The General Controller of places of deprivation of liberty Dominique Simonnot alerted the Ministers of Justice, Health and the Interior on Tuesday to the insufficiency of health protocols intended to stop the spread of Covid-19 in prisons, centers of detention and other police stations.
In letters, she urged ministers to ensure that "
measures taken in the name of protecting the health
" of people did not "
infringe their rights without protecting them
".
Read also: Green light for the appointment of Dominique Simonnot as Controller General of Prisons
An independent administrative authority, the general control of places of deprivation of liberty (CGLPL) is responsible for defending fundamental rights in prisons, psychiatric hospitals, administrative detention centers, closed educational centers and local police custody.
In particular, it may be seized by detainees or their relatives.
Dominique Simonnot thus asked the Minister of Justice Eric Dupond-Moretti to “
reduce the penal population to a level which is not greater than the reception capacity of the establishments
” in order to avoid the development of “
clusters
” in prison, according to her in increase.
According to the latest statistics published by the prison administration, the overall prison density stood at 100.7% on 1 October.
On May 11, after two months of confinement, it was less than 100% (97%).
This situation, unprecedented in twenty years, was explained by early release measures and a drop in delinquency and judicial activity during the period.
In mid-May, 59,500 people were detained, against 72,500 in mid-March.
While welcoming the decisions taken in the spring, the supervisor asks for new "
provisions going in the direction of a decrease in prison
".
"
No government measure has come to correct the risks of contamination run by the prisoners as well as by the guards
", she insists.
Read also: Covid-19 in prison: "We are taking the second wave head on"
In its non-binding recommendations, it is also concerned about police custody, which gives rise to "
dangerous promiscuity
".
"
I invite you to reduce the practice of police custody by limiting it to objectively necessary situations
" and "
in premises where people locked up can be accommodated individually,
" she wrote to Minister of the Interior Gerald Darmanin.
The former journalist also points to the organization of Administrative Retention Centers (CRA), whose "
reception capacity, limited for a time to 50% to curb the spread of the virus has gradually increased to 60, 70, or even 90% in certain centers
”.
"
The CGLPL strongly recommends that the CRAs be temporarily closed or at least that their activity drops drastically
", she concludes.