the basis of - a ‘white list’ (= only the numbers on the list can be called); - a ‘black list’ (= all numbers can be called, except for the numbers on the list); - the number of calls per day, week, month; - the number of minutes or hours per day, week, month; - ... All calls are logged and it can be verified who has called which number, when, for how long and how much the call has cost. Telephone calls are not recorded unless the federal police issues a request to do so. In that case, a telephone tap is programmed for a specific detainee.
How does your agency exclude inmates' calls with lawyer from the supervisory measures?The telephone calls can be classified in various categories. The category ‘lawyers’ e.g. can be used in order not to record calls with lawyers in case a tap is programmed or in order to always allow the numbers in this category to be called. However, it can always be verified in the log files whether a detainee has called a specific number. The numbers have to be added to the category in question in order to be able to use this method.
All prisons in England and Wales, including contracted prisons use a mix of telephones in cells, or in communal areas in the prison. If located in communal areas, the phones may be within booths, or attached to walls. Prisoners are allocated a personal pin number, which must be entered before making a call, to enable the system to recognise them, and confirm that the number dialled is on the individuals permitted list, or the list of nationally permitted numbers.
What supervisory measures with respect to the telephone system are available to prevent inmates from continuing criminal acts during detention?HMPPS Prison Service Instruction 04-2016 Interception of Communication and Security Measures in Prisons detail the supervisory measures in detail. In summary, all calls that can legally be intercepted are recorded by the system, and retained for monitoring by prison staff where required by the above PSI. Certain cohorts of offenders will have all of their calls monitored, such as those convicted under terrorism legislation, others will be subject to random monitoring. The system also enables live monitoring of calls. All numbers submitted by prisoners must be checked by prison staff, to attempt to establish that they are bona fide numbers, and will not facilitate criminal activity.
How does your agency exclude inmates' calls with lawyer from the supervisory measures?Prisoners are required to provide the contact details of their legal representatives. This numbers is checked by staff to ensure that it relates to a legal firm or sole trading lawyer, and then added to the privileged part of the individuals pin phone account. All calls to numbers on this list, and a nationally maintained list of numbers relating to organisations which provide confidential advice, are not recorded by the system, ensuring that no intercept can take place.
Prisoners in Latvian imprisonment places use stationary telephones, except in open prisons where prisoners use their personal mobile phones which have been registered according with the procedures set by the Head of the prison.
What supervisory measures with respect to the telephone system are available to prevent inmates from continuing criminal acts during detention?Prisoners make their phone calls in the presence of a prison staff member (a prisoner who wants to make a phone call, submits a written application to the Head of the prison providing the phone number to which the phone call will be made), except phone calls with the lawyer. Phone conversations with lawyer are not restricted and are made at the time set in daily agenda of the prison.
How does your agency exclude inmates' calls with lawyer from the supervisory measures?Phone calls of prisoners are classified by the content of the application (a prisoner indicates to whom the call will be made). In the case when the phone conversation will be with lawyer, a prison staff member is not present.
Slovenian prison telephone system for inmates is part of the National Phone Operator. They offer special program in which we are able to regulate who could be called by an inmate and who is not allowed to be called. Telephones are located in common areas. It is a pre-paid system. Inmates need to buy a credit through special code system. They are allowed to call as many callers as they want, but they have to be approved by the prison authority. They could use free call only to the emergency 113 number and to the ombudsman.
What supervisory measures with respect to the telephone system are available to prevent inmates from continuing criminal acts during detention?The prison governor, within the framework of the implementation of criminal penalties and maintenance of order and discipline in the institution, decides on the basis of the needs for security measures to ensure the safety of prisoners, prison staff and other persons in an institution and the safety of property and data, implement security measures recording and storage of phone calls and other electronic communications. When introducing a measure of security and the recording and storage of electronic communications, the provisions of the act regulating electronic communications, which regulate the field of the protection of secrecy, confidentiality and security of electronic communication and storage of traffic data in electronic communications. Based on the telephone system it is possible to find out when and which telephone number was called and also duration of the call. If there is a decree of the court then bugging or recording is done through the National Phone Operator
How does your agency exclude inmates' calls with lawyer from the supervisory measures?We do not record phone calls automatically and we do not have in place any supervisory measures performed automatically. Cases of inmates' calls with lawyer are not under the supervisory measures.
In Lithuania inmates have access to fixed telephones installed in common areas. Inmates are also allowed to use video calls.
What supervisory measures with respect to the telephone system are available to prevent inmates from continuing criminal acts during detention?The prison administration and prison officers are obliged not only to facilitate inmates’ (pre-trial detainees) access to telephone calls, but also to ensure that inmates (pre-trial detainees) withdraw from breaching the procedure of a phone call, therefore the prison officers have obligations and duties to monitor whom and when the inmates are calling.
How does your agency exclude inmates' calls with lawyer from the supervisory measures?The number of telephone conversations with lawyers is not restricted. The conversations are not recorded. The content of the conversation is not listened or monitored.
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This content is only available to registered members of EuroPris.
This content is only available to registered members of EuroPris.