Tomasz Andrykowski Unit 21 Assignment 1
Main Security Considerations in a Custodial Environment
Security in a custodial environment is very important for many reasons, the main reason of a very good security is that the prisoners cannot get out of the prison another reason is so they will not harm themselves or anyone else, a prisoner is someone who had their right to freedom deprived because of what they have done in their past so it is not a right thing to let them go in and out of prison whenever they want therefore it is necessary to have an appropriate security in the prison. There are many different types of security in custodial environment for example physical security, dynamic security and procedural security.
Physical Security:
The structure & fabric of buildings
Security devices such as locks, grilles & bars
Surveillance, including electronic & CCTV surveillance
Patrols
Monitoring of visitors, postal deliveries etc
Physical security is holding the prisoners inside the prison with something that’s really stopping them from getting out e.g. walls, fences, bars, locks, entry gates, CCTV. It’s in place to prevent escapes and damages.
The fabric and structure of the building, so what the materials are used to build it for example thick bricks, reinforced walls making it nearly impossible to damage or destroy it.
Security devices which would include bars, locks, grills. They are all in place to stop the prisoners from escaping; they make their chances of escaping much lower. They are made out of very heavy duty materials and made to a very high quality to increase the life of their use.
Surveillance e.g. the CCTV cameras, electronic tagging. The CCTV monitoring system is very useful in controlling and watching the prisoners, it helps with watching them to prevent accident and problems from happening but it is also very useful in a situation where there has been an accident and evidence is needed to prove someone is guilty or to prove they are not. Electronic tagging is also very useful in a custodial care as it means for some people that they can still live with their family in their house rather than in a prison locked up making it easier for them to rehabilitate. It is very important that the prison officers see what is happening in the prison cells and in the main halls as this will eliminate any dangers of fights or attacks of the prisoners.
Patrols of prison officers around the prison is a very effective way of surveillance as this allows the prison officers to monitor the prisoners in their cells as well as in the hall, in the gym or outside. The prison officers will walk around the prison watching over everyone looking if there is any chance of riots, fights or arguments to try to prevent them from happening.
Monitoring of the visitors is also very important thing to do in a prison by the prison officers as well as checking postal deliveries. This is very important thing to do to try to stop drugs and weapons getting inside the prisons as it will cause more problems in future. The visitors have to be checked if they can go in to see their family or friends in prison as they might want to smuggle in some drug, weapon or any other thing into the prison for that prisoner. The prison officers will also have to check the postal packages that are coming into the prison for the prisoners to check if there is nothing illegal inside, the prison officers will also have to check their mail if there is no signs of any wrong plans that could take place in there.
Dynamic Security:
Dynamic security in prisons is most often described as watching over the prisoners closely, looking for different patterns in their behaviour to see sign, watching closely over gang members to make sure the gangs will not want to fight with each other, sharing of information’s, making close relationship with external agencies and partnership to share intelligence also tackling problems with drugs and violence.
The prison officers will need to be watching over the prisoners especially gang members to see and record any patterns in their behaviour and just getting to know them better and making a good relationship with them to prevent any problems and see changes in their behaviour that could indicate to the prison officers that they might be planning something or that something is or might happen inside the prison. Building a good relationship with the prisoners will also help the prison officers to gain information’s because if the prisoners will trust them they will give them information’s about people, deals, riots and many more as they will trust them and think it will be a good thing to do, other prisoners might also give the prison officers information’s but for something else back in favour.
The prison officers will also have to do some close observations of the prisoners like listening to their phone calls, reading their mail, talking to the individuals and monitoring the visits. These are all very important sources of information’s for the prison officers as they might find out information’s about riots that are supposed to happen in the prison, deals that might take place inside, smuggling that might happen or anything else. It is very important that the prison officers gather that information’s on time as then they will have the time to react to the problem before it happens which will save them a lot of time and problems.
One of the most effective ways of getting information’s about the prisoners is by the help of a personal officer. A personal officer is an officer with a group of prisoners who will be watching over them looking for patterns in their behaviour and gathering information’s from them. This is very good thing to do as then the prison officers really get to know the prisoners and they can quickly see a change in their behaviour so they can guess that something is going to happen.
A personal officer will have many things they will need to do, for example they will need to look for depressed or suicidal prisoners to help them so they will not do anything to themselves or anyone else around them. They will also speak to the prisoners and will give them guidance on a daily basis but they will also have to deal with the complaints from the prisoners as well as help them with their everyday problems. The personal officer will also help the prisoners to arrange visits.
Procedural Security:
Procedural security is basically all the procedures that have to be followed by the prison officers to ensure the safety of the prison. The prison officers will need o follow every procedure step by step and ensure they do everything correctly as if they will miss something or not carry out their tasks correctly it might lead to further problems later on in their prison. Not following procedures in any public services will result in a disciplinary action or in a serious case even a loss of job.
The procedures have to be all followed correctly and then everything has to be written down into a report for further use in case there will be a doubt from someone about a certain prison officer not following procedures then these reports will be used as evidence in that case to prove that the prison officer has followed every procedure correctly.
Different Types of Searches:
Searching people in a prison is a very good and very effective way of controlling what goes into the prison. Any staff or prisoner entering the prison walls might be searched, babies and children might also be searched if the consent is given. This is very important thing to do as it gives the prison staff the confidence that there are no drugs or weapons entering the prison.
Visitors who are entering the prison to see their family are also monitored in the way to see what they bring into the prison as they are only allowed to bring certain things when entering the prison, they are allowed to bring personal clothing apart from sunglasses and hats, spare change to buy drinks but only coins no notes and no large amounts, babies dummies, feeding bottles, baby food or change of nappies the rest of their things will need to be left in the lockers before.
To ensure that the visitors don’t bring anything illegal into the prison they will be subjected to a rub down search and all of their belongings like bags or coats will be passed by the metal detector then they will be checked by the drug searching dogs.
It is important that these searches are conducted correctly and only in authorised situations, as improper searches may amount to misconduct and lead to disciplinary action on the grounds of common (or sexual) assault.
Rules and Regulations:
PRISON RULES 1999 section 41 (1)-(3) state regarding searches that:
Every prisoner shall be searched when taken into custody by an officer, on his reception into a prison and subsequently as the governor thinks necessary
A prisoner shall be searched in as seemly a manner as is consistent with discovering anything concealed
No prisoner shall be stripped and searched in the sight of another prisoner, or in the sight of a person of the opposite sex.
Property:
All property taken into a prison by a prisoner will be checked and recorded that the prisoner has brought it in and what it is, they will then get a receipt saying what they have brought in they will have to sign it to agree that they brought it there. Any items found later on which are not recorded will be confiscated by the prison officers.
Rub-down Search:
A rub down search is the most common type of searches that are being followed in the prisons. Anyone entering the prison (visitor, prisoner or prison officer) will have the rub down search performed on them. This type of search consists of the prison officer rubbing just touching their clothed body but still following procedures. If anyone is very suspicious looking or the prison officer thinks the person might be hiding something they might be taken into another room for a strip search or intimate search. A prison officer can do this type of search at anytime to any prisoner if they feel that the prisoner is in possession of something that could be unsecure for the prison.
Scanning Search:
This type of search consists of use of the different types of detectors for example a hand held metal detector or any other detectors as well as the large ones which could have been seen on the airports where a person has to walk through which will detect any metals. The hand held metal detector will be used on a daily basis in the prison combined with the rubdown search when checking the prisoners and prison officers.
Strip Search:
This search involves the removal of clothing from the person suspected of having something illegal on them, only half of the body can be unclothed at a time. This search time can only be done by a prison officer of the same sex as the person getting searched. The clothes will be handed to a prison officer and then handed back to the individuals. No parts of their body will be touched apart from their hair, mouth and ears.
Intimate Body Search:
This type of search involves the examination of an orifice or cavity of the prisoner’s body other than the mouth. It must be carried out by a doctor. The doctor should ask an officer to be present; the officer must be the same sex as the prisoner.
When conducting any of the previously mentioned searches a prison officer is allowed to use reasonable force to conduct the search.
Also if a prisoner refuses to allow a search this will lead to a charge of disobeying a lawful order
If a visitor refuses to be searched, entry to the prison will be refused.