Category: Prison News

New figures on attacks against prison staff in 2022 show which Andalusian prisons are under the most pressure. Puerto III (Cádiz), Sevilla II (Morón) and Algeciras top the list.

Attacks on staff in Andalusian prisons (2022)

• Puerto III (Cádiz): 21
• Sevilla II (Morón de la Frontera): 19
• Algeciras (Botafuegos): 15
• Huelva: 12
• Albolote (Granada): 10
• Málaga: 10
• Seville Psychiatric Prison Hospital: 8
• Málaga II: 7
• Córdoba: 6
• Puerto I (Cádiz): 6
• Almería: 5
• Jaén: 5
• Seville: 4
• Alcalá de Guadaíra: 3
• Puerto II: 2
• Social integration centre (CIS) Huelva: 1

One attack every 19 hours

Across Spain, the officers' union "Tu Abandono Me Puede Matar" (TAMPM) calculates that there is now one attack on prison staff every 19 hours, compared with one every 21 hours earlier in the year and one every 36 hours before the pandemic. The 2022 total was more than a hundred above the previous worst year, 2016, with 359 attacks.

What the union blames

According to TAMPM:

• Prevention of risks at work is not good enough.
• Prison classification is failing. The union claims that inmates are moved from first grade to second grade too quickly to improve the statistics.
• The official protocol for recording attacks uses a narrower definition for prison staff than for other public workers, so insults, threats, spitting and some injuries are not counted.
• The authority of prison officers is being weakened, for example by a rule that any complaint from an inmate, even without evidence, must be sent to court.

These are the views of the union.

What this means for inmates and families

The union's complaints come from the staff side, but some of them also matter for inmates. The rule that complaints from inmates go to court, for example, is an important protection against abuse.

If your loved one is held in one of the prisons at the top of the list:

• Stay in regular contact and ask directly how they are.
• If they are involved in an incident, ask in writing what happened and what measures have been taken, and inform their lawyer.
• If they are being threatened, they can ask for protection or a transfer.

GC Libertad can help you follow up with the prison. Contact us.

Source: La Razón

At the start of 2021, figures from Spain's prison service (Instituciones Penitenciarias) showed 47,373 people in Spanish prisons. That is 38% fewer than at the peak in 2009, when the number was around 65,500.

Why fewer people are in prison

The main reason given is reforms of the Spanish Criminal Code, in particular the wider use of suspended sentences for shorter prison terms. Instead of going to prison, more people serve their sentence under conditions in the community.

Who is in prison

• Men: 43,859
• Women: 3,514 (7.4%)

About half of all inmates take part in voluntary programmes aimed at changing criminal behaviour, including around 6,000 in a specialised programme on gender violence.

Covid-19 and safety

• Around 800 Covid-19 cases were recorded among inmates, an infection rate 2.2 times lower than in the general population. Four prison officers died during the first wave.
• 154 attacks on staff were recorded in 2020, 68% fewer than the 475 in 2010.

Video calls

During the pandemic several prisons introduced video calls so inmates could speak with their families, and the plan was to roll them out across the whole system.

What this means for inmates and families

These figures are from 2020–2021, and the numbers have changed since. Attacks on staff, for example, rose sharply again in 2022. But two things from this report still matter for families today:

• Suspended sentences are a real alternative for many short sentences. Read our guide on how suspension works and when judges refuse it.
• Video calls can make a huge difference for families abroad. Ask the prison whether your loved one can use them.

GC Libertad can help you with both. Contact us.

Source: Euro Weekly News

On 28 September 2022, an inmate at the Botafuegos prison in Algeciras tried to start a riot. He injured a prison officer and called on other inmates to join him. The uprising did not happen, but it shows the tension inside the prison, where officers have even had their cars set on fire in revenge.

Yet Botafuegos was "only" fifth on the list of Spain's most conflictive prisons that year. Figures for the first three quarters of 2022, collected by the prison officers' union Acaip and the Ministry of the Interior, showed the highest number of attacks on staff since 2016.

Two clear trends

• The problem is nationwide. The prisons with the most attacks are spread across Spain: Madrid, Seville, Cádiz and the Canary Islands.
• Attacks are rising everywhere. In all five prisons at the top, the number has gone up. In Sevilla II, it is more than double the previous worst year.

The five most conflictive prisons in 2022

• Madrid V (Soto del Real): 18 attacks
• Sevilla II (Morón de la Frontera): 17 attacks
• Puerto III (El Puerto de Santa María): 15 attacks
• Las Palmas II (Gran Canaria): 13 attacks
• Botafuegos (Algeciras): 11 attacks, shared with Teixeiro and Valencia

You can read more about each prison in our article List of the Most Dangerous Prisons in Spain.

Why is this happening?

According to the unions, the causes include staff shortages, many inmates with drug problems or mental illness, and inmates being moved far from their families. In prisons with many drug traffickers, there are also constant attempts to smuggle in mobile phones and drugs, sometimes by drone.

What this means for inmates and families

A tense prison is harder for everyone, including inmates who just want to serve their time in peace:

• Keep regular contact, and pay attention to changes in mood or tone.
• If your loved one feels unsafe, they can ask in writing for protection or a transfer to another unit.
• A lawyer can request a transfer to a prison closer to the family.

GC Libertad can help you follow up with the prison and request a transfer. Contact us.

Source: El Periódico de España