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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: HMPPS’ Security Risk Unit want to develop an understanding of what types of digital technology European prison organisations have to screen postal mail. HMPPS’ security considerations with mail are: - Facilitating ilicit communication within mail (inciting violence, escape, extremism) - Drug soaked paper being sent in as social or legal mail to prisoners.
All the mail is coming to the prison in sacks. The mail is screened at the Comunication department through metal detector arc. At this stage, the mail for inmates under intervention of communications is separated.
Please describe the process for screening incoming mail.All the mail is registered and distributed to the different wings. Once registered and before delivering to the recipient, the mail is checked by officers, looking for prohibited items or substances.
Do administration teams physically check mail or do you have scanning machines which can read mail? What types of machines/equipment/companies does your organisation work with if it scans mail?There is no machine. The mail is checked phisically by officers, checked but not read.
Do you photocopy prisoner mail? If so, why?Intervened mail is photocopied and read at the prison security department. A copy is sent to the police unit at the central office being also read by this unit, and then, the mail is delivered to the recipient. The intervention is only possible under judicial control.
Do you have a system where family/friends can email a prisoner? How successfully or widespread is this system used?Inmates can not have Access to internet, so email is not authorized.
Yes, it is mandatory.
Please describe the process for screening incoming mail.Management of Prisoner Correspondence Flowchart Vestibule area • Incoming mail & packages delivered to establishment. • Vestibule staff to count mail, confirm Tracked & Signed for items and record those numbers. • All mail to have first x-ray screening at the Vestibule area. • All mail to then be picked up by the designated mail administrator and transported to their secure area (DSA). If they are unavailable, i.e. on a Sunday, a manager should pick up and secure mail until administrator is back on shift. Designated Secure Area • Mail bag opened in DSA & contents identified as ‘prisoner confidential’, ‘general mail’ or ‘non-prisoner’ mail. • Confidential Correspondence clearly stamped on both sides of the envelope. • All mail sorted into smaller bundles (10max) & 2nd screening through x-ray machine to be completed by the mail administrator. • If 2nd security screening away from the DSA then mail immediately transported back to DSA. • Check all prisoners located in establishment & sort into residential areas. • [If any mail is damaged, considered suspect, identified as Confidential Correspondence which was originally thought as general, or for an individual who is no longer in the establishment, refer to SOPs MOPC 02, 03, 04 and 05 for further advice.] • Confidential Correspondence inventory signed by mail administrator. • Identified manager undertakes secondary assurance within DSA. • Photocopy inventories & secure mail in DSA. • Packages and non-prisoner mail can now be distributed
Do administration teams physically check mail or do you have scanning machines which can read mail? What types of machines/equipment/companies does your organisation work with if it scans mail?Administration teams physically check mail.
Do you photocopy prisoner mail? If so, why?If there is evidence or suspicion that a letter may be permeated with an illicit substance it may be photocopied.
Do you have a system where family/friends can email a prisoner? How successfully or widespread is this system used?There is an 'Email a Prisoner Scheme' operating in all Scottish establishments for family and friends to email someone on custody. It is a popular and successful scheme.
Mail is screened randomly
Please describe the process for screening incoming mail.The letters are opened in the presence of an inmate concerned to check for illegal items. The content of the letter is not checked.
Do administration teams physically check mail or do you have scanning machines which can read mail? What types of machines/equipment/companies does your organisation work with if it scans mail?The administration team physically check mail
Do you photocopy prisoner mail? If so, why?No
Do you have a system where family/friends can email a prisoner? How successfully or widespread is this system used?No
Inmates have the right to receive and send written messages in documentary form (hereinafter referred to as “the correspondence”) without time restriction at one´s own expense. The prison governor or the prison officer charged by him/her has the right to look into the correspondence delivered to the inmate (yet they are entitled to acquaint themselves with its content). The same applies to the correspondence sent by inmates. In case of pre-trial detainees detained due to possible influence of witnesses, receiving and sending of the correspondence is realised via the police, prosecution or court. The correspondence with exhaustively stipulated “privileged” subjects (advocate, court, Office of the President of the Slovak Republic, National Council of the Slovak Republic, Ministry of Justice of the Slovak Republic, General Prosecution of the Slovak Republic or the Ombudsperson, international organisations entitled in compliance with the international agreements for dealing with requests and complaints concerning human rights protection) is an exception of the general right of prison or other bodies to look into the correspondence of inmates. In case it is obvious (e.g. by touch, detector or scanner) that this correspondence contains other things than letters, the inmate is requested to open the correspondence in front of prison staff. If the inmate refuses to do it, the correspondence will be returned to the sender. Effluvial check (for narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances or explosives) is executed regardless the correspondence type by service dogs or by RTG facility.
Please describe the process for screening incoming mail.1. Service dogs trained specially for presence of narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances or explosives perform a check of closed correspondence in a dedicated room (in prisons with RTG facility for check of luggage the correspondence can be checked by this facility); 2. All correspondence delivered to inmates is distributed according to the accommodation units; 3. Specialised staff responsible for the treatment programme of inmates accommodated in the respective unit open the correspondence and looks into it; 4. The correspondence is subsequently without unnecessary delay handed over to the inmate or its translation is ensured (if it is written in a foreign language); 5. In case the correspondence contains a thing or information that can infringe the pre-trial detention of prison sentence execution purpose, it is retained. If it´s content founds a criminal act, it is proceeded for further proceedings to the respective body (generally police). The inmate is noticed about this fact.
Do administration teams physically check mail or do you have scanning machines which can read mail? What types of machines/equipment/companies does your organisation work with if it scans mail?As the Corps of Prison and Court Guard does not dispose of facilities that could read out the correspondence text, the content check is made physically (reading) by prison staff.
Do you photocopy prisoner mail? If so, why?If it is necessary to find out the content of the correspondence written in another language than the national language, its translation is ensured. The correspondence cannot be retained for more than three workdays for translation purposes; if more time for the translation is needed, a copy of the correspondence is made and the original is without unnecessary delay returned to the inmate or sent to the addressee. At the same time, it is possible to make a copy of a correspondence in case its content founds a suspicion of committing a disciplinary trespass, misdemeanour or criminal act.
Do you have a system where family/friends can email a prisoner? How successfully or widespread is this system used?No, inmates cannot be sent any emails.
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Incoming written mail addressed to inmates is subject to monitoring in the terms foreseen by the law, in particular the Prison Regulations enacted by way of the Reial Decret 190/1996, de 9 de febrer, pel que s’aprova el Reglament Penitenciari. Art. 46.4 of the Prison Regulations establishes that the written mail received by the inmates, once it has been kept record of it, will be delivered to their recipient by the prison staff. The prison staff will open the written mail right in front of the inmate in order to ensure that it does not contain any forbidden objects. Such kind of visual screening in front of the inmate receier of that particular mail, is compulsory for all the mail addressed to inmates.
Please describe the process for screening incoming mail.1. The staff of the prison collects the mail from the nearest post office with a van from the prison, and brings it to the prison 3. A member of the staff introduces all the mail in a scanner in order to identify possible forbidden objects 4. The mail is distributed among the different units 5. In every unit, a member of the prison staff will keep record of the number of mail and the name of the sender, the recipent and introduce the information in the prison system data base 6. The staff member will deliver the mail to the inmate but right before, will open the mail in front of the recipient in order to ensure that the staff and the inmate can see that there is no forbidden object or substance inside. The saff member will closely revise the areas were the pages are folded and below the stamp. Mail is never intercepted except for the cases where there is a judicial order. A prison director can also request for a specific mail to be intercepted but s/he must inform the judicial authorities.
Do administration teams physically check mail or do you have scanning machines which can read mail? What types of machines/equipment/companies does your organisation work with if it scans mail?Once the incoming mail is brought to the prison by prison staff on the prison vehicle as mentioned above, it is scanned by the prison staff in the same equipment used to scan parcels.
Do you photocopy prisoner mail? If so, why?The mail for the inmates is not photocopied but as mentioned above, a record is kept of the basic details (sender, receiver and date) in the data base.
Do you have a system where family/friends can email a prisoner? How successfully or widespread is this system used?There is no system for sending emails to a prisoner although this is being studied.
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Yes, all incoming domestic mail is typically scanned physically. Therefore, the mail is opened up and simply looked into. In fact, the main purpose of screening mail is to detect narcotics and other prohibited objects. Whenever the mail appears to be quite big (e.g. A4 format), it can (!) be scanned by an x-ray machine. Though, legal mail (e.g. to and from counsels) is never included in screenings. Those kinds of letters are only scanned when there is a reasonable suspicion.
Please describe the process for screening incoming mail.See answer to question 1 and 3.
Do administration teams physically check mail or do you have scanning machines which can read mail? What types of machines/equipment/companies does your organisation work with if it scans mail?Our administration teams check mail (concretely: content of the texts) physically – but only randomly and whenever there is or could be a reason to retain mail (e.g. punishable offence, preparation of a criminal offence). We do not have any scanning machines which can read mail – at least not yet. However, such machines could be useful in some circumstances.
Do you photocopy prisoner mail? If so, why?Usually, we do not photocopy mail. Incoming mail is only copied when there has been an incident or a suspected case beforehand (e.g. traces of narcotic substances). Outgoing mail on the other hand is never copied.
Do you have a system where family/friends can email a prisoner? How successfully or widespread is this system used?No, we do not offer any systems where family/friends can e-mail a prisoner. In fact, e-mail correspondence and unauthorized usage of wifi are prohibited.
All incoming and outgoing mail are censored/screened by an officer designated censor duties. Professional mail is unopened and must be signed for by the prisoner. All incoming mail is firstly passed through an x-ray machine. Suspect packages/letters will be swabbed using new narcotics trace detection technology Ion-scan 600 which will be introduced later this month.
Please describe the process for screening incoming mail.All incoming mail is firstly screened by way of passing through an x ray machine to establish if there are any concealments of contraband. Mail is then removed to the censors office where it is opened and all envelopes etc. are thoroughly searched for contraband as well as being censored. Suspect packages or mail can be swabbed using Ionscan 600 for traces of contraband/narcotics.
Do administration teams physically check mail or do you have scanning machines which can read mail? What types of machines/equipment/companies does your organisation work with if it scans mail?Mail is physically checked by an officer designated censor duties. There are no scanning machines currently used to read mail.
Do you photocopy prisoner mail? If so, why?Some prisons do photocopy mail as a precautionary measure as there have been suspected cases of mail being submerged in contraband such as spice.
Do you have a system where family/friends can email a prisoner? How successfully or widespread is this system used?IPS are currently trialling an email system and hope that a system be in place later this year.
Screening postal mail is only possible in the cases and under the conditions laid down by law. The possibility of screening incoming and outgoing letters is provided for in the Basic Law concerning the prison system and the legal position of detainees. This Law indeed stipulates that the letters sent to the detainees may be checked by the prison warden or a staff member designated by him before delivering them. In practice, it has been decided to check every incoming letter. This check involves the opening of the letters in order to verify the presence of prohibited objects or substances. Reading the letters is not allowed, unless there are individualized indications that this is absolutely necessary for maintaining order and security. If need be, the prison warden or the staff member designated by him may read the letters in the absence of the detainee. The prison warden has the authority not to deliver the letters or any enclosed objects or substances to the detainee if this is absolutely necessary for maintaining order and security. The detainee has to be informed of (the reasons for) this decision. The prohibited objects or substances and letters are then taken into safe custody in exchange for a receipt, unless there are grounds for keeping them at the disposal of the judicial authorities. Finally, the Basic Law contains a list of persons and authorities with whom the detainees may correspond without any control, such as their lawyer, ministers, judicial authorities, etc. Letters from or addressed to the persons and authorities mentioned in the law are therefore not subject to the control(s) described above.
Please describe the process for screening incoming mail.See answer nr. 1.
Do administration teams physically check mail or do you have scanning machines which can read mail? What types of machines/equipment/companies does your organisation work with if it scans mail?Incoming letters are manually checked for the presence of prohibited objects or substances by the prison warden or a staff member designated by him. They can only read the letters if there are individual indications that this is absolutely necessary for maintaining order and security. Machines or other technical equipment are not used.
Do you photocopy prisoner mail? If so, why?The Belgian legislation does not allow this.
Do you have a system where family/friends can email a prisoner? How successfully or widespread is this system used?No
Yes, mandatory.
Please describe the process for screening incoming mail.Every incoming mail is checked by X-ray machines. Then it is forwarded to the recipient.
Do administration teams physically check mail or do you have scanning machines which can read mail? What types of machines/equipment/companies does your organisation work with if it scans mail?Mail is only checked for prohibited items. A content control is only carried out in exceptional cases by order of a judge. We do not have machines that can read letters automatically.
Do you photocopy prisoner mail? If so, why?No.
Do you have a system where family/friends can email a prisoner? How successfully or widespread is this system used?No.